What are habits and how do they impact on the way we lead our life? A free public lecture will explain how habits work and look at recent research, at the University of Bath on Thursday 4 June.
Professor Bas Verplanken, from the Department of Psychology, believes that capitalising on the principles of habits could lead to a healthier, more sustainable and less worrisome world.
In his lecture, entitled The psychology of habit: From overt behaviour to mental events, he will explain how habits work and why their make-up poses serious challenges for interventions aimed at changing them, for example in information campaigns.
Professor Verplanken, professor of social psychology, said: “Habits are subtly woven into the fabric of everyday life. We usually are not aware of our habits, unless they are disrupted, for instance because we move house, or when your doctor puts you on a diet.
“Habits have received surprisingly little attention in social, health, and consumer psychology. Over the past few years I have conducted research on habitual negative self-thinking. Whereas, a degree of critical self-thinking is healthy and functional, a habit of negative self-thinking is not.
“My research demonstrates that the habitual quality of such thinking poses an additional risk factor in a range of areas, such as feelings of self-worth, body image, eating disorders, and job satisfaction.”
Professor Verplanken will assess the success of traditional interventions in overcoming the habitual quality of these beliefs and suggest a different approach.
The lecture will take place in Lecture Theatre 2 East 3.1 at the Claverton campus on Thursday 4 June at 6.15pm. Tickets are free: please contact Patricia Sechi on 01225 383843 for a ticket or email p.sechi@bath.ac.uk