The Doorway Effect

Ever have this happen?  Walk through a doorway and immediately lose focus, forgetting what you had just intended to do?

This is an extreme example of the “doorway effect” which is a manifestation of our brain’s method of spatial processing.   This and more are the subject of the 2014 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine won by John O’Keefe and May-Britt and Edvard Moser.

My wife and I have a simple strategy to combat the doorway effect–we make lists.  Unfortunately, when we get in the car to go shopping, my wife frequently forgets to bring the list.

Thanks to American Digest, for pointing me to the video.