W12L1 - Habits Flashcards
Define Habit Performance
Habit Performance
- Exhibition of learned behaviour
- Insensitive to change in reward outcomes
In humans (and animals), what are common features of habit learning.
What is an important distincton for humans?
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Common features
- Repeated responding which will form context-response associations in memory
- Automatic habit performance is insensitive to value of outcome
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In Humans
- We engage in much more repetition (40% daily)
When do habits typically arise and how? What is the difference between repetitious behaviour and habits
- Habits typically arise due to an interface with goal-related behavior
- Goals direct human action by providing a definition of a desired outcome
Repetition vs Habits
- Repetitious Behaviour
- Does not persist when value of repeated behaviour is absent
- Habitual Behaviour
- Persist when value of repeated behaviour is absent
Are all habits automatic? Are all automatic responses habits? Give some examples
- All habits are automatic
- Not all automatic responses are habits
- Priming
- Classical conditioning
- Non-assoicative learning
- Reflexes
When do implementation intentions or automated goals work?
Implmenentation intention (automated goals) will only influence behaviour if they are consistent with someone’s intention
Is Habit automaticity is specific to a particular response or behavior? List down some cues.
Yes it is. Cues can be:
- Physical environment
- Other people
- Preceding actions in a sequence
- e.g. cigarette when at a bar or with alcohol
Define habit response in context of representation
- A habitual response is the cueing of mental representation that contains
- Both the features of your response
- And the features of perceptual information that cued the response
- Vice versa, when habits are formed, perception of relevant context cue automatically activates mental representation of habitual response
What are outcome-specific devaluation tasks and what did it show
What
- Outcome-specific devaluation tasks
- Associate cue and outcome
- Devalue outcome by pairing it with something else
Results
- Showed that it was associated with individual differences in self-control
- Impusive (Low self-control) driven by stronger habitual cues
- Devaluation effect was reduced in participants who scored high in motor impulsivity
- Impusive (Low self-control) driven by stronger habitual cues
Implication
- Suggest that an interaction existed between habitual behaviour and indidvidual differences
What is the consequence of choosing habitual, unwanted choices repeatedly
Repeated behaviour over time becomes more habitual and less goal dependent
What is dual process models in habits. What do “Habits” exist?
- Habit strength will interact with behavioural intentions
- As habit strength increases, behvaioural intentions is less predictive of behaviour
- As habit strength decreases, behvaioural intentions is more predictive of behaviour
- Habits exist to allow greater efficiency by being a default setting, unless we are particularly motivated and able to engage in more deliberate and specific goal pursuit.
How do habits develop (What kind of learning)
- Instrumental learning
- Reward response will be repeated
- Everyday life is built upon repetition that provides multiple opportunities for habit formation
- 40% of responses were performed daily, in the same context (but we are unaware)
What are Pavlonian Context Cues (What did it show)? Give an example
- Cues that are associated with reward that follows action
- Motivational values of cues are unrelated to values of outcomes
- Change likelihood of cues being expressed
- Changes relationship between stimulus and reward
- Shows that habitual responding continues to be influenced by motivational processess
- Example: Interval schedules
Interval schedules. Why does it allow automatisation?
- Habits more likely to be formed when rewards are provided on an interval schedule
- Forms assocation between context and response, without having to represent goal outcomes
- Repeated response to stimulus results in repetition and automisation, with occasional and unpredictable rewards ensuring that the behavior doesn’t extinguish
- e.g. cue + response = no goal (until repeated 10 times then goal)
- Repeated response to stimulus results in repetition and automisation, with occasional and unpredictable rewards ensuring that the behavior doesn’t extinguish
Does repetitiion always lead to habits? Why?
No.
- Deliberate decision making will prevent/slow formation of habits
In humans, is there a relationship between repetition and greater expression of habits? What does it imply?
Unlike animals, there is no relationship between repetition and expression of habits in humans.
Duration of stimulus-response training in reward-devluation paradigm was not associated with habit expression
Implication
- In OCD and Drug-dependents, might be an interaction between
- Propensity for habit learning (From training)
- Impairment in goal-directed control
- Poor impulse = Greater tendency to express
- Suggest self-control mediates habit formation, unlike animals.
What is the brain areas associated with habits
- Basil Ganglia
- Associative cortico-basal ganglia loops support goal-directed and habitual behaviour.
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Dorsomedial straitum: Goal-Directed Control
- Prefrontal cortex links
- Caudate nucleus and Anterior putamen
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Dorsolateral straitum: Acquiring new habits
- Sensorimotor loop links
- Medial and posterior putamen
- More relevant to habits
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Dorsomedial straitum: Goal-Directed Control
(Proposensity for acquiring new habits + impaired goal directed control) (Imbalance in 2 systems?)
Habits vs Goals. What are some situational factors affecting habits vs goal pursuit. When does habit trumpt goals?
- Situation factors
- (Poor) Self control
- (Lack of) Task ability
- Time pressure
- Distraction
- Acute and chronic stress, which have bidirectional relationship with these factors, increasing reliance on habits
- Habits > Goal
- If individuals lack motivation for deliberate decision making
Are people aware of their habits? What often happens
- Aware of habitual response
- Unaware of cueing mechanisms
- Tendency to infer behaviour was guided by goals, instead of preceding it
What are challenges of habit change
Beahvioural changing techniques: Effective for sporadic (occasional) behaviours not habits
- Responses do not reflect a person’s desire
- Habitual behaviour activated automatically by environmental cues
What aspects do behaviour change in practice focus on
- Impeded automatic cueing of old habits
- Encourage repeated use of new behaviours till habitual
Behaviour Change 1: Impede unwanted habits. What are some techniques
- Invoked thinking
- Conscious deliberate thoughts and monitoring failures
- Inhibitory plans
- Specific inhibitory plans to cues linked to habits
- Exposure Management / Habit dscontinutity
- Reduce environmental cue
- Life transitions
Behaviour Change 2: Encourage desired habit. What is the problem and why is it limited?
- Techniques have not built upon concepts of habit formation (Repetition, Stable Context, Reward Schedules)
Limited because:
- Repetition can be extensive
- Reminders can reduce automaticity
- Disrupt automaticity
- Encourage more deliberate thinking instead.
