Let’s think about when we decided to buy a new car and choose the color. Once chosen, perhaps one that is not too common, we will begin to see cars of that color everywhere. And it’s not that they didn’t exist before, we simply didn’t see them because our attention is selective and cannot maintain so much information at the same time. Therefore, now he has inserted cars of that color into our minds and he inevitably finds them wherever he goes.
At the basis of our personal training to notice what happens to us, with the purpose of amplifying it, is the so-called Tetris effect, theorized by Shawn Achor in the book “The Happiness Advantage”, elaborated from what is called ” cognitive residual image”. This theory says that we always pay attention to what we see most often and it is persistent. In this PsychologyFor article, we will discover together What is the Tetris effect?<
When Our brain gets used to a certain type of perception, then tends to operate constantly through the mental pattern already drawn< This process is known as the Tetris effect. And who invented the Tetris effect? It was the psychologist Shawn Achor who defined this process, called in the same way as the famous video game in which the player must stack, in the most compact way possible, two-dimensional or three-dimensional geometric objects that fall from top to bottom of the screen.
This game has been the protagonist of a famous experiment at Harvard Medical School. Twenty-seven people were paid to play Tetris for numerous hours for three days straight. In the days that followed, many of them couldn’t help but glimpse geometric blocks falling from the sky or seeing shapes everywhere, naturally fully aware that these were just optical effects.
The Tetris players are particularly prone to this effect
How the Tetris effect works
What is the Tetris effect? This psychological phenomenon occurs when an activity that requires a high level of attention influences of incongruent way in cognitive processes, in the mental images and dreams of those who dedicate themselves to it for a long time. Discover what the basic and higher cognitive processes are, examples and types.
Therefore, Tetris players, over long periods of time, may be led to involuntarily reason about ways to stack real-world objects, such as the packages you see on the shelves of a supermarket or the buildings in a neighborhood. Additionally, they can see moving geometric objects at the limits of their visual field or when they close their eyes. Finally, the geometric figures in the game can also appear in dreams, especially in the transition from waking dream to dream.
To better understand how the Tetris effect works in everyday life, we can consider the example of our negative thoughts. We start the day with a sprained foot and part of the complaint. There is sun, yes, but it is too hot, too humid, there is no fresh air, we sweat too much, etc. Hence a series of situations that generate even more murmurs.
The good thing is that we can do the same with what gives us joy, positivity and beauty, since the more we notice the positive elements in our lives, and are committed to focusing on them, the more we can discover others. It is a true upward training for trigger a virtuous circle capable of giving us well-being<
Why the Tetris effect occurs
As studies after the Harvard experiment have confirmed, concentrating thought on continuous and repeated play sediments certain neural pathways that affect the way reality is perceived.
If you are wondering why the Tetris effect occurs, it can be caused by different factors. Let’s see what they are:
Activities characterized by strong visual repetitiveness: It can be experienced, for example, through prolonged use of other video games, after having spent several hours looking at microscopic shop windows, playing chess or even other activities such as fruit selection.
Other senses may be involved For example, a musician who performs long sessions may experience an appearance of related mental processes in incongruent contexts. He may also continue to hear musical phrases in his own mind during the period before sleep.
A 2000 study showed that people with anterograde amnesia, that is, with declarative memory deficits, can dream Tetris images after having played for a long time, without remembering having played. This suggests that The Tetris effect involves a different type of memory, probably similar to that of procedural memory. In this article, you will find information about the types of human memory.
This article is merely informative, at PsychologyFor we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
If you want to read more articles similar to What is the Tetris effect? we recommend that you enter our Cognitive Psychology category.
Bibliography
Bilotto, A., Casadei, I. (2017). Dalla balena blu to cyberbullism. Affrontare and social pericoli with positive psychology
Engadget.com (2018). A possible therapy for anxiety and psychological trauma enjoying the effect of Tetris
Lucaccioni, L. (2020). Ridi loves vivi. Milan: Rizzoli.
