Why do we complete jigsaw puzzles?
It is the end of the work day and it’s time to go home! As an escape from the stresses and strains of the day, many people seek an after-work activity that allows them to think about something other than their jobs, and helps them to relax. Doing jigsaw puzzles is a fantastic solution to wind down at home after a hard day, with the family or even on your own.
Competence meets challenge
But psychology is aware of even more reasons why doing puzzles has such fascination for so many people: “We humans feel stressed if we have a task that we don’t succeed at and are bored if we are competent at something but have no task,” explains Dr Lermer.
“By doing puzzles, we achieve the perfect balance. It is where competence meets challenge. It means we have a task that we are capable of doing, but are not sure how long we need to complete it and whether we will be successful at it, on the first try. That is the charm of doing a puzzle.” Actually achieving goals, which we have set for ourselves, strengthens our self-confidence and brings us inner harmony and satisfaction. And who knows – maybe doing puzzles holds the key to happiness.