Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV) Infection
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Habilitation ▶ Rehabilitation
Habit Strength Sheina Orbell Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, Essex, UK
Synonyms Habitual automaticity
Definition A habit can be defined as a learned behavioral response to a situational cue. The repeated performance of a behavior in a specific context leads to the development of a behavioral habit that is triggered by features of the environment that have covaried frequently with past performance of the behavior. Such features of the environment might include performance locations, preceding actions in a sequence, the presence of particular
people, or an internal thought or feeling. As a consequence of repetition in the same cuecontexts, a habit becomes capable of being triggered directly by perception of the cue. This is referred to as cue contingent automaticity. A person might experience his or her habit as something “I cannot help doing.” Habit strength is a function of the frequency with which an action has been repeated in a stable context and has acquired a high degree of habitual automaticity. Verplanken and Orbell (2003) developed and validated a metacognitive 12-item instrument to measure habit strength, the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI). This is a generic instrument that asks respondents whether their performance of a target behavior occurs frequently; requires conscious awareness, thought, and effort; and is difficult to control. From an empirical perspective, stronger habits are associated with heightened attention to cues associated with the performance of a habit and an increased likelihood of making an action slip when the cue is detected (Orbell & Verplanken, 2010). Removal of the cue (e.g., by changing one’s environment) disrupts the performance of a previous habit (Wood, Tam, & Guerrero Witt, 2005). Strong habits also disrupt the ability to enact a counterhabitual intention. Strong habits may be useful in health contexts where, for example, good adherence is required and may be
M.D. Gellman & J.R. Turner (eds.), Encyclopedia of Behavioral Medicine, DOI 10.1007/978-1-4419-1005-9, # Springer Science+Business Media New York 2013
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promoted by interventions that promote repetition in stable contexts (Orbell & Verplanken, 2010).
Cross-References ▶ Intention Strength
References and Readings Chatzisarantis, N. L., & Hagger, M. S. (2007). Mindfulness and the intention-behavior relationship within the theory of planned behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33, 663–676. Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cuecontingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29, 374–383. Verplanken, B., & Orbell, S. (2003). Reflections on past behavior: A self-report index of habit strength. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 33, 1313–1330. Wood, W., & Neal, D. T. (2007). A new look at habits and the habit-goal interface. Psychological Review, 114, 843–863. Wood, W., Tam, L., & Guerrero Witt, M. (2005). Changing circumstances, disrupting habits. Journal of Personality and Social Ps
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