RESEARCHERS

The Science of Health Habit Scripts: Why Guilt, Streaks, and Bedtime Scrolling Backfire

2 the researchers behind it — "I just have no self-control" is the story most people tell when they stay up too late, eat the 'forbidden' food, or break a streak. Behavioral scienc

Utrecht University

Floor Kroese

Known for:Introducing bedtime procrastination as a distinct self-regulation construct — going to bed later than intended without external obstacles — and linking it to general self-regulation failures rather than time scarcity

Key findings

2014
In a survey of 2,431 participants, Kroese et al. found bedtime procrastination — distinct from sleep problems and general procrastination — was significantly correlated with lower self-regulation capacity. Being 'too busy' did not explain the pattern; self-regulatory depletion across the day did. ↗

University of Pennsylvania

Paul Rozin

Known for:Documenting the moralization process — how neutral behaviors acquire moral valence through social framing — and its role in food attitudes and disgust psychology

Key findings

1997
With Markwith and Stoess, Rozin showed that moral framing converts a neutral dietary preference into a moral rule — and once moralized, violations feel like character failures rather than mere preference lapses, amplifying guilt and the abstinence-violation effect. ↗

View full research file ↗All researchers