Good Intentions Versus Bad Habits: Why the Old Ways Win Out

Why are old habits so hard to break? A new study suggests that over time, our bad habits (such as smoking cigarettes or over eating) become automatic, learned behaviors. Even if we consciously try to put new good intentions into place, those previously learned habits remain stronger in more automatic, unconscious forms of memory.

This research may help explain why when we’re under stress we fall back into old habits, such as cheating on a new diet after a bad day at work. Stress can weaken our control over memory and behavior, so that those automatic, habitual responses from the past become more influential. With control weakened, those automatic responses – such as eating a cookie or smoking a cigarette – can override our new good intentions.

Dr. John Grohol is the CEO and founder of Psych Central. He is an author, researcher and expert in mental health online, and has been writing about online behavior, mental health and psychology issues -- as well as the intersection of technology and human behavior -- since 1992. Dr. Grohol sits on the editorial board of the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Social Networking and is a founding board member and treasurer of the Society for Participatory Medicine.

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    Last reviewed: By John M. Grohol, Psy.D. on 15 Nov 2004
    Published on PsychCentral.com. All rights reserved.