are habits and behavior the same thing?
Habits serve us; we depend on them for our survival. Once the cue-behavior-reward is learned and put down as habit in our neural circuitry, we can move on and do other more important things. And, according to behavioral psychologists Dr. Wendy Wood and Dr. David T. Neal, that’s precisely why they’re so hard to break. Much of our daily lives are taken up by habits that we've formed over our lifetime. An important characteristic of a habit is that it's automatic-- we don't always recognize habits in our own behavior. Studies show that about 40 percent of people's daily activities are performed each day in almost the same situations. Habits emerge through associative learning. We find patterns of behavior that allow us to reach goals. For example, you may be in the habit of brushing your teeth every day and although it may give you a feeling of cleanliness and overall good health, you are not addicted to this behavior. On the other hand, you may regularly drink wine to relax or take the edge off after a rough day. Habits can be both positive and negative whereas addictions by their very nature are only negative. One of the most important identifiers of a habit vs. an addiction is the amount of effort and time required to change the learned behavior of the habit or addiction. The source that drives negative behaviors is sometimes hard to identify. When you are abusing a substance or behavior that is negatively affecting your life, it is extremely important to determine whether or not you have developed a habit or an addiction. Habit vs. Addiction and How To Tell The Difference. First, you should be aware that both habits and addictions are a result of behaviors that you participate in on a regular basis. These may be actions that you do as a part of a routine in your daily or weekly schedule. A habit is generally considered to be a part of an addictive behavior, but the creation, manifestation, and cure of an addiction is much different than that of a habit. The problem is that there isn’t one formula for changing habits. There are thousands. Individuals and habits are all different, and so the specifics of diagnosing and changing the patterns in our lives differ from person to person and behavior to behavior. First, you must derail existing habits and create a window of opportunity to act on new intentions. Someone who moves to a new city or changes jobs has the perfect scenario to disrupt old cues and create new habits. When the cues for existing habits are removed, it's easier to form a new behavior. While initially habitual behavior can be goal-directed, “it is more accurate to say any behavior which persists is being reinforced,” Claiborn says. “The schedule of reinforcement and other factors determine the pattern of engaging in the habit. How Habits Work. From the appendix to The Power of Habit: The difficult thing about studying the science of habits is that most people, when they hear about this field of research, want to know the secret formula for quickly changing any habit.
No, A habit is generally considered to be a part of an addictive behavior.