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Habits (or wonts) are routines of behavior that are repeated regularly and tend to occur subconsciously.[1][2][3] In the American Journal of Psychology (1903) it is defined in this way: "A habit, from the standpoint of psychology, is a more or less fixed way of thinking, willing, or feeling acquired through previous repetition of a mental experience."[4] Habitual behavior often goes unnoticed in persons exhibiting it, because a person does not need to engage in self-analysis when undertaking routine tasks. Habits are sometimes compulsory.[3][5] The process by which new behaviors become automatic is habit formation. Old habits are hard to break and new habits are hard to form because the behavioral patterns we repeat are imprinted in our neural pathways,[6] but it is possible to form new habits through repetition.[7]

As behaviors are repeated in a consistent context, there is an incremental increase in the link between the context and the action. This increases the automaticity of the behavior in that context.[8] Features of an automatic behavior are all or some of: efficiency, lack of awareness, unintentionality, uncontrollability.[9]

Habit formation

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Habit formation is modeled as an increase in automaticity with number of repetitions up to an asymptote.[10][11][12]

In fact, the habit formation is a slow process. Lally et al. (2010) found the average time for participants to reach the asymptote of automaticity was 66 days with a range of 18–254 days. Automaticity increases along an asymptotic curve, which is unique to each individual.[13]

Habits form in three parts: there is the cue, the behavior, and the reward. The cue would be the thing that causes your habit to come about; the trigger to your habit. This could be anything that your mind associates with that habit and you will automatically let a habit come to the surface. The behavior is the actual habit that you are exhibiting and the reward is your brain liking it therefor continuing the “habit loop.” [14] A habit may initially be triggered by a goal, but over time that goal becomes less necessary and the habit becomes more innate.

Habits and goals

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The habit–goal interface is constrained by the particular manner in which habits are learned and represented in memory. Specifically, the associative learning underlying habits is characterized by the slow, incremental accrual of information over time in procedural memory.[15] Habits can either benefit or hurt the goals a person sets for themselves.

Goals guide habits by providing the initial outcome-oriented motivation for response repetition. In this sense, habits often are a trace of past goal pursuit.[15] Although, when a habit forces one action, but a conscious goal pushes for another action, an oppositional context occurs.[16] When the habit prevails over the conscious goal a capture error has taken place.

Behavior prediction is also derived from goals. Behavior prediction is to acknowledge a habit will form, but in order to form that habit, a goal must have been initially present. The influence of goals on habits is what makes a habit different from other automatic processes in the mind.[17]

Habits and nervousness

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There are a number of habits possessed by individuals that can be classified as nervous habits. These include the acts of nail-biting, stammering, sniffling, and banging the head. They are known as symptoms of an emotional state and are generally based upon conditions of anxiety, insecurity, inferiority and tension. These habits are often formed at a young age and may be because of a need for attention. When trying to overcome a nervous habit it is important to resolve the cause of the nervous feeling rather than the symptom which is a habit itself [18]

Bad habits

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A bad habit is an undesirable behavior pattern. Common examples include: procrastination, fidgeting, overspending, nail-biting.[19] The sooner one recognizes these bad habits, the easier it is to fix them.[20]

Will and intention

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A key factor in distinguishing a bad habit from an addiction or mental disease is the element of willpower. If a person still seems to have control over the behavior then it is just a habit.[21] Good intentions are able to override the negative effect of bad habits but their effect seems to be independent and additive—the bad habits remain but are subdued rather than cancelled.[22]

Eliminating bad habits

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There are many techniques for removing bad habits once they have become established. One example is withdrawal of reinforcers—identifying and removing the factors which trigger the habit and encourage its persistence.[23] The basal ganglia appears to remember the context that triggers a habit, meaning they can be revived if triggers reappear.[24] Furthermore, it's better if you recognize your bad habits and eliminate them as soon as possible. As you get older, it becomes more difficult to remove them because the many repetitions have helped with the building of the habit, and each repetition has unfortunately left its mark.[25]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Butler, Gillian; Hope, Tony. Managing Your Mind: The mental fitness guide. Oxford Paperbacks, 1995
  2. ^ Definition of Habit. Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved on August 29, 2008.
  3. ^ a b Definition of Habituation. Merriam Webster Dictionary. Retrieved on August 29, 2008
  4. ^ Andrews, B.R. "Habit" American Journal of Psychology Vol. 14. No. 2. (1908) pp 121-149 Web. http://www.jstor.org/stable/1412711 .
  5. ^ "Habituation." Animalbehavioronline.com. Retrieved on August 29, 2008.
  6. ^ Rosenthal, Norman. "Habit Formation". Sussex Directories. Retrieved November 30, 2011.
  7. ^ [1]
  8. ^ Wood W, Neal DT (2007). "A new look at habits and the habit-goal interface." Psychological Review, 114: 843–863
  9. ^ Bargh JA (1994). "The four horsemen of automaticity: Awareness, intention, efficiency, and control in social cognition." In Wyer RS, Srull TK (eds.), Handbook of social cognition: Vol. 1 Basic processes, pp. 1–40. Hove: Lawrence Erlbaun Associates Publishers
  10. ^ Hull CL (1943). Principles of behavior: An introduction to behavior theory. New York: Appleton-Century-Crofts
  11. ^ Hull CL (1951). Essentials of behavior. Westport, CT: Greenwood Press
  12. ^ Lally P, van Jaarsveld CHM, Potts H, Wardle J (2009). "How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world." European Journal of Social Psychology, Early View. doi:10.1002/ejsp.674
  13. ^ Lally P., Cornelia H. M., Jaarsveld v., Potts H. W. W. & Wardle J. (2010) How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world. European Journal of Social Psychology. October 2010. 40 (6), pg. 998-1009.
  14. ^ Duhigg, C. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them
  15. ^ a b American Psychological Association. A New Look at Habits and the Habit–Goal Interface Retrieved on December 22, 2008
  16. ^ Schacter, Gilbert, Wegner. "Psychology Second Edition" (2011). New York: Worth Publishers.
  17. ^ Neal, D., Wood, W., Labrecque, J., & Lally, P. (2011). How do habits guide behavior? perceived and actual triggers of habits in daily life . Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, (48), 492-498. Retrieved from http://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/545/docs/Wendy_Wood_Research_Articles/Habits/neal.wood.labrecque.lally.2012_001_How_do_habits_guide_behavior.pdf
  18. ^ Payne, http://resolver.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/resolve/00966347/v25i0004/324_tponh
  19. ^ Suzanne LeVert, Gary R. McClain (2001). The Complete Idiot's Guide to Breaking Bad Habits. Alpha Books. ISBN 0-02-863986-3.
  20. ^ Murdock, KatharineTHE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF NURSING, V. 19 (7), 04/1919, p. 503-506
  21. ^ Mariana Valverde (1998). "Disease or Habit? Alcoholism and the Exercise of Freedom". Diseases of the Will: Alcohol and the Dilemmas of Freedom. ISBN 0-521-64469-0.
  22. ^ Bas Verplanken, Suzanne Faes (21 Jun 1999). "Good intentions, bad habits, and effects of forming implementation intentions on healthy eating". European Journal of Social Psychology. 29 (5–6): 591–604. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0992(199908/09)29:5/6<591::AID-EJSP948>3.0.CO;2-H.
  23. ^ Herbert Fensterheim, Jean Baer (1975). Don't Say Yes When You Want to Say No. Dell. ISBN 0-440-15413-8.
  24. ^ http://news.cnet.com/MIT-explains-why-bad-habits-are-hard-to-break/2100-11395_3-5902850.html
  25. ^ Murdock, Katharine, The Psychology of Habit http://simplelink.library.utoronto.ca/url.cfm/350245

Payne, Arthur F. "The Psychology of Nervous Habits." American Journal of Orthodontics and Oral Surgery 25, no. 4 (1939): 324. http://journals1.scholarsportal.info.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/tmp/16989994600464255822.pdf

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