Exploring the Properties of Habits and Routines in Daily Life

Abstract

This study investigated the properties of habit and routine in daily living, extending prior studies exploring people's judgments about the stability of patterns in their lives. Scales assessing sensory, behavioral, and motivational aspects of habit were included, and confirmatory factor analysis techniques were employed to determine the presence of underlying constructs relating the various measures of habit and routine. A sample of 126 college students responded to a set of 11 scales and subscales of previous measures of habit. The resulting measurement structure incorporated 10 of those scales into a two-factor model: one factor represented cognitions and beliefs about one's routine and habits, and the other represented sensory stimulation and sensory reactions, habitual behaviors, and motivations of approach and avoidance. The results were discussed in the framework of a more comprehensive picture of the nature of habit. It was also suggested that this model potentially will have value for further exploration of measurement issues and for developing more effective interventions for improving people's daily well-being.

Keywords

routinization structure behavioral activation behavioral inhibition

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