Krulwich, Robert. "Inside-Out Your Mind." NPR. NPR,
- 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/krulwich/2012/03/02/147825237/inside-out-your-mind>.
NPR STAFF. "Habits: How They Form and How to
- Break Them." NPR. NPR, 5 Mar. 2012. Web. 5 Mar. 2012.
- <http://www.npr.org/2012/03/05/147192599/habits-how-they-form-and-how-to-break-them>.
"Regions of the Brain Implicated in OCD." CNSforum.
- Web. 05 Mar. 2012. <http://www.cnsforum.com/imagebank/item/Neuro_biol_OCD/default.aspx>. Photo.
Rovner, Julie. "Pet Therapy: How Animals And
- Humans Heal Each Other." NPR. NPR, 05 Mar. 2012. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. <http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2012/03/05/146583986/pet-therapy-how-animals-and-humans-heal-each-other>.
Ruben, John. "Two Brain Circuits Found to Be
- Involved with Habitual Learning - MIT Media Relations." MIT. Ed. Melanie Gonick. John Rubin Productions/ McGovern Institute, 09 June 2010. Web. 05 Mar. 2012. <http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/graybiel-learning.html>. Video.
WHAT'S A HABIT?
WORKS CITED
- Charles Duhigg is a business writer for the "New York Times"
who notes that "the same behavioral and Neurological patterns" are activated with every habit that a person acts upon
- However, not only is the act, for example, brushing your teeth a habit, but the way in which you brush your teeth also becomes habitual, other examples of this include putting on your shoes and exercising
- Interestingly, addictive behaviors, such as smoking, can also become habitual
- He also points to habits as a key factor in being able to multitask since "the brain can almost completely shut down...[and you can] devote this mental activity to something else"
HOW DO HABITS FORM?
Colman, Ryan, Happy
- NPR's article defines a three-part process called a "habit loop" that demonstrates the process of a habit
- First, there is a stimulus cuing the brain to go into an "automatic mode"
- Second is what we actually define as the habit--brushing your teeth--which is the routine behavior brought about by the stimulus
- Third, and most importantly is the reward detected by your brain--the clean feeling of brushed teeth--that causes your brain to want to repeat the habit
WHERE DOES ALL OF THIS OCCUR?
Habits: How They Form And How to Break Them
NPR Interview with Charles Duhigg, Author of "The Power of Habit"
- The basal ganglia, which, not surprisingly, is involved in pattern recognition, memory, and emotion is thought to be the habit center
- One of the reasons that neuroscientists point to this area of the brain for habits and not the decision making area of the brain--the prefrontal cortex--is becasue a habit is an automatic response
"'All our life...is but a mass of habits'" --Willaim James
WHEN DO HABITS CHANGE?
- Habits can change if you change your environment because "once the cues change, Patterns are broken up"
PET THERAPY FOR AUTISTIC CHILDREN
- In the article "Pet Therapy: How Animals and Humans Heal Each Other," a particular case is discussed in which an autistic boy recieves speech therapy while riding a horse
- As the boy, Ryan, is confronted with a new activity that he must devote his mental activity toward--riding a horse-- speech becomes more of a habit
- Not only has his speech improved, but also his balance and his direction following abilities
HABITS AND NEW WAYS OF THINKING
JAPANESE STREET MAP
- While the rest of Duhigg's interview explores habits in the consumer market, I decided to take a look at what breaking habits can do for society
http://web.mit.edu/press/2010/graybiel-learning.html
- "Inside-Out Your Mind by Robert Krulwich
- Derek Sivers, an Entrepreneur teaches how "different cultures think oppositely"
- Krulwhich notes that many times our "knowledge" is simply "the habit of seeing"
- Not only can entering a new environment break your habits, but entering a new culture may also break your habits, as well as, causing you to be aware of them