Study Sunday: Habits Drive Decision-Making

17

đŸ€” The Question

Do you really know why you do what you do? A new study finds that we consistently underestimate the degree to which our actions are driven by habit. 

âšĄïž The Findings  

In two experiments, people mainly ascribed their actions and decisions to their feelings and intentional choices. For example, they said they were drinking coffee because they were tired, or that they refused to help the researchers when asked because they were in a bad mood.

But analyses revealed that habit strength was actually a much stronger driver of behavior, and yet it was consistently unacknowledged as the true cause. 

đŸ§Ș The Study

Two experiments were conducted: 

1) For one week, 112 participants were pinged every two hours and asked questions about their coffee consumption. 

2) 809 participants were trained to habitually press a button. Then they had to press that button or a different one to indicate whether they were willing to give up their time to help the researchers. 

⭐ The Significance

We tend to explain our behavior as a product of our own deliberate choices. But the reality is that most of our actions and decisions happen on autopilot and we often just don’t realize. 

This false attribution leads to the use of ineffective strategies when we’re trying to change our behavior. We might over rely on willpower-based strategies when habit-based strategies would be more effective. 

💎 The Takeaway 

When you’re trying to understand your actions, pay extra attention to any habitual forces at play. If you can recognize the true nature of your behavior, you’ll be better equipped to change it. 

For example, instead of saying
 

“I went on TikTok because I was bored. I’ll use more willpower next time.” 

You might realize
 

“I have a habit of using TikTok before bed. I’ll disconnect my phone from the internet after 11pm.” 

Mazar, Asaf, and Wendy Wood. “Illusory Feelings, Elusive Habits: People Overlook Habits in Explanations of Behavior.” Psychological Science, Mar. 2022, doi:10.1177/09567976211045345.

Ideas and Apps to
Thrive in the AI Age

The essential toolkit for those shaping the future

"This might be the best value you
can get from an AI subscription."

- Jay S.

Mail Every Content
AI&I Podcast AI&I Podcast
Cora Cora
Sparkle Sparkle
Spiral Spiral

Join 100,000+ leaders, builders, and innovators

Community members

Already have an account? Sign in

What is included in a subscription?

Daily insights from AI pioneers + early access to powerful AI tools

Pencil Front-row access to the future of AI
Check In-depth reviews of new models on release day
Check Playbooks and guides for putting AI to work
Check Prompts and use cases for builders

Comments

You need to login before you can comment.
Don't have an account? Sign up!