Hag Henk Aarts

Habit, information acquisition, and the process of making travel mode choices

Three studies examined the role of habit on information acquisition concerning travel mode choices. On the basis of Triandis’ (1980) model of attitude‐behaviour relations it was expected that habit strength attenuates the elaborateness of choice processes. The studies focused on different phases in the choice process, namely the appreciation of situational cues and appreciation of choice option information. In line with expectations, it was found that, compared to weak habit participants, those who had a strong habit towards choosing a particular travel mode acquired less information and gave evidence of less elaborate choice strategies. It was attempted to break effects of habit by manipulating either accountability demands or level of attention. Although accountability demands raised the level of information acquisition, no interactions with habit were found. Enhanced attention to the choice process initially did override habit effects in a series of choice trials. However, in spite of this manipulation, chronic habit effects emerged during later trials. The results demonstrate the profound effects that habit may have on the appreciation of information about choice situations and choice options. #1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Habit, Attitude, and Planned Behaviour: Is Habit an Empty Construct or an Interesting Case of Goal-directed Automaticity?

Habit is often treated as a construct of marginal interest in the literature on attitude–behaviour relations. We argue that this is undeserved, particularly given the current interest in principles of automaticity in social psychology. Basic features of habits, such as goal-directed automaticity, their dependency on situational constancy, and functionality, as well as the measurement of habit strength, are discussed. Research is reviewed that contrasted habit with deliberate action, as approached from the theory of planned behaviour, spontaneous vs. deliberate attitude–behaviour processes, implementation intention theory, and decision-making models. Habits thus appear as boundary conditions of the validity of models of planned behaviour and rational decision-making. A habit seems to be accompanied by an enduring cognitive orientation, which we refer to as “habitual mind-set”, that makes an individual less attentive to new information and courses of action, and thus contributes to the maintenance of habitu...

Habit and information use in travel mode choices

This study focuses on the role of habit in the process of information use underlying daily travel mode choices. Based on the ‘policy capturing’ paradigm, eighty-two students performed a multiattribute travel mode judgment task, in which they could use information about travel circumstances in order to make a number of judgments. Measures of information use were obtained by performing multiple regression analyses for each subject. It was found that habit reduced the elaborateness of information use in judgments of travel mode use. This effect was independent of effects of manipulated accountability demands.

To plan or not to plan? Goal achievement or interrupting the performance of mundane behaviors

The present experiment investigated cognitive and behavioral effects of planning (i.e. forming implementation intentions) on goal pursuit during the performance of mundane behaviors. Participants received the goal to collect a coupon halfway the hall from the lab to the cafeteria. Later, they were also given the task to go from the lab to the cafeteria. Thus participants had to attain a new goal by interrupting a mundane behavior. Some participants enriched their goal with implementation intentions, others did not. Results showed that participants who formed implementation intentions were more effective in goal pursuit than the control group. Importantly, the data suggest that the effects of planning on goal completion are mediated by a heightened mental accessibility of environmental cues related to the goal completion task.