IN THIS LESSON

“ Despite our seeming sense of control over our lives, a significant portion of the performed actions are instigated by automatic responses.”
— Mendelsohn

Habits serve the critical role of freeing up mental capacity for more strenuous tasks through eliminating the frequent decision burden. And while most automatic actions happen with remote consciousness, over a period of time, these actions become deeply engraved habits. Naturally, these learned responses begin to affect and shape a your well-being, quality of life, and self-identity. Over the span of decades, habits that started out as rarely performed actions can evolve to change your life path.

The modern concept of the habit was first created by professor William James, a psychologist in the 19th century. In The Laws of Habit, James explains habit as a routine, behavior, or cognitive process that begins impulsively, but evolves into an automatic reaction due to prior experience (Mendelsohn).

The Contraction Thorndike Used for the Experiment

The Habit Loop William James Created

In the early 20th century, a principle was introduced through a series of experiments led by Edward Thorndike. Thorndike concluded, that when positively reinforced, an action or association would be increased in frequency.

The experiment that led to this conclusion consisted of Thorndike putting starved cats in a mechanical box, with a lever that would open automatic doors, leading to a tray of fish. At first, the cats frantically ran around the cage, or mindlessly pawed at the bars, displaying an unsystematic trial-and-error behaviour (Gray 108–109). Soon enough, the cat solved the puzzle and was able to reach the food, while Thorndike noted the the time it took for the animal to reach a satisfying conclusion. After 10-12 repetitions of being placed into the box, the cats started exhibiting repetitive behaviour, almost instantly reaching for the level.

Although Thorndike’s conclusion about repetitive behaviour was correct, the methods in which the statement was reached have been widely criticised. The main concern shined the light on the fact, that animal and human cognitions greatly differ, depicting humans as mechanistic, even though their habit formation is complex and cannot be simply explained by stimulus-response connections. That said, Thorndike’s experiment was later elaborated and improved B. F. Skinner.

  • Check out:

    • “Creatures of Habit: The Neuroscience of Habit and Purposeful Behavior.” Biological psychiatry vol. 85,11

    • “The Psychology of Habit.” The American Journal of Nursing, vol. 19, no. 7, 1919, pp. 503–06

    • "The Laws of Habit." The Popular Science Monthly, vol. 30, Feb. 1887, pp. 434-451