Methodology

The science we cite.

Ameleva's product decisions are grounded in peer-reviewed behavior science and learning research. Here's the bibliography, in plain English.

Ameleva's methodology cites peer-reviewed research: Phillippa Lally et al. (2010) on the median 66-day habit formation timeline; BJ Fogg's Tiny Habits behavior model (B = MAP: Behavior = Motivation × Ability × Prompt); Wendy Wood on context-cued automaticity (habits triggered by your surroundings); James Clear's atomic-habits framework; Richard Mayer's twelve principles of multimedia learning; Hermann Ebbinghaus on the forgetting curve and spaced repetition; Peter Gollwitzer on implementation intentions (simple if-then plans); Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi on flow state.

  • Lally · 66 days

    2010 study, median time to automaticity. Why milestone celebrations land at 7, 14, 30, 60, and 100 days.

  • Fogg · B = MAP

    Behavior = Motivation × Ability × Prompt. Why action types lean on the Ability lever — start absurdly easy.

  • Wood · Context

    43% of daily behavior is context-cued. Why reminders attach to existing context, not free-floating times.

  • Clear · Identity

    Identity-based habits outperform outcome-based ones. Why the reflection action and identity check-in templates exist.

  • Mayer · Multimedia

    Twelve principles of multimedia learning. Why the 8 scene types are designed the way they are.

  • Open about it

    Every claim cites a paper, not a vibe. Bibliography below maps each tradition to the original source.

Habit formation

Lally et al. (2010) — How long does it take?

Lally and colleagues followed 96 participants forming new habits in everyday contexts. The median time to automaticity was 66 days, with a wide range (18 to 254). Ameleva's milestone celebrations at 7, 14, 30, 60, and 100 days are calibrated to this distribution.

Lally, P., van Jaarsveld, C. H. M., Potts, H. W. W., & Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology, 40(6), 998-1009.

BJ Fogg — Tiny Habits behavior model

B = MAP: Behavior happens when Motivation, Ability, and a Prompt converge. Ameleva's action types lean on the 'Ability' lever — start small, make the action absurdly easy. Graduated habits formalise the gradual difficulty increase.

Fogg, B. J. (2019). Tiny Habits: The Small Changes That Change Everything. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

Wendy Wood — Context cues

Habits are context-cued, not motivation-cued. Wood's research shows that 43% of daily behavior is performed in the same context daily. Ameleva's reminder system is designed to attach habits to existing context (after morning coffee, before bed) rather than to free-floating reminders.

Wood, W. (2019). Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes That Stick. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

James Clear — Atomic Habits

Identity-based habits (be the person who does the thing) outperform outcome-based habits. Ameleva's reflection action type and the 'identity check-in' habit template are direct applications.

Clear, J. (2018). Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones. Avery.

Learning

Richard Mayer — Multimedia learning

Mayer's twelve principles (multimedia, modality, redundancy, segmenting, signaling, pre-training, coherence, contiguity, etc.) inform every micro-learning scene type. The 8 scene types are designed to satisfy different principle combinations.

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia Learning (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Hermann Ebbinghaus — The forgetting curve

Without reinforcement, learners forget approximately 50% of new material within an hour and 70% within 24 hours. Spaced repetition counteracts this. Ameleva's course-to-action pipeline reinforces course content with daily habit tracking.

Ebbinghaus, H. (1885). Memory: A Contribution to Experimental Psychology.

Behavior + intention

Peter Gollwitzer — Implementation intentions

If-then plans ('When X happens, I will do Y') dramatically increase goal completion. Ameleva's habit creation flow includes an optional implementation intention field that prompts the if-then formulation.

Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54(7), 493-503.

Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi — Flow

Flow occurs when challenge and skill are matched. The graduated action type is designed to keep users in flow by auto-incrementing difficulty.

Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1990). Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. Harper & Row.

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