Latest Lists

What is the psychological explanation behind making lists?

There must be a psychological explanation as to why people make lists. Is there some relation to how the brain functions or processes things on lists? By this, I mean a specific theory or concept in Psychology if any exists.

Public Comments

1. I am not a psychologist, but I did take classes in High School and College. I think it has to do with our desire to make order and structure in things. Some people cannot function or be able to make sense of things unless there is order and structure there. It makes it easier to weed out the gray-matter. Another possibility for some people is that they need to have somehow to be able to keep focused. If they have a list, they can work on that and not continue to add too the list and eventually have too much to handle. Once again, it gives us structure and keeps us focused. ...Kind of like breakfast.... :D
2. For some people with obsessive-compulsive disorder, they feel compelled to make lists due to a fear of forgetting something.
3. Quite simply, the purpose of a list is to create a visual representation of all ideas that come under an umbrella of ideas (eg. item (idea) that we need to buy (umbrella)) so that we can understand things more easily by having quick visual reference to that. We need to buy some stuff but we probably won't remember it, so we create a shopping list and add to it when we need to, so when we go shopping, we have quick reference. Same with a pros and cons list, for example, where we remember all the pros and cons, how many are of each and how important they are so we can make a good decision while we revise the evidence.