Research and Evidence

Where the products come from.

Stratogenic products are not improvised. They draw from established research across behaviour change, sleep science, social connection, physical activity, and moral philosophy.

In short

Each app draws from established work in a specific domain — implementation intentions, CBT-I, belonging theory, loss aversion, virtue ethics, and physical activity research.

The thinking is documented, the references are named, and the product choices follow from the theory. We do not invent our own science.

What this page is not

These products are not clinical tools, therapeutic interventions, or medical devices. They are consumer behavioural products.

They do not replace professional mental health support, sleep therapy, financial counselling, or any other qualified professional service. For people in genuine difficulty, we recommend contacting a qualified professional alongside any use of these products.

Unfold — Action and Behaviour Change

Unfold is built for the gap between knowing what to do and actually beginning. It draws from the following research areas:

Transtheoretical Model of Behaviour Change (Prochaska)

Stage-based change — readiness is not binary. People move through precontemplation, contemplation, preparation, action, and maintenance. Unfold's friction-aware adaptation reads non-completion as signal, not failure.

Implementation Intentions (Gollwitzer)

The gap between goal and action is closed by forming specific if-then plans. A vague intention is harder to execute than a pre-formed next step. Unfold generates concrete next steps rather than general guidance.

Action Sizing and Micro-actions

Behaviour is more likely when the first step is sufficiently small. Large tasks trigger avoidance; small tasks trigger momentum. Unfold generates bounded, startable actions.

Friction and Activation Cost

The cost of beginning matters as much as the importance of the task. Tools that add complexity before helping add friction. Unfold's surface stays small to keep activation cost low.

Move — Movement Re-Entry

Move is built for the gap between knowing you want to move more and actually beginning. It draws from the following research areas:

Sedentary Behaviour and Mortality Risk (Biswas)

Prolonged sitting is associated with increased all-cause mortality independent of physical activity levels. Even regular exercise may not offset the harm of extended sedentary time. Move addresses this by making the first movement small enough to actually happen.

Breaking Sitting Time (Healy)

Frequent breaks in sedentary time improve metabolic markers — even when total activity is unchanged. Brief, light movement spread across the day carries independent health benefit. Move uses brief actions sized to available time.

Light Activity and Metabolic Regulation (Dempsey)

Accumulated light activity, not just structured exercise, improves insulin sensitivity and metabolic health. The bar for meaningful movement is lower than fitness culture suggests. Move sets the first rung low enough to clear.

Accumulated Activity Bout Theory (Jakicic)

Short bouts of activity throughout the day contribute meaningfully to overall energy expenditure and health outcomes. Movement does not need to be continuous or intense to matter. Move builds regularity through accumulation.

Still — Sleep Transition

Still is built for the difficulty of transitioning from a busy day to restful sleep. It draws from the following research areas:

Bedtime Procrastination (Kroese)

When people choose to do something other than sleep despite intending to sleep, the problem is not laziness. It is often difficulty with self-regulation at the end of the day when resources are depleted.

CBT-I Principles (Riemann, Baglioni)

Cognitive Behavioural Therapy for Insomnia includes stimulus-control principles for lowering pre-sleep activation. Still is shaped by that transition logic; it is not a CBT-I programme or clinical sleep treatment.

Hyperarousal and Sleep Onset

People with insomnia often show elevated physiological arousal. Reducing pre-sleep stimulation and effort addresses the arousal state rather than adding instruction.

Transition Windows

The evening is not a single point — it is a transition window. Actions taken in the window before bedtime affect sleep onset. Still works with the evening as a gradual transition rather than a single bedtime instruction.

Bonds — Social Follow-Through

Bonds is built for reply avoidance, awkward re-entry, and relationship drift. It draws from the following research areas:

Belonging Theory (Baumeister, Leary)

Humans have a fundamental need to belong. Social connection is not optional — it affects health outcomes. Yet belonging is maintained through ongoing contact, not just initial connection.

Bid for Connection (Gottman)

Relationships are maintained through small bids for connection. When bids go unreplied, connection weakens. One reply or check-in is a bid that keeps connection alive.

Weak Ties and Network Maintenance (Granovetter)

Casual relationships (weak ties) provide different benefits than close relationships. Maintaining weak ties requires occasional contact — small, low-cost acts of presence.

Social Baseline Theory (Beckes, Coan)

Social context reduces the brain's resource requirements for threat response. Presence of a connection, however small, lowers baseline activation. A message sent is a form of social presence.

Sort — Financial Engagement

Sort is built for financial avoidance — when looking at money feels heavier than it should. It draws from the following research areas:

Loss Aversion (Kahneman, Tversky)

People feel losses more acutely than gains. Financial avoidance is often not about not caring — it is about the anticipated pain of confronting a loss or shortfall. Sort makes actions bounded enough to survive emotionally.

Scarcity and Cognitive Load (Mullainathan, Shafir)

Scarcity reduces available cognitive bandwidth. When financial concerns are salient, less capacity remains for other decisions. Sort uses bounded tasks that do not increase cognitive load.

Decision Fatigue and Avoidance

Financial decisions require willpower and capacity. When both are depleted, avoidance increases. Sort uses small, bounded tasks that do not require the same level of decision-making.

Framing Effects (Tversky, Kahneman)

How a task is framed affects whether it is attempted. A task framed as 'check your balance' creates more resistance than a task framed as 'name one thing you bought this week.' Sort frames tasks to reduce anticipated pain.

Ground — Values and Daily Examination

Ground is built for values drift — when stated values and lived values have drifted apart without a quiet way to notice it. It draws from the following traditions and research:

Aristotle — Particular Virtue

Aristotle argued that virtue is not a trait but a disposition to act in particular ways in particular situations. A person is brave when they act bravely repeatedly in specific contexts. Ground brings one held value forward and asks what it looked like today, in a specific situation.

Stoic Daily Review (Seneca, Epictetus)

Stoic practice includes a nightly examination: what did I do well, what did I fail at, what should I do differently tomorrow? This is not self-punishment — it is observational. Ground follows this structure — observation, not judgment.

Mussar Character Development

The Jewish Mussar tradition uses a daily practice of examining one's character traits against core values. The practice is incremental and observational — noticing patterns over time rather than evaluating each day as pass/fail.

Moral Self-Consciousness and Identity

People maintain self-consistency with their stated values. When behaviour contradicts a stated value, the discomfort is informative. Ground names the gap without moralising it — it is observation, not accusation.