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Can’t Control Yourself? Monitor Those Bad Habits
Abstract
What strategies can people use to control unwanted habits? Past work has focused on controlling other kinds of automatic impulses, especially temptations. The nature of habit cuing calls for certain self-control strategies. Because the slow-to-change memory trace of habits is not amenable to change or reinterpretation, successful habit control involves inhibiting the unwanted response when activated in memory. In support, two episode-sampling diary studies demonstrated that bad habits, unlike responses to temptations, were controlled most effectively through spontaneous use of vigilant monitoring (thinking “don’t do it,” watching carefully for slipups). No other strategy was useful in controlling strong habits, despite that stimulus control was effective at inhibiting responses to temptations. A subsequent experiment showed that vigilant monitoring aids habit control, not by changing the strength of the habit memory trace but by heightening inhibitory, cognitive control processes. The implications of these findings for behavior change interventions are discussed.
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“Purposive discontinuation of exposure to the everyday cues that support habits [26,63] may be an unrealistic intervention strategy, but using volitional strategies such as vigilant monitoring (i.e.heightening attention to behaviour so as to detect habit initiation) can inhibit performance of 'bad' habits [64].”
From A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis of Applications of the Self-Report Habit Index to Nutrition and Physical Activity Behaviours (2011) · cites this paper as [64]
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Metadata
- Authors
- Quinn, J. M., Pascoe, A., Wood, W., & Neal, D. T.
- Affiliations
- Duke University (US)
- University of Southern California (US)
- Corresponding author
- Wood, Wendy
- ORCID
- Wood, Wendy
- Venue
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2010-04
- Volume
- 36
- Issue
- 4
- Pages
- 499-511
- ISSN
- 0146-1672 (ISSN-L)
- 1552-7433
- OpenAlex
- W2141462329
- Cited by
- 256
- References
- 54
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 7 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 17 · 2020: 66 · 2019: 16 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 15 · 2015: 20 · 2014: 10 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 15.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Applied Psychology › Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Smoking Behavior and Cessation
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Behavioral and Psychological Studies
- Keywords
- habit control, self-control, cognitive control, inhibitory control, stimulus control, temptation, automatism, behaviour change interventions, diary study
- MeSH terms
- Female, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Male, North Carolina, Records, Self Efficacy, Behavior Control
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