iHabit ™ is an “Ecological Momentary Assessment” (EMA) application. It’s like a survey—but better. Instead of asking people about their experiences days or weeks after they’ve occurred, iHabit ™ asks people about their experiences now. Instead of asking people “How much do you smoke?”, iHabit ™ asks them: “Have you smoked in the last hour?” using their iPhone ™ to pose a few questions. It’s a survey that asks people about their experiences in the moment, or close in time to the moment. It’s the EMA way of doing things.

iHabit ™ can request information at scheduled times (say, every two hours), or randomly so participants don’t know when a question is headed their way. EMA gathers real-time information, and doesn’t depend on people’s ability to remember what they did last week or even yesterday. EMA remembers for them by recording their experiences in or close to the moment through a customized survey focused on the habits to be measured.