Some habits are more work than others: Deliberate self‐regulation strategy use increases with behavioral complexity, even for established habits.
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| Title: | Some habits are more work than others: Deliberate self‐regulation strategy use increases with behavioral complexity, even for established habits. |
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| Authors: | Saunders, Blair (AUTHOR), More, Kimberly R. (AUTHOR) |
| Source: | Journal of Personality. Apr2025, Vol. 93 Issue 2, p233-246. 14p. |
| Subjects: | Health behavior, Habit, Hypothesis |
| Abstract: | Objective: We tested the hypothesis that complex behaviors are commonly supported by self‐regulation strategies, even when those behaviors are supported by strong instigation habits. Background: Goal‐directed and habit‐mediated processes arise from separable systems that have been suggested to seldomly interact. Results: Self‐regulation strategy use was lower for habitually instigated simple behaviors compared to nonhabitually instigated simple behaviors. However, participants' use of self‐regulation strategies increased with the increasing complexity of behaviors, even when complex behaviors were habitually instigated. The difference in the extent of strategy use between habitually and nonhabitually instigated actions was absent when behavioral complexity was particularly high. Conclusion: These results point to a qualitative distinction—while simple behaviors may progress in a relatively automatic and unthinking manner, complex behaviors receive frequent support from self‐regulation strategies, even if they are instigated habitually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Copyright of Journal of Personality is the property of Wiley-Blackwell and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites without the copyright holder's express written permission. Additionally, content may not be used with any artificial intelligence tools or machine learning technologies. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.) | |
| Database: | Psychology and Behavioral Sciences Collection |
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| Abstract: | Objective: We tested the hypothesis that complex behaviors are commonly supported by self‐regulation strategies, even when those behaviors are supported by strong instigation habits. Background: Goal‐directed and habit‐mediated processes arise from separable systems that have been suggested to seldomly interact. Results: Self‐regulation strategy use was lower for habitually instigated simple behaviors compared to nonhabitually instigated simple behaviors. However, participants' use of self‐regulation strategies increased with the increasing complexity of behaviors, even when complex behaviors were habitually instigated. The difference in the extent of strategy use between habitually and nonhabitually instigated actions was absent when behavioral complexity was particularly high. Conclusion: These results point to a qualitative distinction—while simple behaviors may progress in a relatively automatic and unthinking manner, complex behaviors receive frequent support from self‐regulation strategies, even if they are instigated habitually. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| ISSN: | 00223506 |
| DOI: | 10.1111/jopy.12926 |
