May 3: People with large memory capacities tend to get bored faster as they perceive they have experienced things more times because they remember those experiences in more detail and feel more satiated by them, researchers said.
"People with larger working memory capacities actually encode information more deeply," said lead author Noelle Nelson, Assistant Professor at the University of Kansas in the US.
"They remember more details about the things they've experienced, and that leads them to feel like they've had it more. That feeling then leads to the large capacity people getting tired of experiences faster," Nelson said.
For the study, published in the Journal of Consumer Research, the team measured people's working memory capacities in different ways, such as how well they could remember a string of letters or how they performed on the memory game where users must try to repeat a series of tones and lights.
Participants then performed a task where they would eventually become tired of what they experienced, like viewing paintings or listening to music.
"We found that their capacity predicted how fast they got tired of the art or music. People with larger memory capacities satiated on these things more quickly than people with smaller capacities," Nelson said.
Marketers could perhaps use this type of research to craft strategies on ways to keep people interested longer.
"For example, introducing new products or having distractions in advertisements might help break up the satiation process because they disrupt memory," Nelson said.
In addition, the implications may also extend to overeating or unhealthy foods "because a big part of overeating is psychological and a solution such as memory processes could help people control their eating", he said.
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