The real reason habits matter is not because they can get you better
results (although they can do that), but
because they can change your
beliefs about yourself.
I
3
How to Build Better Habits in 4 Simple
Steps
N 1898
,
A
psychologist named Edward Thorndike conducted an experiment
that would lay the foundation for our understanding of how habits form
and the rules that guide our behavior. Thorndike was interested in studying
the behavior of animals, and he started by working with cats.
He would place each cat inside a device known as a puzzle box. The box
was designed so that the cat could escape through a door “by some simple
act, such as pulling at a loop of cord, pressing a lever, or stepping on a
platform.” For example,
one box contained a lever that, when pressed,
would open a door on the side of the box. Once the door had been opened,
the cat could dart out and run over to a bowl of food.
Most cats wanted to escape as soon as they were placed inside the box.
They would poke their nose into the corners, stick their paws through
openings, and claw at loose objects. After a few minutes of exploration, the
cats would happen to press the magical lever, the door would open, and they
would escape.
Thorndike tracked the behavior of each cat across many trials. In the
beginning, the animals moved around the box at random. But as soon as the
lever had been
pressed and the door opened, the process of learning began.
Gradually, each cat learned to associate the action of pressing the lever with
the reward of escaping the box and getting to the food.
After twenty to thirty trials, this behavior became so automatic and
habitual that the cat could escape within a few seconds. For example,
Thorndike noted, “Cat 12 took the following times to perform the act. 160
seconds, 30 seconds, 90 seconds, 60, 15, 28, 20, 30, 22, 11, 15, 20, 12, 10,
14, 10, 8, 8, 5, 10, 8, 6, 6, 7.”
During the first three trials, the cat escaped in an average of 1.5 minutes.
During the last three trials, it escaped in an average of 6.3 seconds. With
practice, each cat made fewer errors and their actions became quicker and
more automatic. Rather
than repeat the same mistakes, the cat began to cut
straight to the solution.
From his studies, Thorndike described the learning process by stating,
“behaviors followed by satisfying consequences tend to be repeated and
those that produce unpleasant consequences are less likely to be repeated.”
His work provides the perfect starting point for discussing how habits form
in our own lives. It also provides answers to some fundamental questions
like: What are habits? And why does the brain bother building them at all?
