undefined

Habits

Year of publication

2021

Authors

Hagger, Martin S.; Rebar, Amanda L.

Abstract

Researchers and practitioners in health contexts are interested in breaking “bad” habits and promoting health‐promoting habits. Habits are impulse‐driven behavioral responses that occur beyond an individual's awareness. Dual‐process theories of health behavior conceptualize habit as part of an “impulsive” pathway to action in which behavior is a function of responses to cues and prompts learned and reinforced over time, contrasted with a “reflective” pathway in which behavior is enacted after deliberative evaluation of its merits and consequences. Strong relations between cues and action make “bad” habits difficult to break but also present an opportunity to promote sustained behavior change if healthy habits can be developed. Research suggests that breaking unhealthy habits requires high motivation and effective self‐regulatory skills so that individuals can override strong cue‐dependent responses. Testing the efficacy of intervention strategies to break “bad” habits and promote healthy habits is an important avenue for future research.
Show more

Organizations and authors

Publication type

Publication format

Article

Parent publication type

Compendium

Article type

Other article

Audience

Scientific

Peer-reviewed

Peer-Reviewed

MINEDU's publication type classification code

A3 Book section, Chapters in research books

Publication channel information

Parent publication editors

Sweeney, Kate; Robbins, Megan L.; Cohen, Lee M.

Pages

177-182

​Publication forum

5574

​Publication forum level

2

Open access

Open access in the publisher’s service

No

Self-archived

No

Other information

Fields of science

Health care science; Public health care science, environmental and occupational health; Psychology

Keywords

[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Publication country

United Kingdom

Internationality of the publisher

International

Language

English

International co-publication

Yes

Co-publication with a company

No

DOI

10.1002/9781119057840.ch64

The publication is included in the Ministry of Education and Culture’s Publication data collection

Yes