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The goal-dependent automaticity of drinking habits
Paschal Sheeran1, Henk Aarts, Ruud Custers
1Department of Psychology, University of Sheffield, Sheffield S10 2TN, UK. p.sheeran@sheffield.ac.uk
The British Journal of Social Psychology
|May 20, 2005
Summary
Activating a social goal automatically triggers drinking behavior in students with established alcohol habits. This supports a goal-dependent view of habits, suggesting new intervention strategies.
Area of Science:
- Social Psychology
- Behavioral Science
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Habits are increasingly understood as goal-directed automatic behaviors.
- Habits are mentally represented as links between goals and actions.
- Understanding habitual behavior is crucial for social and health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To test the conceptualization of habits as goal-action links.
- To investigate the automatic elicitation of drinking behavior by goal activation.
- To examine the role of established drinking habits in goal-dependent behavior.
Main Methods:
- Three experiments were conducted with university students.
- Participants were randomly assigned to conditions with activated social goals or unrelated goals.
- Drinking habits were measured, and readiness to drink/behavior was assessed via verb verification tasks and voucher uptake.
Main Results:
- Activating a goal related to drinking behavior automatically elicited drinking.
- This effect was observed when participants had established drinking habits.
- Findings support the goal-dependent conception of habit formation.
Conclusions:
- Established habits can be automatically triggered by the activation of associated goals.
- This research provides empirical support for goal-action link models of habit.
- Findings suggest potential avenues for interventions targeting habitual behaviors.