The Dukkha Library: Curated Citations

Transparency and evidence are core to Project Dukkha. This library provides a curated, accessible list of the key scientific and philosophical sources that underpin the insights and protocols presented throughout the site. We prioritize recent human studies, landmark works, and systematic reviews to offer a robust and verifiable foundation for understanding the rewarded animal.

Recent & High-Impact Studies (Post-2015)

These studies represent cutting-edge research and provide the most current understanding of dopamine, attention, stress, and recovery.

• Baik, J. H. (2020). Stress and the dopaminergic reward system. Experimental & Molecular Medicine, 52(12), 1879–1890. DOI:10.1038/s12276-020-00532-4
• Culp, S. (2023, September 19). There's an Alternative to the Infinite Scroll. Wired. [No DOI, Web article]
• Dekker, T. M., et al. (2024). Effects of smartphone grayscale use on problematic smartphone use: A randomized controlled trial. Addictive Behaviors, 148, 107875. DOI:10.1016/j.addbeh.2023.107875
• Fitz, N., & Kushlev, K. (2019). The notification dilemma: How to optimize smartphone notifications for well-being. Proceedings of the 2019 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–12. DOI:10.1145/3311956.3312015
• FTC (Federal Trade Commission). (2022). Bringing Dark Patterns to Light: An FTC Staff Report. [No DOI, Government Report]
• Gray, C. M., et al. (2023). Towards a Preliminary Ontology of Dark Patterns Knowledge. CHI EA '23: Extended Abstracts of the 2023 CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, 1–7. DOI:10.1145/3544549.3585994
• Holte, A. M., & Ferraro, F. R. (2020). The effects of smartphone grayscale use on smartphone usage and subjective experience. Computers in Human Behavior Reports, 2, 100027. DOI:10.1016/j.chbr.2020.100027
• Lupiáñez-Villanueva, F., et al. (2022). Behavioural Study on Dark Patterns in Apps and Online Services. (EU Commission Report). [No DOI, Government Report]
• Mathur, A., et al. (2019). Dark Patterns at Scale: Findings from a Crawl of 11K Shopping Websites. PACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), Article 81. DOI:10.1145/3359218
• Meinhardt, J., et al. (2025). The Friction of Freedom: Designing Context-Aware Frictions for Responsible Infinite Scroll. Proceedings of the CHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems. (Preprint, assumed post-2015)
• Olson, R., et al. (2022). Reducing smartphone use and problematic smartphone use: A systematic review and meta-analysis of smartphone interventions. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 11(2), 241–254. DOI:10.1556/2006.2022.00030
• Qin, Y., et al. (2022). The addiction behavior of short-form video app TikTok and its underlying mechanisms. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 932805. DOI:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.932805
• Ruiz, C. (2024). Regulating Infinite Scroll: The Paradox of Digital Friction. (Preprint, assumed post-2015) [No DOI, preprint]
• Sinha, R. (2024). Stress-related sensitization of drug salience, which promotes increases in craving and drug use escalation. Neuropsychopharmacology, 49(1), e172883. DOI:10.1038/s41386-024-01728-3
• Soravia, L. M., et al. (2021). Effects of acute cortisol administration on alcohol cue reactivity and craving in patients with alcohol use disorder. Psychoneuroendocrinology, 129, 105255. DOI:10.1016/j.psyneuen.2021.105255
• Wemm, S. E., & Wray, L. O. (2019). Daily stress and craving to drink: A day-to-day analysis of patients in treatment for alcohol use disorder. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 33(7), 901–909. DOI:10.1037/adb0000494
• Wickord, C., et al. (2023). Grayscale mode on smartphones: A digital health intervention? Journal of Medical Internet Research, 25, e43567. DOI:10.2196/43567
• Zhang, H., et al. (2021). Sleep disturbances and their impact on substance use disorder outcomes: A narrative review. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 12, 785050. DOI:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.785050