Changing habits is a complex process that may require effort on the part of the individual to achieve what he or she wants. Often willpower is not enough, and people resort to additional influences to change habitual patterns of behavior. The principles of classical conditioning are tools for changing behavior and operant conditioning. These concepts manipulate behavior change based on the formation of associative relationships between an action and an outcome.
Classical conditioning is based on the formation of automatic responses to specific stimuli. A prominent example is when a person becomes phobic because a stimulus (e.g., a dog’s growl) will signify a significant threat (How do you learn through classical conditioning?, n.d.). Operant conditioning involves reinforcing or weakening behaviors to bring about change (Overskeid, 2018). For example, imposing fines when committing a crime is an example of negative consequences, while rewards for good school grades are positive.
Forming and reinforcing new habits requires an effort on the part of the individual to make the new pattern genuinely automatic. It is not enough to act; one must make it autonomous and not require a pronounced expenditure of consciousness to perform it (SciShow Psych, 2019). I would like to achieve automatism by drinking more daily water. It may not be a severe habit, but I need it, and I understand it. I could achieve it by reinforcing the association between the empty bottle and my work bag: in this case, the empty bottle is an unconditional neutral stimulus that will make me fill it with water. Operant conditioning with positive reinforcement (e.g., self-satisfaction or food) will allow me to form a habit gradually.
Consequently, various forms of behavioral change rely on what stimuli from the external environment influence us. In the case of classical conditioning, a specific stimulus triggers an automatic response; for operant conditioning, the relationship between actions and consequences. I plan to achieve a change in the habit of taking water with me through an operant model involving a positive stimulus. This could be achieved by constantly reminding me to fill the bottle in the morning (a neutral stimulus) and reinforcing it with a sweet that I like.
References
How do you learn through classical condition? (n.d.). (225-248).
Overskeid, G. (2018). Do we need the environment to explain operant behavior?Frontiers in Psychology, 9. Web.
SciShow Psych. (2019). How to form a habit [Video]. YouTube. Web.