Problem 5 - Habits

Question 1

Habit

Answer 1

• can be understood as learned sequence of acts that have been reinforced in the past by rewarding experiences & are triggered by the environment to produce behaviour (largely outside of ppls conscious awareness)
• a process by which a stimulus automatically generates an impulse towards actions, based on learned stimulus response associations (cognitive-motivational process)
  
  • -> prompted automatically by situational cues
• -> conceptually distinct from behaviour

Question 2

Link to Theory of Planned Behaviour

Answer 2

• intentions are assumed to be immediate antecedents of behaviour
  
  • -> in habitual behaviour, though, intentions are poor predictors of behaviour
• habit strength increases when behaviour is repeatedly reinforced by satisfactory experiences (rewarded)

Question 3

Habits & Situational Cues

Answer 3

performance of habitual behaviour is predominantly guided by situational cues

Question 4

Situational Cues

Answer 4

• cues in the social or psychological environment

- environmental cues: cn automatically trigger learned responses

Question 5

How to create healthy habits (new habits)

Answer 5

• stimulus control
• implementation intentions
• mental contrasting
• changing contingencies
• reinforcement by family and friends

Question 6

Stimulus Control

new habits

Answer 6

altering the situation in which eating behaviour is performed (changing contextual cues)

Question 7

Implementation Intentions

new habits

Answer 7

specific plans as to when & how to implement the behaviour (IF-THEN format)
helps in creating new healthy habits

• pairing a critical cue with new desired response
• ## repetition of the new action plan may make it new healthy habitPitfalls:
• may be hard to connect critical cue to new desired behaviour
• work best with weak habits and not very effective with changing strong habits
• cue becomes ambiguous and both, old and new response will compete for action initiation

Question 8

Mental contrasting

new habit

Answer 8

a self-regulation technique that helps people identify an important goal

-e.g. eating more fruit + vegetables →imagine the most positive outcome of that goal (e.g. feeling healthy) + identify most critical obstacle towards reaching that goal

Question 9

Changing contingencies

new habit

Answer 9

habit strength increases when behaviour is repeatedly reinforced by satisfactory experiences (positive contingency)
–> strong habits are insensitive to the consequence of their behaviour
(study of students eating unpleasant, stale popcorn at cinema)

Question 10

Reinforcement by family and friends

new habits

Answer 10

rewarding oneself for healthy behaviour or being praised by family/friends supports the engaging in healthy behaviour –> formation of habits

Question 11

vigilant monitoring 
(breaking existing habits)

Answer 11

involve paying increased attention to a response to be able to ensure that it is not performed

• heightened attentional focus on response to ensure that it is not performed
• control of habits is accomplished by monitoring for the response and inhibiting its performance
• opens a window of opportunity to learn new behaviour

Pitfalls:

• does not work for changing temptations
• the effectiveness depends on availability of cognitive resources which are limited
• can lead to preoccupied thinking

Question 12

counterconditioning

breaking existing habits

Answer 12

aims to replace cued responses by another, more healthy response

Question 13

interventions

Answer 13

can be used to break habits
- support people in inhibiting habitual responses
> interventions increasing self-control strength
> implementations intentions (for new habits NOT existing ones)
> interventions employing specific self-regulation techniques (vigilant monitoring, counterconditioning)

Question 14

Dual Process Model

Answer 14

System 1: habit is depicted in impulsive pathway

System 2: reasoned cognitions (intentions) are portrayed on a reflective pathway

Question 15

System 1 (dual process model)

Answer 15

habit

> perception of a cue activates low-level context-behaviour associations, which prompt behaviour rapidly & efficiently
= habits are cue contingent

> generates habitual behaviour

> impulsive behavioural tendencies can be inhibited where sufficient cognitive resources are available

Question 16

System 2 (dual process model)

Answer 16

reasoned cognitions (like intentions)

> cue initiates a cue-based deliberation (Überlegung)
directs behaviour slowly & effortfully

Question 17

Habitually initiated behave

Answer 17

is instigated by a habitual impulse but may require cognitive output to be performed

Question 18

Habitually performed behaviour

Answer 18

the execution of which is facilitated by the activation of one or more habits, regardless of whether consciously or non-consciously instigated

Question 19

Formation of Habits

Answer 19

based on context-dependent repetition

• habits strengthen through associative & reward learning
  > with each repetition, small changes occur in cognitive & neural mechanisms
  > through hebbian learning strengthening context cues and response
  > strength of associations further modulated by rewards (dopamine=
• habits develop most readily when rewards provided on interval schedule

3 central components

1) frequent behavioural repetition
2) recurring context & associated context cues
3) intermitted rewards(random-interval schedule)

Question 20

Associative Cybernetic Model (De Wit)

Answer 20

proposes that rewarding outcomes of behaviour can facilitate learning of cue-response relationships

repeated sequential presentation of

• context
• behaviour
• rewarding outcomes
• (repetition)

… can imbue the context with the motivational properties of reward –> so that context comes to signal both: opportunity & incentive to act

Question 21

3 ways in wich habits interact with goals to guide behaviour
(model in Wood & Rünger)

Answer 21

• goals energise & direct action by defining desired end states
• habits & goals interact through:
  > habit formation
  > habit performance
  > inferences about the causes of behaviour

Question 22

Steps in Model for habit formation (model in Wood & Rünger)

Answer 22

1. goals influence habit formation via exposure by initially motivating individuals to repeat actions within particular performance context
   > once a habit forms –> context cues automatically activate habit representation in memory (automaticity)
2. via activation & inhibition, individuals act on habit in mind & prevailing goals
   > external factors (stress, distraction etc.) influence impact of these two processes by reducing motivation or ability to deliberately pursue goals
   –> leads to increasing reliance on habits
   –> habits = default mode
3. through inference processes, individuals interpret their goals from observing their own frequent behaviour

Question 23

Goal-Circuit Model

Answer 23

computational model

1. habit system
2. goal network

Question 24

Habit system (goals-circuit model)

Answer 24

• selects actions in a bottom-up manner based on the current stimulus environment & internal feedback about previous state
• -> response selection process
• eventually habit system performs sequence autonomously without goal input

Question 25

Goal network

Answer 25

enables top-down control over habitual action sequences, as when a person deliberately overrides a habitual response

Question 26

Factors that shift balance of habits & goal pursuit

Answer 26

• distraction (habit slips)
• time pressure
• limited task ability
• limited will power
• Chronic stress can increase reliance on habits
• -> factors that drive action control
• -> people act on strong habits when they lack the ability & motivation to engage the central executive in deliberation

Question 27

Strategies to reduce impact of existing bad cues

Answer 27

• cue disruption
• environmental engineering
• vigilant monitoring or inhibition

Question 28

Cue disruption

Answer 28

Strategy to reduce impact of existing bad cues

• take advantage of naturally occurring life events that reduce or eliminate exposure to the familiar cues that automatically trigger habit performance
  e. g. moving to disrupt cues of familiar environment to use public transit instead of car

Question 29

Environmental engineering

Answer 29

Strategy to reduce impact of existing bad cues

• entails disruption but additionally introduces new or altered environmental features ti support the healthy behaviour by adding behavioural friction to unhealthy options &/or reducing behavioural friction for healthy ones

Pitfalls:

• difficulties to remove critical cue
• initiatives require political & citizen support for healthy policies, tac codes, and zoning
• may be viewed as paternalism

altering performance environments, or the place where the unhealthy habit regularly occurs (involves cue disruption)

e.g. adding friction (smoking bans in pubs)
OR reducing friction (availability of recreational facilities to walk + cycle)

Question 30

Vigilant monitoring or inhibition

Answer 30

Strategy to reduce impact of existing bad cues

increases awareness of the cues that trigger unhealthy behaviours & provides opportunities to inhibit them
- by thinking “don’t do it” & monitoring slip-ups

e.g. by reminders or nudges or point-of-choice prompts (signs to promote stair climbing over elevator use

Question 31

habit formation (for policy makers)

Answer 31

• make healthy response salient (e.g. funding bike sharing programs)
• tie desired behaviours to stable contexts
  (e. g. public health communications)
• public policies that incentivise repeated healthy responses in stable contexts
  (e. g. free public transit days)

Question 32

habit disruption (for policy makers)

Answer 32

• initiate legislation to reduce the presence of unhealthy habit cues
  (e. g. funding reengineering of school cafeterias)
• harness/implement context disruption
  (e. g. free public transit programs for recent movers)
• traditional policy tools
  (e. g. tax breaks)

Question 33

Thorndike Habit formation

Answer 33

• experience of reward leads to strengthening of mental associations between Context stimuli (S) & Response (R)
• instrumental behaviour = Is learnt as consequence of causal relationship of ACTION/RESPONSE (R) & OUTCOME (O)

Question 34

Habit discontinuity hypothesis

Answer 34

old S-R can be disrupted by a change in context

• -> thereby window of opportunity for adapting behaviour in light of ones current goal provided
  (example: experimental study where people moved in past 6 months)

Question 35

Associative-Cybernetic Model

Answer 35

integrated associative dual-system account of instrumental action control that derived from Thorndike’s representative or ideational theory of human instrumental behaviour

• degree to which behaviour id habitual is determined by the relative strengths of associations in S-R & R-O systems
  > both systems can generate output by activating motor system
  > S-R system (system 1) = stimulus-response; activates specific motor units
  > R-O system (system 2) = response-outcome; generally enhances motor activity

–> systems do not simply compete, but also work together

Question 36

Goal-Directed Action (De Wit article)

Answer 36

System 2: deliberative, conscious, explicit & rule based, slow & limited capacity

• performance mediated by knowledge of O-R relationship & evaluation of anticipated outcome (considering ones current situation)

Brain regions:

• prelimbic cortex
• dorsomedial striatum
• mediodorsal thalamus

–> lesioning or inactivating these regions reduced the sensitivity to outcome devaluation

Question 37

Habitual Behaviour (De Wit article)

Answer 37

System 1: intuitive, subconscious, implicit & associative, fast & requires little cognitive effort

• mediated by S-R link, that are behaviourally autonomous of current desirability & outcome

Brain regions:

• infra limbic cortex
• dorsolateral striatum

–> lesioning or inactivating regions will disrupt habit formation

Question 38

Habit formation (De Wit article)

Answer 38

• after few repetitions of behaviour = S-R associations relatively weak –> but strong enough to consider outcome via R-O association
• incentive system leads to general boost to motor system to produce goal-directed action
• leads to radial reinforcement of S-R associations in habit system
• eventually, associations become sufficiently strong to activate motor units by themselves (without R-O involvement) –> creation of habit
• this is due to S-R pathway being faster & more direct