Antisuji comments on [link] How habits control our behavior, and how to modify them - Less Wrong

25 Post author: Kaj_Sotala 21 February 2012 07:23AM

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Comment author: Antisuji 22 February 2012 02:07:14AM 9 points [-]

I read the article earlier today and for me the most interesting part was the following. It lends credence to one of the fundamental ideas of LW, that deliberate study of biases can lead to good results.

In one project, 256 members of a health-insurance plan were invited to classes stressing the importance of exercise. Half the participants received an extra lesson on the theories of habit formation (the structure of the habit loop) and were asked to identify cues and rewards that might help them develop exercise routines.

The results were dramatic. Over the next four months, those participants who deliberately identified cues and rewards spent twice as much time exercising as their peers. Other studies have yielded similar results.

Comment author: Fritz_Tegularius 01 March 2012 05:10:11PM 1 point [-]

Btw., I think that was the "Lifestyle Intervention by Self-Regulation of Action (LISA)" study by Stadler, Oettinger and Gollwitzer 2005. The technique used was Mental Contrasting with Implementation Intentions.