# Ecological Momentary Assessment
**Domain:** Psychology / Behavioral Measurement
**Doc Type:** Scientific Method Node
**Maturity:** Established
**Related:** [[Digital Phenotyping]], [[Autobiographical Memory]], [[Neural Data Provenance]]
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## Definition
**Ecological momentary assessment (EMA)** collects repeated reports of experience, behavior, or context close to the time and place in which they occur. It reduces some retrospective-memory biases and supplies ground truth or interpretive context for passive sensing.
## Architectural role
EMA can anchor behavioral and neural streams to a participant's own reports. Timing, prompt design, compliance, missingness, burden, and cultural validity remain part of the evidence.