The ability to remember more elements that stand out from others is known as von Restorff effect, or insulating effect, and was discovered in 1933 by Hedwig Von Restorff, who through his studies has determined that he is more likely to remember. elements that stand out for their color or shape compared to others.
At that time it was thought that this phenomenon was due to a particularity in attention span, however, Von Restorff’s results suffered several interpretations, until it was concluded that this effect was not only due to variations in attention, but memory. it also encodes information in different ways.
- The Von Restorff effect can be used in our day to day in the usual way.
- A clear example is when we prepare the shopping list and.
- In it.
- We highlight with a text pen the product that needs it most.
- Be sure to focus our attention on this item on the list and reduce the chances of forgetting it.
Another example arises in academia, when we underline certain ideas in the notes to emphasize their importance. This will help us remember them better or find them more easily when we do a shallow reading.
As we see, the Von Restorff effect can be used as a help tool in our routine, both for the most everyday tasks and for those associated with our workplace, it can be used to organize a business, such as developing project plans or determining the tasks to be performed.
The implications of the von Restorff effect for marketing and advertising are immense, in this sense many companies emphasize certain details to consider if they want a product to stand out and be memorable. Changes in size, color and space are among the most effective techniques. Similarly, the more different an object is from the rest, the more likely it is to be memorized.
As a result, some of the keys to neuromarketing have been developed, where advertising uses subtle techniques to attract customer attention, in this way, they try to appeal to a more primitive meaning in each type of client and show small details in their product. that sets it apart from others.
One of the occasions when you can enjoy the Von Restorff effect is during a presentation, whether in an academic or professional field, everything that escapes banality usually gives the presentation a memorable touch that is distinguished from the others. There are many resources to escape the paths, already used, including the use of video streams and other multimedia elements, with them you can help promote not only the memory of the presented, but also that of the presenter.
For example, when you integrate videos and snippets from a movie into a presentation, they can illustrate a process with infinitely greater clarity than a photo or even an animation. Video streams should be brief and integrated into the plot of the story, that is. , in the sequence of the presentation; otherwise, the video would eventually grab the public’s attention and keep it away from the speaker, so the use of short video streams, spaced throughout the presentation, ensures that the public’s attention is maintained.
With these keys we can increase the chances of success of our presentation, the same would happen in an academic context, since our presentation could attract the attention of those who evaluate us, allowing us to highlight the ideas that we consider most important and to make our work more concrete and organized.
In short, the Von Restorff effect is a useful tool in all areas of our lives and allows us to make the most of our memory and our ability to speak in public.