Habit Loops: The Mechanics of Behaviour Programming

By Hazel Gale, Cognitive Hypnotherapist, Athlete & Performance Coach. More at hazelgale.co.uk | Facebook |Twitter | G+ |Mailing list here

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Practically everything we do is habitual. We follow programmed patterns of behaviour when we brush our teeth, tie our shoelaces, go to work, the gym, the pub… We learn a sequence of steps for a certain outcome and then we stick with it.

But of course, there are good ones and there are bad ones. This article looks at how habits are formed and explains a simple process to reroute unwanted behaviours and install some more desirable ones.

The habit loop:

The first few times we do something, our conscious mind is active throughout the entire process. However, once a pattern has proven itself successful a number of times (i.e. when it’s learned), the cognitive functions of the brain virtually shut down from the moment the process is triggered until it’s complete. In the case of a “bad” habit, this would be the point at which we kick ourselves.

This cycle is known as the habit loop (Charles Duhigg: The Power Of Habit) and it consists of three elements:

The cue is the thing that triggers the habitual behaviour. It could be a negative emotion like loneliness, boredom or stress. Or, it could be a certain situation, a group of friends, the time of the day etc.

The routine is the habit itself: the biting of nails, smoking of cigarettes, or walking over to the fridge and eating a massive lump of cheese (just me?).

The reward could be anything pleasurable. It might be as obvious as the physical stimulation of nicotine or sugar (although, even if that’s a part of it, there is very often more to it than just that). It could be connected to a feeling of acceptance, belonging or achievement; or it could simply be an excuse to get away from your desk.

Cravings:

Once a habit loop is ingrained, the mind begins to anticipate the reward as soon as the cue is perceived. When this happens we get tiny hit of a pleasure hormone called dopamine. Essentially, we get a taste of the reward before the action is completed; just enough to key us up, but not enough to satisfy.

So, if a cue is encountered but not shortly followed by the routine and reward, we experience a sense of longing or yearning. We have a craving.

It’s this that keeps a gambler glued to the slot machine for hours, and what can motivate a drug addict to do all manner of unthinkable things in order to get their fix.

Feedback loops

Of course, habits get ingrained as the loop repeats. The more we receive the reward after the routine, the more we anticipate it when we next encounter the cue, and the more pervasive the habit becomes.

What makes something like gambling or drug use so terribly addictive is that the routine itself can easily manifest another emotional cue immediately afterwards. Once a drug addict starts coming down, or the gambler loses money, they’ll often experience the very same negative feeling that cued their last indulgence… and so it goes on.

How to break a habit:

In theory, breaking an unwanted habit is simple. Unfortunately, that doesn’t exactly mean that it’s easy in practice… but it is absolutely doable if the motivation is there.

Once you’ve identified the cue-routine-reward loop for your habit, as long as you keep the cue and reward the same, you can substitute in a new routine.

Here’s a summary of Charles Duhigg’s framework for changing an undesirable routine.

1. What’s the cue?

Let’s say that you eat more than you’d like when working from home.

The cue might not be immediately evident. Do you eat at a certain time of day? Is it worse in a particular place in your home? Do you find yourself mindlessly wandering to the kitchen and grabbing something only when you hit a tricky bit?

Habit cues generally fit into one of five categories:

a) Location
b) Time
c) Emotional state
d) Other people
e) Immediately preceding action

To work out exactly what your habit’s cue is, keep a notebook with you and at the moment the urge presents, write down the answer to these five questions:

a) Where are you?
b) What time is it?
c) What’s your emotional state?
d) Who else is around?
e) What action preceded the urge?

The real cue will be the one that remains consistent as you tot up the examples.

2. What’s the reward?

Next, you’ll need to experiment with a few different routines (and therefore rewards). This is because the craving you are satisfying may not be as obvious as it first appears. Perhaps it is the simple rush of a sugar fix, but it could equally be the avoidance of a sense of inadequacy or incompetence, or simply a method of gathering your thoughts.

By trying out different behaviours over a period of time you can start to shed light on exactly what the loop is achieving. The idea is to find any other way to get the craving to subside (it’s often only partial or temporary relief at first, but that’s still the information you are looking for).