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Evidence That Habit Moderates the Implicit Belief-Behavior Relationship in Health Behaviors

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Abstract

Background

Theory suggests that implicit beliefs are more likely to be associated with spontaneous, impulsive health behaviors (e.g., smoking, snacking), while controlled, consciously accessible beliefs are more likely to be associated with behaviors that require deliberation and reasoned decision-making (e.g., physical activity, healthy food selection). Consistent with these predictions, we proposed that as behaviors become habitual, they require less deliberation to enact and are thus more likely to be controlled by non-conscious processes, as indicated by stronger associations with implicit beliefs. The present study tested the moderating effect of habit on the effects of implicit beliefs on two health behaviors.

Method

Two samples of university students completed measures of attitude, habit, and implicit beliefs for free-sugar intake (sample 1) and heavy episodic drinking (sample 2) at an initial time point, with follow-up behavioral measures taken at 2 and 4 weeks later, respectively.

Results

Path analyses indicated that attitude and habit predicted behavior in both samples, and habit moderated the implicit belief-behavior relationship in both samples. The effect of implicit beliefs on behavior was larger among participants reporting strong habits. Implicit beliefs did not moderate the effect of explicit attitudes on behavior.

Conclusion

Findings provide preliminary evidence that experiencing health behaviors as habitual is associated with a stronger implicit beliefs-health behavior relationship.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Health and Psychology Innovations (HaPI) Laboratory, School of Applied Psychology, Menzies Health Institute Queensland, 176 Messines Ridge Road, Mt Gravatt, Brisbane, QLD, 4122, Australia

    Daniel J. Phipps & Kyra Hamilton

  2. Psychological Sciences and Health Sciences Research Institute, University of California, 5200 N. Lake Road, Merced, CA, 95343, USA

    Martin S. Hagger

  3. Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyvaskyla, Finland

    Martin S. Hagger

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  1. Daniel J. Phipps
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  3. Kyra Hamilton
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Correspondence to Kyra Hamilton.

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Phipps, D.J., Hagger, M.S. & Hamilton, K. Evidence That Habit Moderates the Implicit Belief-Behavior Relationship in Health Behaviors. Int.J. Behav. Med. 29, 116–121 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12529-021-09975-z

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