Science References


JournalingFix protocols are informed by published research in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, behavioral science, and expressive writing. The references below are organized by topic and reflect the main lines of research that inform the kits, protocols, and modules across JournalingFix. These are not claims that each protocol has been individually tested in clinical trials; they are practical tools built from established principles.

Cognitive overload and working memory

  • Baddeley, A. D., & Hitch, G. (1974). Working memory. In G. H. Bower (Ed.), The psychology of learning and motivation (Vol. 8, pp. 47–89). Academic Press.

  • Baddeley, A. (1992). Working memory. Science, 255(5044), 556–559.

  • Zeigarnik, B. (1927). On finished and unfinished tasks. Psychologische Forschung, 9, 1–85.

  • Risko, E. F., & Gilbert, S. J. (2016). Cognitive offloading. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 20(9), 676–688.

Decision-making and choice overload

  • Iyengar, S. S., & Lepper, M. R. (2000). When choice is demotivating: Can one desire too much of a good thing? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 79(6), 995–1006.

  • Schwartz, B. (2004). The paradox of choice: Why more is less. Harper Perennial.

  • Kahneman, D. (2011). Thinking, fast and slow. Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

Rumination, intrusive loops, and expressive writing

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S. (1991). Responses to depression and their effects on the duration of depressive episodes. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 100(4), 569–582.

  • Nolen-Hoeksema, S., Wisco, B. E., & Lyubomirsky, S. (2008). Rethinking rumination. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 3(5), 400–424.

  • Pennebaker, J. W. (1997). Writing about emotional experiences as a therapeutic process. Psychological Science, 8(3), 162–166.

  • Pennebaker, J. W., & Chung, C. K. (2011). Expressive writing: Connections to physical and mental health. In H. S. Friedman (Ed.), Oxford handbook of health psychology. Oxford University Press.

Procrastination, task resistance, and getting started

  • Pychyl, T. A., & Sirois, F. M. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood regulation: Consequences for future self. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 7(2), 115–127.

  • Sirois, F. M., & Pychyl, T. A. (2013). Procrastination and the priority of short-term mood repair over long-term goals. In D. D. Schmorrow & C. M. Fidopiastis (Eds.), Foundations of augmented cognition. Springer.

  • Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.

  • Vallacher, R. R., & Wegner, D. M. (1987). What do people think they’re doing? Action identification and human behavior. Psychological Review, 94(1), 3–15.

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

Attention, focus, and cognitive control

  • Posner, M. I., & Petersen, S. E. (1990). The attention system of the human brain. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 13, 25–42.

  • Corbetta, M., & Shulman, G. L. (2002). Control of goal-directed and stimulus-driven attention in the brain. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 3(3), 201–215.

  • Raichle, M. E., et al. (2001). A default mode of brain function. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 98(2), 676–682.

  • Smallwood, J., & Schooler, J. W. (2015). The science of mind wandering: Empirically navigating the stream of consciousness. Annual Review of Psychology, 66, 487–518.

Identity, future self, and behavior change

  • Markus, H., & Nurius, P. (1986). Possible selves. American Psychologist, 41(9), 954–969.

  • Oyserman, D., Bybee, D., & Terry, K. (2006). Possible selves and academic outcomes. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91(1), 188–204.

  • Kross, E., & Ayduk, O. (2011). Making meaning out of negative experiences by self-distancing. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 20(3), 187–191.

  • Libby, L. K., Shaeffer, E. M., Eibach, R. P., & Slemmer, J. A. (2007). Picture yourself at the polls: Visual perspective in mental imagery affects self-perception and behavior. Psychological Science, 18(3), 199–203.

  • Gollwitzer, P. M., & Sheeran, P. (2006). Implementation intentions and goal achievement: A meta-analysis. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 38, 69–119.

Self-trust, self-narrative, and evidence logging

  • Bandura, A. (1997). Self-efficacy: The exercise of control. W. H. Freeman.

  • Pennebaker, J. W., & Seagal, J. D. (1999). Forming a story: The health benefits of narrative. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 55(10), 1243–1254.

  • Adler, J. M., Lodi-Smith, J., Philippe, F. L., & Houle, I. (2016). The incremental validity of narrative identity in personality psychology. Journal of Personality, 84(1), 38–48.

  • Sedikides, C., & Skowronski, J. J. (1997). The symbolic self in evolutionary context. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 1(1), 80–102.

Emotion regulation, affect labeling, and reflective processing

  • Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science, 18(5), 421–428.

  • Gross, J. J. (1998). The emerging field of emotion regulation: An integrative review. Review of General Psychology, 2(3), 271–299.

  • Gross, J. J. (2015). Emotion regulation: Current status and future prospects. Psychological Inquiry, 26(1), 1–26.

  • Jamieson, J. P., et al. (2018). Reappraising stress arousal improves performance and reduces evaluation anxiety. Emotion, 18(2), 267–281.

Nighttime rumination, stress, and sleep-related cognitive activation

  • Harvey, A. G. (2002). A cognitive model of insomnia. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40(8), 869–893.

  • Brosschot, J. F., Gerin, W., & Thayer, J. F. (2006). The perseverative cognition hypothesis. Journal of Psychosomatic Research, 60(2), 113–124.

  • Watkins, E. R. (2008). Constructive and unconstructive repetitive thought. Psychological Bulletin, 134(2), 163–206.

  • Espie, C. A., et al. (2006). The attention-intention-effort pathway in the development of psychophysiologic insomnia. Sleep Medicine Reviews, 10(4), 215–245.

Social threat, replay, and relational stress

  • Eisenberger, N. I., Lieberman, M. D., & Williams, K. D. (2003). Does rejection hurt? An fMRI study of social exclusion. Science, 302(5643), 290–292.

  • Dickerson, S. S., & Kemeny, M. E. (2004). Acute stressors and cortisol responses: A theoretical integration and synthesis of laboratory research. Psychological Bulletin, 130(3), 355–391.

  • Mendes, W. B., et al. (2007). Challenge and threat during social interactions with white and black men. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(7), 939–952.

Reflection, metacognition, and structured review

  • Flavell, J. H. (1979). Metacognition and cognitive monitoring. American Psychologist, 34(10), 906–911.

  • Schooler, J. W. (2002). Re-representing consciousness: Dissociations between experience and meta-consciousness. Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 6(8), 339–344.

  • Emmons, R. A., & McCullough, M. E. (2003). Counting blessings versus burdens: An experimental investigation of gratitude and subjective well-being in daily life. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(2), 377–389.

JournalingFix protocols are practical applications of these and related research areas. This page is intended as a transparent overview of the scientific ideas informing the work, not as a formal literature review.