A review and analysis of the use of ‘habit’ in understanding, predicting and influencing health-related behaviour
Top Cited Papers
Open Access
- 21 January 2014
- journal article
- review article
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Health Psychology Review
- Vol. 9 (3), 277-295
- https://doi.org/10.1080/17437199.2013.876238
Abstract
The term ‘habit’ is widely used to predict and explain behaviour. This paper examines use of the term in the context of health-related behaviour, and explores how the concept might be made more useful. A narrative review is presented, drawing on a scoping review of 136 empirical studies and 8 literature reviews undertaken to document usage of the term ‘habit’, and methods to measure it. A coherent definition of ‘habit’, and proposals for improved methods for studying it, were derived from findings. Definitions of ‘habit’ have varied in ways that are often implicit and not coherently linked with an underlying theory. A definition is proposed whereby habit is a process by which a stimulus generates an impulse to act as a result of a learned stimulus-response association. Habit-generated impulses may compete or combine with impulses and inhibitions arising from other sources, including conscious decision-making, to influence responses, and need not generate behaviour. Most research on habit is based on correlational studies using self-report measures. Adopting a coherent definition of ‘habit’, and a wider range of paradigms, designs and measures to study it, may accelerate progress in habit theory and application.Keywords
This publication has 74 references indexed in Scilit:
- Healthy feeding habits: efficacy results from a cluster-randomized, controlled exploratory trial of a novel, habit-based intervention with parentsThe American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 2013
- Behaviour change theory and evidence: a presentation to GovernmentHealth Psychology Review, 2013
- Creatures of habit: accounting for the role of habit in implementation research on clinical behaviour changeImplementation Science, 2012
- Predicting active school travel: The role of planned behavior and habit strengthInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2012
- Towards parsimony in habit measurement: Testing the convergent and predictive validity of an automaticity subscale of the Self-Report Habit IndexInternational Journal of Behavioral Nutrition and Physical Activity, 2012
- Does action planning moderate the intention-habit interaction in the exercise domain? A three-way interaction analysis investigationJournal of Behavioral Medicine, 2011
- Experiences of habit formation: A qualitative studyPsychology, Health & Medicine, 2011
- Understanding Phenomena in the Real World: The Case for Real Time Data Collection in Health Services ResearchJournal of Health Services Research & Policy, 2011
- Associative theories of goal-directed behaviour: a case for animal–human translational modelsPsychological Research, 2009
- The theory of planned behaviorOrganizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 1991