Ovsiankina effect

noun

The tendency to pick up an interrupted action again when it has still not been completed.

Meanings

nounOvsiankina effect (plural Ovsiankina effects)

plural Ovsiankina effects

  1. human sciencesThe tendency to pick up an interrupted action again when it has still not been completed.

Origin

Named after Maria Ovsiankina (1898–1993), a Russian-German-American psychologist who studied this effect.

Full word history & related roots →
Cite this entry
APA

Ovsiankina effect. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ovsiankina%20effect

MLA

“Ovsiankina effect.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ovsiankina%20effect. Accessed November 4, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “Ovsiankina effect,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/Ovsiankina%20effect.

Source: Ovsiankina effect on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.