The research behind snakkermeget.dk

Our platform is built on solid research in behavioural economics, social accountability and goal setting. Here you can see the studies our approach builds on, and what they actually show.

Kort fortalt

The research suggests you reach your goal more often when you write it down, track your progress and answer to other people. Those are the principles snakkermeget.dk is built on. Here are the studies, the numbers and the caveats, with links to the sources.

The Resolution Solution: Longitudinal Examination of New Year's Change Attempts

Authors: John C. Norcross & Dominic J. Vangarelli, University of Scranton

Published in: Journal of Substance Abuse, 1988-1989, Vol. 1(2), pp. 127-134

Study design

Participants: 200 people with New Year’s resolutions

Duration: 2-year longitudinal follow-up

Measurements: 7 time points (from 1 week up to 2 years)

Method: Structured telephone interviews

Age range: 16-75 years (average: 39.8 years)

Location: North-eastern Pennsylvania, USA

Main results

The study followed 200 people who had made a New Year’s resolution and measured their success rate over a 2-year period. The main results show a gradual decline in how many keep their goal, with only 19% still sticking to their resolution after 2 years.

Most effective strategies:

  • • Remove temptations: Adjust your surroundings
  • • Replace bad habits: Swap them for better alternatives
  • • Reward yourself: Celebrate progress along the way

Least effective strategies:

  • • Pure willpower: Rarely works alone
  • • Wishful thinking: Hoping it just happens by itself
  • • Self-criticism: Scolding yourself only makes things worse
Find it on PubMed
DOI: 10.1016/s0899-3289(88)80016-6 | PMID: 2980864

Key statistics from the research

77%

Stick with their resolution in the first week

Based on a 2-year longitudinal study of 200 participants

55%

Stick with their resolution in the first month

A marked drop is seen after the first month

40%

Still stick with their resolution after 6 months

A continuous decline in persistence

19%

Still stick with their resolution after 2 years

Only one in five manages to sustain long-term change

Scientifically supported strategies

Remove temptations

Highest effectiveness

Adjust your surroundings so it becomes easier to stick with it

Replace bad habits

High effectiveness

Swap unhealthy habits for better alternatives

Reward yourself

Moderate effectiveness

Celebrate progress and small wins along the way

How we put research into practice

We build on recognised principles from behavioural economics, social psychology and goal-setting theory.

Structured commitment

A concrete goal, a clear end date and a promise of what you will do if you do not reach it.

Social accountability

When others know your goal and vote on the result, it becomes harder to wriggle out of it.

A clear finish

After the end date, a vote decides whether the goal was reached. No procrastinating.

Supporting research

Does Monitoring Goal Progress Promote Goal Attainment? A Meta-Analysis of the Experimental Evidence

Authors: Benjamin Harkin, Thomas L. Webb et al., University of Sheffield

Published in: Psychological Bulletin, 2016, Vol. 142(2), pp. 198-229

Meta-analysis design

Studies included: 138 experiments

Number of participants: 19,951 people in total

Method: Randomised trials in which one group was helped to track its progress

Focus: Whether tracking progress increases goal attainment

Key findings

  • • Tracking progress increased goal attainment (d = 0.40)
  • • A moderate effect across many kinds of goals
  • • The effect was larger when progress was shared with others
  • • The effect was also larger when progress was written down

How snakkermeget.dk applies it

This is one of the strongest arguments for our approach: when others can see how it is going, and you know a vote is coming, the follow-up becomes more binding. Feel free to upload photos of your progress on the goal page so your goal buddies can follow along.

Read the study (open access)
DOI: 10.1037/bul0000025 | N=19.951

A Large-Scale Experiment on New Year's Resolutions: Approach-Oriented Goals Are More Successful than Avoidance-Oriented Goals

Authors: Martin Oscarsson, Per Carlbring, Gerhard Andersson & Alexander Rozental, Stockholm University

Published in: PLOS ONE, 2020, Vol. 15(12), e0234097

Study design

Participants: 1,066 people from the general public

Duration: 1-year follow-up

Method: Randomised into 3 groups with different levels of support

Location: Sweden

Key findings

  • • 55% considered themselves successful in sticking to their resolution after one year
  • • The most popular resolutions were about physical health, weight loss and diet
  • • Goals about doing something succeeded more often than goals about avoiding something: 59% vs 47%
  • • The group that received a moderate amount of support did best

How snakkermeget.dk applies it

The study shows that New Year’s resolutions are not doomed to fail, and that how the goal is worded matters. When you create a goal, write it as an action you will do, for example "run twice a week", rather than something you want to avoid.

Read the study (open access)
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0234097 | N=1.066

Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision under Risk

Authors: Daniel Kahneman & Amos Tversky

Published in: Econometrica, 1979, Vol. 47(2), pp. 263-291

Study design

Participants: Several experimental studies

Method: Controlled choice experiments

Focus: Decision-making under uncertainty

Institution: University of British Columbia & Stanford University

Period: 1970s

Recognition: Nobel Prize in Economics 2002 (Kahneman)

Key findings: loss aversion

Main principles:

  • • Losses weigh about twice as heavily as equivalent gains
  • • People are risk-averse when it comes to gains
  • • People are risk-seeking to avoid losses
  • • The role of a reference point is crucial

Practical implications:

  • • The prospect of losing something motivates more than an equivalent reward
  • • A consequence you have chosen in advance is hard to ignore
  • • The reference point decides what is experienced as a loss
  • • Loss aversion is one of the most studied phenomena in behavioural economics

How snakkermeget.dk applies it

When you create a goal, you can write what you will do if you do not reach it, for example doing the dishes for a week. The promise is shown on the goal page, and your goal buddies can see it. It gives you something concrete to lose, without any money at stake.

Read the original article (PDF)
Citation: Kahneman, D., & Tversky, A. (1979). Econometrica, 47(2), 263-291

The Effectiveness of Peer Support for Individuals with Mental Illness: Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

Authors: Smit, Miguel, Vrijsen, Groeneweg, Spijker & Cuijpers, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam

Published in: Psychological Medicine, 2023, Vol. 53(11), pp. 5332-5341

Meta-analysis design

Studies included: 30 randomised controlled trials

Number of participants: 4,152 people in total

Screening: 3,455 studies found

Method: Systematic literature review

Focus: Interventions based on peer support

Quality requirement: Only RCTs were included

Documented effects of peer support

Main results:

  • • Effect size 0.19: Clinical recovery
  • • Effect size 0.15: Personal recovery
  • • Consistent effect across different disorders
  • • Significant improvement in self-belief

Caveats:

  • • The effects are small but consistent
  • • The authors point out that the included studies are of moderate quality
  • • The study is about mental illness, not goal setting in general

How our goal buddy system applies it

The meta-analysis is about support from peers in mental illness, not about goal setting in general. It shows a small but consistent positive effect, including on self-belief. Our goal buddy system builds on the same idea: that it helps to have someone by your side.

Find it on PubMed
PMID: 36066104 | DOI: 10.1017/S0033291722002574

The Impact of Commitment, Accountability, and Written Goals on Goal Achievement

Author: Dr. Gail Matthews, Dominican University of California

Presented at: American Psychological Association Conference

Experimental design

Participants: 267 professionals from different industries

Duration: 4-week controlled period

Randomisation: 5 experimental groups

Method: Controlled group experiment

Measurement: Objectively rated goal achievement

Status: Conference presentation, not peer-reviewed

Marked differences in goal achievement

Group 1 (only thought about goals):

  • • 43% reached their goals
  • • Baseline control group
  • • No structure or commitment

Group 2 (written goals):

  • • 61% reached their goals
  • • +42% improvement compared with only thinking about the goal
  • • Writing it down increases commitment

Group 5 (full commitment):

  • • 76% reached their goals
  • • +77% improvement compared with baseline
  • • Written goals + action plans + peer accountability
  • • Weekly progress reports to a supporter

Key factor: Social accountability

  • • 33 percentage points higher than the control group
  • • Answering to another person made the biggest difference

The core principles of snakkermeget.dk

The study points to the same principles snakkermeget.dk is built on: written goals (61% vs 43%) and above all accountability to others (76% vs 43%). With us you write the goal down with a clear end date, and your goal buddies vote on the result. The study’s best group also sent weekly status updates, so do share your progress with your goal buddies along the way.

Read the full study
Institution: Dominican University of California | N=267