Oswego Effect

The strange feeling SUNY Oswego students get after they leave college, when you miss the lake, the sunsets, and even the freezing wind you used to complain about.

It’s that mix of missing your friends, the campus, and the small-town life that somehow felt like home. The Oswego Effect hits when you realize you didn’t just go to school there, a part of you still lives there.

Ever since graduation, I’ve been missing Oswego like crazy. I think the Oswego Effect just kicked in.

by Oswegan October 31, 2025

Macbeth effect

The "Macbeth effect" study shows that people who have recently washed their hands tend to make harsher and more judgmental moral decisions. Conversely, those who feel physically "dirty" are more tolerant of minor ethical violations.

After washing his hands, he totally judged his friend for that minor mistake—classic Macbeth effect at play!

by Emotional Cruiser November 1, 2025

The Glisten Effect

The Glisten Effect describes a phenomenon occuring in fandoms when a minor personality trait or mannerism of a character is pushed to its absolute extreme by fans; the character mentioned being Glisten from Dandy's World, of which fans of the game obsessively flanderize him for sometimes acting outwardly fey.

"I got a bunch of hate for writing this character as being straight. Why is that?"
"That's just the glisten effect. Most people think that character is gay or bi."

by Laa_Laa November 2, 2025

Caterpillar Effect

What the "Butterfly Effect" might have been called if previous things had gone a little differently!

You can't make blanket statements like that. Things might have ended differently due to the caterpillar effect!"

by Jackypaper November 3, 2025

pre-COVID dream effect

The effect where pre-COVID era felt like a mere dream (or a trailer for our current life), as we're now 4 years into post-COVID era (as of 2026)

Ever since the pandemic, my memories from before COVID-19 pandemic feel like a distant memory, almost like a dream; I guess I’m experiencing that pre-COVID dream effect.

by Emotional Cruiser November 3, 2025

Ovsiankina effect

In psychology, the Ovsiankina effect describes the innate human urge to finish tasks previously initiated. This tendency to resume an interrupted action is especially prevalent when the action hasn't yet been achieved. The effect is named after Maria Ovsiankina, who conducted research on this behavior.

I couldn't focus on my new project because every time I got interrupted, I felt this strong Ovsiankina effect pulling me back to finish what I had started yesterday.

by Emotional Cruiser November 4, 2025

Zeigarnik effect

In psychology, the Zeigarnik effect (named after Lithuanian-Soviet psychologist Bluma Zeigarnik) postulates that people remember unfinished or interrupted tasks better than completed tasks. In Gestalt psychology, the Zeigarnik effect has been used to demonstrate the general presence of Gestalt phenomena: not just appearing as perceptual effects, but also present in cognition.

The Zeigarnik effect should not be confused with the Ovsiankina effect, an urge to complete tasks previously initiated. Maria Ovsiankina, a colleague of Zeigarnik, investigated the effect of task interruption on the tendency to resume the task at the next opportunity.

I can't stop thinking about that unfinished novel; it's like the Zeigarnik effect is haunting me, making it impossible to focus on anything else until I get back to it.

by Emotional Cruiser November 4, 2025