Habits are the holy grail of behaviour change

Habits are automatic and repetitive – and we enact them without fully registering our actions. 

For organisations who are chasing long-lasting behaviour change, this is important. We don’t want people to stop speeding for a week,  or stop smoking for a night. We want to change behaviours for a lifetime.

That’s where habits come in. If we can switch one-off behaviours into automatic and repeated habits, we’re taking steps toward behaviour change that sticks.  

New users vs. Existing users 

When it comes to habitual behaviour, there’s a big difference between strengthening an existing habit, compared to getting someone to start a new habit. 

Picture yourself moving to a new city and you're trying to organise your first trip on their public transport network – you need to get a transport card, learn your route, how frequent it is, and where your stop is. It’s a very different proposition to increasing existing users who already have a card and already know their public transport routes in their area.  

Starting new habits 

When it comes to starting a new behaviour for first-time users, there are some key considerations and barriers to overcome. In particular: harnessing a disruption, overcoming uncertainty and dialling up the rewards.  

Based on the well-established habit loop by Charles Duhigg, TRA set out to add an additional layer of thinking to habits – how can the habit loop be adapted for first-time behaviours?  

We analysed five different habit models and over 60 case studies in order to understand how cues and rewards can be applied to first-time behaviours.  

Your checklist for starting new habits:  

Cues  

☑ Disruption: Taking advantage of a disruption to the status quo is the prime time to instil a new habit. Consider key events that change how people live their lives – changes to employment, moving house, having a child/grandchild, health events, holidays or studying.  

☑ Social support: Seeing others doing the desired behaviour can help prompt that behaviour, especially if they have trusted messengers - such as, friends, family, and colleagues. How might we dial up referrals, ratings, recommendations or support and guidance from others? 

Behaviour

☑ Reduce uncertainty: Ambiguity aversion is our tendency to dislike uncertainty and prefer what is known. For first-time users, how might we signal what to expect, give them confidence, reassurance and reduce uncertainty? 

☑ Trial and practice: Give new users opportunities to trial and practice the new behaviour so they feel confident going forward. Consider trials, lessons, demonstrations, how-to-guides and tutorials.  

Rewards

☑ Dial up the rewards: First-time users often need further incentives and rewards to commit to trying a new behaviour. How might we dial up the rewards and add further incentives for first-time users? 

☑ Immediacy: The timing of the reward is important – providing a reward immediately after the behaviour can forge a strong positive association. How might we bring the reward even closer to the behaviour?