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A matter of habit: Recognizing the multiple roles of habit in health behaviour
journal contribution
posted on 2020-01-29, 00:00 authored by B Gardner, Amanda RebarAmanda Rebar, P LallyMuch research has explored the influence of habit on a multitude of health behaviours, including hand hygiene, medication adherence, dietary consumption, physical activity, and sun protection (for a review, see Gardner, 2015). Such studies have implicitly addressed similar underlying research questions, which can broadly be summarized as: ‘To what extent could Behaviour X be determined by habit?’ If a behaviour is shown to be, or have the potential to be, habitually enacted, this will have important implications for behaviour modification. Interventions that support adoption of that behaviour might fruitfully promote context-consistent performance so that cue–response associations may develop (Lally, Van Jaarsveld, Potts, & Wardle, 2010), while interventions that aim to discontinue habitual behaviour might focus on dismantling such associations or blocking their enactment (Lally & Gardner, 2013). In this editorial, however, we argue that a more comprehensive understanding of habitual action requires moving beyond asking only to what extent a behaviour may be habitual, and towards exploring which aspects of a
behaviour could be regulated by habit.
History
Volume
24Issue
2Start Page
241End Page
249Number of Pages
9eISSN
2044-8287ISSN
1359-107XPublisher
John Wiley & Sons, UKPublisher DOI
Peer Reviewed
- Yes
Open Access
- No
External Author Affiliations
King’s College London; University College London, UKAuthor Research Institute
- Appleton Institute
Era Eligible
- Yes