In the 1920s she conducted a study on memory, in which she compared memory in relation to incomplete and complete tasks. She had found that incomplete tasks are easier to remember than successful ones; this is now known as the Zeigarnik effect. She later began working at the Institute of Higher Nervous Activity which is where she would meet her next big influence Lev Vygotsky, and become a part of his circle of scientists. It was also there that Zeigarnik founded the Department of Psychology. In 1983 she received the Lewin Memorial Award for her psychological research.