Habit Making; Habit Breaking

by
Mary Yoke, M.A., M.M.
Indiana University Department of Kinesiology, School of Public Health
mmyoke@indiana.edu
Habit: definition according to Websters Dictionary: a) a thing done often and hence, usually,
done easily; a practice or custom b) a pattern of action that is acquired and has become so
automatic that it is difficult to break.

I. The Science of Habit Formation

A. Habits are chunked and are primarily formed in the basal ganglia of the
brain. Chunking: the brains way of saving effort.
Some habits are performed unconsciously, as if the brain were on
autopilot
Habits protect us from decision fatigue once a habit loop has been
formed. This has advantages and disadvantages.
Habits never completely disappear once encoded into the brain.
Habits can emerge without our permission.
B. Characteristics of habits:
Often automatic
Usually emotionless
Situational
C. The partial reinforcement extinction effect: we learn to accept no
rewards along with occasional, unexpected, and unpredictable rewards
(e.g. slot machines, the 1 email out of 50 that is interesting). Variableratio intervals are powerful habit-makers.
D. 21 days to form a habit?
E. Habitual ways of behaving can be organized on a continuum
II. Marketing Strategies for Consumer Habit Formation
A. Create a craving: find a simple and obvious cue, a routine, and then,
provide a clear reward
B. Particularly strong habits can produce addiction-like reactions
wanting evolves into obsessive craving, forcing our brains into autopilot
III. Changing (or Breaking) a Habit
A. A habit cannot be eradicated; it can only be replaced.
B. A habit is a formula our brain automatically follows: when I see CUE, I
will do a ROUTINE in order to get a REWARD
C. Keep the old cue, deliver the old reward, but insert a new routine.
Almost any behavior can be transformed if the cue and reward stay the
same. The Golden Rule of habit change.

D. The process of habit change is well established, but that still doesnt
mean its easy. Real effort and determination are required. You must
make a conscious decision to change. However, with time and effort,
almost any habit can be reshaped.
E. Committing to change as part of a group is powerful and increases the
odds of success. (Think AA).
F. Psychologists use habit reversal training: 1) develop an awareness of
the bad habit, 2) learn a competing response
G. Awareness (mindfulness or living in the moment) is key at first, since
many habits are unconscious
H. Suppressing thoughts and rigid behaviors usually backfire when trying
to break a bad habit
I. Strategies for success:
Pre-commitment: making a hard decision when self-control is high.
If possible, change the context.
Use environmental interventions or reminders.
Use implementation intentions, a form of goal setting.
J. There are thousands of formulas for changing habits, depending on the
individual and the specific habit. Each persons habits are driven by
different cravings.
K. A framework for habit change:
1. identify the routinewhats your loop?
2. experiment with rewards
3. isolate the cue (almost all habitual cues fit into the following:
location, time, emotional state, other people, immediately
preceding action)
4. have a plan
IV. Making a New Habit
A. If you want to start a new habit (e.g. running each morning), you must
choose a simple cue and a clear reward, and the cue must trigger a
craving for the reward. Craving drives the habit loop (a 3-step loop with
a cue, routine, and reward)
B. Have a plan to get the habit going.
C. Consider motivation; why do you want the new habit?
D. Goal-setting is important; use short-term goals to reach the long-term
goal (process of shaping behavior).
E. The ideal time to establish a new habit is immediately after another
habit has occurred (e.g. take out the trash after washing the dinner
dishes, or flossing after brushing teeth)
F. WOOP strategy (wish, outcome, obstacle, plan)
G. Satisfaction with the new habit is key to keeping it going (if you dont
feel youre getting anywhere, its hard to continue). The habit must
eventually become intrinsically motivated and done for its own sake.

V. What about acquiring the Exercise/ Physical Activity Habit?

A. The laziness habit is hard to break.
B. Self-monitoring techniques have proven to be the most successful (e.g.
pedometer use).
C. Exercise is a hard habit to acquire because theres no regular cue. Its
important to find the right slot in your day, the right type of exercise, the
right location, and solutions for barriersin order to make the habit
stick.
Good News: understanding and working with the unconscious, automatic nature of
habits can help people to make changes!
Take-away Points:
1. Identify negative triggers and have management strategies at the ready.
2. Work on one habit at a time and start small.
3. Adapt your habits individually to fit your lifestyle for maximum sustainability.
References:
* Avni-Babad, D. (2011) Routine and feelings of safety, confidence, and well-being. British Journal of
Psychology, 102(2): 223-244.
* Berridge, K.C. & Kringelbach, M.L. (2008). Affective neuroscience of pleasure: reward in humans and
animals. Psychopharmacology, 199: 457-80.
* Finlay, K.A., Trafimow, D., Villarreal, A. (2002). Predicting exercise and health behavioral intentions:
attitudes, subjective norms, and other behavioral determinants. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 32:
342-56.
* T.F. Heathertons work on willpower: http://www.dartmouth.edu/~health/#Pubs.
* Hollis, J.F. et al (2008). Weight loss during the intensive intervention phase of the weight-loss maintenance
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* Lally, P.C., Jaarsveld, H.M., Potts, H.W., Wardle, J. (2010). How are habits formed: Modelling habit
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* Michie, S., Abraham, C., Whittington, C., McAteer, J., Gupta, S. (2009) Effective techniques in healthy
eating and physical activity interventions: A meta-regression. Health Psychology 28(6): 690.
* Scholz, U., Schuz, B., Ziegelmann, J.P., Lippke, S., Schwarzer, R. (2008). Beyond behavioural intentions:
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* Wood, W., Quinn, J.M., Kashy, D.A. (2002) Habits in everyday life: thought, emotion, and action. Journal
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Resources:
* Claiborn, J. and Pedrick, C. (2001). The Habit Change Workbook: How to break bad habits and form good
ones. Oakland, CA: New Harbinger Publications.
* Dean, J. (2013). Making Habits, Breaking Habits. Philadelphia: DaCapo Press.
* Duhigg, C. (2012). The Power of Habit: Why we do what we do in life and business. New York: Random
House.
* Fiore, N. (2007). The Now Habit. New York: Penguin.
* Herbert, W. (2010). On Second Thought: Outsmarting your minds hard-wired habits. New York: Broadway
Books.
* Lemov, D., Woolway, E., Yezzi, K. (2012) Practice Perfect. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass.
* Ryan, M.J. (2006) This Year I Will . . . . how to finally change a habit, keep a resolution, or make a dream
come true. New York: Broadway Books.
* Wansink, B. (2006). Mindless Eating: Why we eat more than we think. New York: Bantam.