The Role of Habits in Maladaptive Behavior and Therapeutic Interventions: Verhoeven & de Wit (2018)

Question 1

compulsive behaviour =

Answer 1

behaviour that persist even in the face of negative consequences for one’s health, social relationships, financial security, and/or general well being.

Question 2

hoe kan je habits meten

Answer 2

• self report measures
• outcome-devaluation paradigm
• slips-of-action task

Question 3

self report measures to measure habits=

Answer 3

• frequency context measure: self-reported frequencies of behaviour. but does not incorporate automaticity
• self-report habit index: assesses 4 characteristics of automaticity (unintentionality, uncontrollability, lack of awareness, and efficiency).

Question 4

outcome devaluation paradigm=

Answer 4

a paradigm that is used to determine whether a certain behavior is goal-directed or habitual.

There are many variations, both in animals and humans, but the essential phases are:

1. Instrumental learning: the subject is trained to learn a certain instrumental behavior to get a certain outcome.
2. Outcome-devaluation: the subject is removed from the learning room and the outcome is devalued, for example by pairing it with a nausea inducing substance or giving the subject unlimited access to it.
3. Critical test: the subject is placed back in the learning room and can perform the behavior again. This will determine whether behavior is goal-directed or habitual:
   - Goal-directed: the subject will reduce performing the behavior for the devalued outcome, because getting it is not an important goal anymore or even avoiding it has become a goal.
   - Habitual: the context will reactivate the response and the subject continues performing the behavior.

-> Over extended training sessions, there seems to be a shift from goal-directed to habitual behavior. The paradigm provides an experimental measure of unintentionality and uncontrollability, but they have mostly been used in the laboratory with arbitrary stimuli, responses, and rewards (limited generalizability). Further, recent attempts to replicate findings failed, so their robustness is doubted.

Question 5

slips of action task=

Answer 5

a version of the outcome-devaluation paradigm that can be used to investigate individual differences in behavioral flexibility / habit propensity. It consists of the following:
* Instrumental learning: participants get pictures of boxes with different fruits on it (6 fruit types). They can press 2 buttons (left and right) and have to find out which button is correct to get points. If they press correctly, the box is opened and contains another fruit, otherwise the box is empty.
* Outcome-devaluation: at the start of each trial, 2 of the 6 fruit outcomes are devalued.
* Test phase: participants are shown the different cues in a time-limited fashion and have to decide whether to press the learned button, or to suppress their reaction (do not press anything). Participants are shown which outcomes they should not press for. E.g.: if the banana is a devalued fruit, they should not press when they see a coconut because they learned that this will get them a banana.
- Goal-directed control: people don’t press the button when they expect a devalued outcome.
- Habit-based control: participants still press the right buttons for every cue, regardless of the outcome.

Question 6

habit propensity=

Answer 6

Most mental disorders are characterized by maladaptive behaviors that are frequently performed in the presence of certain stable external and internal triggers. There is evidence for a habit propensity in several types of mental health disorders (addiction, obsessive-compulsive disorder).

Question 7

dual-process perspective

Answer 7

A tendency to rely on habits is not only demonstrated in disorders in which compulsivity is a central characteristic. This can be explained by the dual-process perspective, which states that impaired goal-directed control can lead to reliance on habits. Impaired executive control characterizes many mental disorders.

Question 8

bewijs voor implementation intentions in clinical samples

Answer 8

these are effective! IIs reduced self-harm more than TAU and also increased adaptive behaviours (therapy attendance, etc). maar nog meer onderzoek nodig.

Question 9

moderators of IIs effectiveness

Answer 9

• self-reported automaticity: attempts to stop or reduce smoking with IIs were mediated by changes in self-reported automaticity
• high socially prescribed perfectionism: mensen met deze personality traits hebben juist slechtere resultaten. dus oppassen bij OCD, anxiety, depression.
• high urgency: impulsive people respond less well to IIs.
• low executive functioning: mensen kunnen hier baat bij hebben