Abstract
Wood, Quinn, and Kashy model habits in everyday life — repeated context–response links that run with minimal deliberation once automaticity sets in.
Wood, W., Quinn, J. M., & Kashy, D. A. (2002). Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83(6), 1281–1297. DOI
Key findings
- Context triggers — Habits fire from stable cues — time, place, emotional state.
- Automaticity curve — Repetition in stable contexts builds automaticity faster than varied settings.
- Thought and mood — Habits still carry thought and emotion — not mindless only.
- Drift risk — Old cues reinstate old behaviour — environment design beats willpower sermons.
Limits
Experience-sampling study — strong on daily life, not every clinical habit disorder.
Application
When the same slip repeats in the same room — look for the cue, not only weak character. See Drift and Sedimentation.