Habit

A habit is a learned behavior that recurring contexts trigger automatically. Repetition can make it efficient and persistent, even when conscious intention is absent.

Habit loop: A model of habitual behavior organized around a cue, a routine, and a reward. It summarizes how recurring cues come to trigger a practiced response.
Operant conditioning: Learning in which consequences alter the likelihood of a behavior occurring again. Many habits are learned through the consequences of repeated actions.
Habit reversal training: A behavioral treatment that increases awareness of unwanted habits and trains competing responses. It applies habit principles to behaviors such as tics and repetitive body-focused actions.
Compulsive behavior: Repetitive behavior that a person feels driven to perform, often despite distress or harm. Compulsions can resemble habits but are associated with distress and a felt urge.
Automaticity: The capacity to perform a process with little conscious attention or control. Automaticity is a defining feature of well-established habits.
Stimulus control: The influence of environmental cues over the occurrence of a behavior. A familiar setting can prompt a habit before deliberate choice begins.
Classical conditioning: Learning in which a stimulus comes to predict another stimulus and elicit a response. It explains how cues can acquire the power to prompt learned responses.
Implementation intention: A plan that links a specified situation to a planned action, often phrased as an if-then rule. It gives a concrete cue-action link for establishing a desired routine.
Addiction: A disorder involving compulsive engagement with rewarding substances or behaviors despite harmful consequences. Addiction involves more than automatic repetition, including impaired control and persistent harm.
Self-control: The ability to regulate thoughts, emotions, and actions in pursuit of goals. Habitual responses can compete with deliberate efforts to regulate behavior.

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