Kicking the habit: Why evidence for habits in humans might be overestimated.

Abstract

Researchers typically classify behavior as habitual if it occurs independently of changes in the value of its outcomes (revaluation test) or the impact it has on those outcomes (contingency degradation test). We argue that these tests are valid only if they (a) are sufficiently sensitive and (b) target the outcomes that might actually control behavior. These criteria resemble the sensitivity and information criteria that are widely adopted in research on learning without awareness. We argue that past and future evidence for habits should be evaluated in light of these criteria and illustrate this approach by applying the information criterion to the studies conducted by de Wit et al. (2007, 2013). In three experiments that were modelled after these studies, we used alternative revaluation and contingency degradation tests that targeted other outcomes than those targeted in the original studies. These alternative tests consistently provided evidence for knowledge of outcomes that could have controlled seemingly habitual behavior. Our results suggest that the revaluation test used by de Wit et al. (2007, 2013) did not meet the information criterion, which questions the validity of their conclusions regarding the habitual nature of the observed behavior.

Addiction is driven by excessive goal-directed drug choice under negative affect: translational critique of habit and compulsion theory

“…Indeed, column 7 shows a perfect correspondence between impaired explicit contingency knowledge and impaired devaluation performance. In numerous human learning tasks, explicit knowledge of task contingencies is necessary for accurate performance, that is, participants who have impaired contingency knowledge perform less accurately in these tasks [204][205][206][207][208][209]. The implication is that drug users, or more dependent users, failed to acquire explicit contingency knowledge in the three tests supporting habit theory (tests 9-11), which impaired their devaluation performance, making them appear to be habitual.…”

The Law of Recency: An Episodic Stimulus-Response Retrieval Account of Habit Acquisition

“…As we have explained in the introduction, habits reflect stimulusdriven operant behaviors that are characterized by features of automaticity. Research on habit acquisition often relies on using outcome devaluation as a crucial test for establishing the habitual character of a behavior (e.g., Moors et al, 2017;De Houwer et al, 2018). This criterion is of utmost importance when behaviors have previously been reinforced or are still followed by certain outcomes.…”

Volumetric and connectivity changes in brain networks associated with reward sensitivity, cognitive control, and negative affect in binge eating disorder and bulimia nervosa

“…Recently, a number of authors have suggested that primarily a decreased influence of the goal-directed network makes people more vulnerable to habitual responding (de Houwer et al, 2018;. Indeed, as discussed before, OFC volume and connectivity appears to be affected in both BN and BED (see section 2.1-2.3).…”