The Psychological Mechanisms That Drive Habits

Understanding the Psychological Mechanisms Behind Habit Formation

Photo by Nubelson Fernandes on Unsplash

Habits are behaviors that are performed automatically and without conscious thought.

The Power of Atomic Habits —James Clear, Atomic Habits Book

What drives this behavior is a feedback loop that involves four steps:

Cue

This is the trigger that initiates the habit.

It can be anything from an external stimulus (such as the sight of food) to an internal cue (such as a feeling of hunger).

Craving

Cravings are similar to wants that motivate you to act on the cue.

When a behavior successfully addresses a motive, you develop a craving to do it again.

In time, you learn to predict that a certain behavior will help you feel a certain way, such as checking social media to feel loved.

Response

This is the behavior that you perform in response to the cue.