Psychology of Habit

Bibliographic Data

ID23379236
AuthorsWendy Wood (0000-0002-6117-558X, Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1061; email: [email protected], [email protected]), Dennis Rünger (Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California 90089-1061; email: [email protected], [email protected])
Year2016
Volume67
Issue1
Pages289-314
Publication date2016-01-04
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueAnnual Review of Psychology (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0066-4308 • E-ISSN: 1545-2085
PublisherAnnual Reviews (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1146/annurev-psych-122414-033417
PMID26361052
OpenAlexW2149988893
LanguageEN
Citations received228
References cited160

As the proverbial creatures of habit, people tend to repeat the same behaviors in recurring contexts. This review characterizes habits in terms of their cognitive, motivational, and neurobiological properties. In so doing, we identify three ways that habits interface with deliberate goal pursuit: First, habits form as people pursue goals by repeating the same responses in a given context. Second, as outlined in computational models, habits and deliberate goal pursuit guide actions synergistically, although habits are the efficient, default mode of response. Third, people tend to infer from the frequency of habit performance that the behavior must have been intended. We conclude by applying insights from habit research to understand stress and addiction as well as the design of effective interventions to change health and consumer behaviors.

Addiction · Automaticity · Bad habit · Behavior change · Cognition · Cognitive psychology · Context (archaeology) · Creatures · Goal pursuit · Habit · Psychological intervention · Behavioral Health and Interventions · Eating Disorders and Behaviors · Mental Health Research Topics · Neuroscience · Psychology · Social Psychology