Analyzing the Formation of Habits
Hugo Navarro
PSY/250
Sept. 17, 2012
Steven Gonzalez

Analyzing the Formation of Habits In the following, I will analyze one of my habits and how the habit was developed. I will discuss whether or not there were role models for this habit and which people influenced the adoption of this habit. If the habit continues and if there has ever been a time when I have attempted to break the habit will be analyzed. The behavioral personality theory will be used to explain why I have this habit. I will describe components of social and cognitive theory and explain why the habit formed. I will develop a plan that applies operant conditioning to change the habit. In conclusion, I will discuss which theory best explains my personality. According to make-or-break-habits.com, habits are routine behaviors done on a regular basis. They are recurrent and often unconscious patterns of behavior and are acquired through frequent repetition. Many of these are unconscious as we don’t even realize we are doing them. Personally, I have a smoking habit. I believe that I picked this habit by watching both of my Parents, my Grand Parents, and most of my Aunts and Uncles smoke. Some would consider smoking and addiction. In my opinion, a habit can also be an addiction. Some believe the term addiction should be reserved for describing a physical dependency on chemical substances such as alcohol and drugs. Other addictions include a range of compulsive behaviors such as gambling, eating, shopping, playing video games, work and internet usage. This type of addiction is typically described as ‘psychological addiction,’ a state that can also accompany physical addictions. Neuroscientists explain that people continue to smoke because they are too addicted to halt. This is why TV ads promote various pharmaceuticals to enable the truly addicted to quit. In some cases, people use these as alternative nicotine-delivery systems - I know a woman who has chewed Nicorettes for decades. Nicorettes are less unhealthy than smoking (as is snuff).
But research has proven it's untrue that continuing smokers are more addicted than quitters. People can quit addictions at any point. And, even after decades of heavy marketing of smoking cessation aids, most smokers disregard the ads and still quit on their own.

The National Cancer Institute released a 2002 compendium report, Those Who Continue To Smoke, about smokers who hadn't quit since everyone learned that smoking causes cancer. NONE OF THE RESEARCHERS FOUND THAT CONTINUING SMOKERS WERE MORE ADDICTED. In fact, older smokers who were more dependent were more likely to quit! Why? As you age, being a heavy smoker makes you reflect more on your mortality and you are more anxious to live. In my case, the habit or addiction continues. I have attempted to quit numerous times but each time I find I new reason to continue. Reasons include anywhere from being low on funds, to something traumatic happening in my life.

I will be the first to admit that I have an addictive personality. Addictive personalities are easy to spot in the cases of a drug addict or an alcoholic, but not all addictions are so easily categorized. Any behavior that's carried out in a compulsive manner can over time become a type of addiction. A behavior becomes an addiction when other areas of a person's life suffer as a result. This can include work performance, social relationships or a person's overall health and well-being. Personalities prone towards this type of behavior can share common characteristics.

Behind every addictive behavior lies a brain process that greatly contributes to the attachment a person forms with the behavior. Reward centers within the brain secrete certain "feel good" chemicals that contribute to how a person experiences a behavior. Whether it's a physical substance like alcohol, or an activity like running or watching television, the same chemical processes come into play in an addiction. This physical-behavioral connection develops over time, meaning the need for a substance or activity will increase in order to elicit the same physical effects on the brain and body.

The pioneers of behaviorism, American psychologists John B. Watson and B. F. Skinner, maintained that psychology should confine itself to the study of observable behavior, rather than explore a person’s unconscious feelings. The behavioral perspective explains mental illness, as well as all of human behavior, as a learned response to stimuli. In this view, rewards and punishments in a person’s environment shape that person’s behavior. For example, a person involved in a serious car accident may develop a phobia of cars or generalize the fear to all forms of transportation. (Behavioral Perspective, Cognitive Perspective, Sociocultural Perspective, Mental Illness)

The cognitive perspective holds that mental illness results from problems in cognition—-that is, problems in how a person reasons, perceives events, and solves problems. American psychiatrist Aaron Beck proposed that some mental illnesses—such as depression, anxiety disorders, and personality disorders—result from a way of thinking learned in childhood that is not consistent with reality. For example, people with depression tend to see themselves in a negative light, exaggerate the importance of minor flaws or failures, and misinterpret the behavior of others in negative ways. It remains unclear, however, whether these kinds of cognitive problems actually cause mental illness or merely represent symptoms of the illnesses themselves. (Behavioral Perspective, Cognitive Perspective, Sociocultural Perspective, Mental Illness)

References:

. (2012). Retrieved from http://www.auuuu.com/health/mentalillness/behavioralperspective/

Definition of an Addictive Personality . (1999-2012). Retrieved from http://www.ehow.com/about_5386689_definition-addictive-personality.html

The Psychology of Smoking . (2012). Retrieved from http://www.scientificpsychic.com/health/smoking-psychology.html