Catie Evans Addinton AP Lang 5th 12 April 2013 The Definition of Habit Life consists of a assive collection of habits

that have for ed over ti e b! a

series of repetition and vario"s sti "li# An arsenal of $ell%trained habits relieves the brain of constant decision% a&ing' $hich other$ise $o"ld be over$hel ing# (itho"t the necessit! to pa! attention at all ti es' the ind and senses are able to hone into ne$

sti "li and concentrate on ad)"sting to ne$ variations# *ort"natel! people have the abilit! to operate on a"to atic pilot' perfor ing co ple+ behaviors $itho"t an! conscio"s tho"ght at all# ,ne $a! this happens co es fro the abilit! to perfor repeated practice# Altho"gh ans- greatest

co ple+ tas&s s"bconscio"sl! proves to be one of

evol"tionar! achieve ents' the danger of habit"al behavior or "nneeded .a"to pilot/ for ing fro these s"bconscio"s tas&s still e+ist#

0ost of the habit"al behaviors that relate to ever!da! tas&s are fi+ed in childhood# Children for ne$ habits "ch ore easil! than ad"lts' and therefore are at

greater danger of the for ation of "ndesirable habits# ,n the other hand' the !o"ng child' for the sa e reason' presents all the ore teachable' and can ore easil! learn beneficial

habits# 0ost habits are ac1"ired b! children as a res"lt of acts perfor ed that bring the child satisfaction# These satisfactor! actions in t"rn f"rnish the ind"ce ents for f"rther repetition' "ntil the habits are fi+ed# At a !o"ng age children are especiall! v"lnerable to their environ ental sti "li' incl"ding parents' social cli ate' and close peers#

Environ ental sti "li are often a leading ca"se of habit for ing in children# 0an! habits are "nconscio"sl! learned fro parents# 2f a s all child sees her parents biting their nails ight tr! it o"t and derive pleas"re fro the action'

in ti es of stress or inactivit!' she

th"s spar&ing a habit# Learned habits that are for ed at a !o"ng age e+tend far be!ond habits as si ple as nail biting' b"t into serio"s ph!sical and ental health habits#

The for ation of eating habits and drin&ing habits are often learned and ce ented thro"gh constant repetition# As a child 2 $as never alo"d to drin& soda' to this da! 2 hate the b"rning feeling of carbonation# As carbonation $as never introd"ced to the earlier !ears of taste# Ho$ever' ! e d"ring

! develop ent' 2 never learned to associate the feeling $ith good an! peers $ho $ere ta"ght drin&ing soda $as eant to be a

positive e+perience learned to love the taste' and even later habit"all! dran& soda' "nable to give "p a for ed need for caffeine# Altho"gh habits a! not appear as obvio"s

dangers' learned habits s"ch as the preference of caffeinated over non caffeinated drin&s can later evolve to beco e dangero"s to a person-s health and affect n" ero"s aspects of their lives# Co p"lsions and addictions are a ong the dangero"s behaviors that can for o"t

of learned habits# 3ehaviors s"ch as addiction and co p"lsion often involve dependence on a che ical s"bstance' li&e nicotine or alcohol' or habits that have beco e so re$arding that the!-re nearl! i possible to resist# These habits tend to be the hardest to change# The feeling of dependenc! on habit often evolves into addiction# (hen one beco e-s dependent on a habit to cope $ith dail! life indicates a habit that has crossed over to addiction# A co on isconception lies in the idea that onl! s"bstances that

contain addictive che icals ca"se addictions# Ho$ever' an! habit that prod"ces a great

e otional re$ard can transcend into addiction if ab"sed# Altho"gh people need food to s"rvive' people can also beco e addicted to food' "sing it as a coping often learned as a child5# *"rther ore' other behaviors are habit"al beca"se the! obe! social nor s' nor s that societ! rarel! 1"estions or thin&s abo"t' s"ch as sha&ing hands $hen or &noc&ing on doors before opening the # Ho$ever' the la$s or c"sto s that governed the eeting people' echanis 4also

an! actions co"ld easil! alter if

sho"ld change# *or e+a ple previo"s to the

t$ent!%first cent"r!' A ericans habit"all! failed to $ear their seat belts ho$ever6 toda! this habit had flipped to $here ore than 75 percent of people $ear seat belts# This

change did not involve learning a ne$ ro"tine' as happens $hen people spend h"ndreds of ho"rs learning a "sical instr" ent or learning a g! nastics ro"tine# 8ather' it

happened beca"se of changing nor s in o"r societ! $ith infl"ence of la$# To change people-s perceptions of the nor s that govern the ' in t"rn changes the habit"al response# This idea can be e+e plified $hen co paring the drin&ing age in an!

E"ropean co"ntries to that in A erica# The perception on alcohol in E"rope does not hold the sa e stig a as it does in A erica# This A erican 9tig a to$ards Alcohol affects the habit"al response# 2n A erica $hen a college st"dent t"rns t$ent!%one societies habit"all! responds b! e+cessive drin&ing# Ho$ever' in E"rope $here the social nor consist of cas"all! served alcohol at fa il! dinner-s and li1"or shelved ne+t to soda

and crac&ers at the fa il! store' the sa e habit"al response does not occ"r# Another t!pe of habit"al behavior that involves people-s interpretation of a sit"ation according to $hat it eans for the and ho$ that fits into the narratives one

tells the selves# These behaviors are habit"al in the sense that people have chronic $a!s

of interpreting the $orld# A doesn-t belong at the

inorit! st"dent-s perception for e+a ple'

a! be that she

a)orit!%$hite school she attends' $hich ca"ses her to fall into a

pattern of disengage ent and acade ic fail"re# Ho$ever' if the st"dent $ere to change their perception and sense of belonging the affect on school$or& co"ld sho$ a positive response as a res"lt of the habit"al perception# The patterns that ind"ce habit are the ost vivid e+planation for habit itself# Habit

affects the da! to da! lives of ever! person# Altho"gh habit"al ro"tines and habits aid in the onotono"s ever! da! tas&s' the! do not al$a!s prove beneficial and often allo$ for conse1"ences#

long ter