Module 10 · In depth

The science in depth

For the curious: how researchers measure habits, the brain, the frameworks and the debates.

Free — no account needed to read

For the curious: how researchers measure habits, the brain, the frameworks and the debates.

By the end of this module

You will read habit research like a careful scientist — what is measured, what is known, what is contested — and apply that thinking to your own experiments.

Measuring habits

• How researchers measure automaticity — Self-report indexes, predictability of behaviour, and what each can and cannot tell you. (7 min · Advanced)
• What the research says about “how long” — Reading the studies behind the numbers — and the huge individual variation. (7 min · Advanced)
• The habit of starting vs the habit of doing — Why automatically deciding to start may matter more than automatic steps. (6 min · Advanced)

Brains and models

• Habits, goals and the brain — Habit versus goal-directed control, outcome devaluation, and careful neuroscience. (7 min · Advanced)
• The Behaviour Change Technique Taxonomy — 93 techniques in 16 groups — the shared language behind this lab’s library. (7 min · Advanced)
• COM-B and the Behaviour Change Wheel — Capability, opportunity and motivation — a way to diagnose what is missing. (6 min · Advanced)
• The intention–behaviour gap in research — How big the gap is, and which strategies close it. (6 min · Advanced)

Reading research well

• When famous findings shrink — Ego depletion, the marshmallow test and nudging — what the debates teach. (7 min · Advanced)
• How to read a habit study — Study types, effect sizes, self-report and context — interpreting evidence. (7 min · Advanced)
• Thinking like a scientist about yourself — Why your own experiment is personal learning, not universal proof — and how to run it well. (6 min · Intermediate)