Slab pull is the force which is caused by the sinking of the cold, dense lithosphere into the mantle. It is considered as one of the two major driving forces for the movements of tectonic plates.
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Slab Pull.
slab-pull
The main source of downward convection flow in the mantle is called "slab pull." This process occurs when a denser oceanic plate sinks into the mantle at a subduction zone, pulling the rest of the plate behind it. This movement helps drive the overall convective flow in the mantle.
Ocean plates to be subducted into the mantle
Three processes that contribute to the motion of tectonic plates are convection currents, ridge push, and slab pull. Convection currents is when the mantle rises, cools, sinks and heats, then rises and repeats the cycle. Ridge push is a gravitational force that causes a plate to move. Slab pull is the movement of tectonic plate lithosphere due to convection currents in the asthenosphere.