How VR Is Changing the Way We Study Habits

"A recent study suggests that 65 percent of our daily behaviours are done on "autopilot," meaning that we do them without thinking. These automatic behaviours occur because they are the result of a habitual process. Habitual behaviours are formed through repetition. They can be helpful, like washing our hands, or unhelpful, like biting our nails. Since so many of our day-to-day actions are habitual, understanding how habits form and how we can change them is essential for improving health and productivity."

"Studying habits isn't easy. Because habitual behaviours happen automatically, we can't always see or measure them directly. In the past, scientists studied habits in animals, such as rats pressing levers for food. But humans are more complex. We can override habits when we make a conscious effort. For example, we can avoid our habitual post-dinner chocolate bar if we are truly motivated to, but if we aren't thinking about it, chances are the wrapper will be empty before we've even noticed."

Sixty-five percent of daily behaviours occur automatically and qualify as habits. Habits form through repetition and can be helpful (for example, washing hands) or harmful (for example, nail-biting). Automatic behaviours are difficult to observe and measure because people can override them with conscious effort, making laboratory study challenging. Laboratory tasks provide experimental control but lack real-world complexity, while field studies capture realism but sacrifice control and often rely on self-report measures. Virtual reality offers the potential to combine experimental control with immersive realism, creating a novel tool to study habit formation, measurement, and change with greater ecological validity.

Read at Psychology Today