Tempting the Creation of Habits
In August, Panera Bread had this amazing deal. A free bagel every morning. For the entire month. For free. Even their specialty cinnamon crunch bagel. Did I mention it was free? And so I began driving a different way to work. I didn’t have to make breakfast in the morning. I picked up my bagel. And so often couldn’t resist the Chai Tea Latte.
And then September dutifully came. It seemed I had forgotten how to even make breakfast. I forgot my old route to work, too — I was used to driving the way that passes the Panera. And when I saw the sign, like Pavlov’s dogs, I began to drool.
Taking a similar tack, this past May, my local Dunkin Donuts had a promotion for 99 cent iced tea. Now, I should be paid to say this, but Dunkin Donuts really does make amazing iced tea. And when it’s only 99 cents? Even better. Which size cup? Any size. Clearly I’m going to get the large. And so for hours, I’d sip on my large iced tea. It became a fixture of my classroom when I’d teach — the huge cup that I’d drink all day. And then, in the heat of the summer, Dunkin Donuts would raise its price.
Not only did I have to fight a physiological habit of a steady cool stream of caffeine, but I now had to fight a psychological habit of having my cup all day long.
Habits are powerful, and the above examples illustrate how two companies were willing to lower costs initially to reel in consumers, hoping to make having a morning bagel or an iced tea as habitual as putting your shoes on.
References
Neal, D. T., Wood, W., Wu, M., & Kurlander, D. (2011). The pull of the past: When do habits persist despite conflict with motives?. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37(11), 1428-1437.
Orbell, S., & Verplanken, B. (2010). The automatic component of habit in health behavior: Habit as cue-contingent automaticity. Health Psychology, 29(4), 374-383. DOI: 10.1037/a0019596
About the Author
Yasmine Kalkstein
Yasmine is currently an Associate Professor of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership at the United States Military Academy at West Point, where she also serves as the Lead Integrator in the Character Integration Advisory Group. As a Fulbright Scholar, she spent a year working at the Medical Decision Making Center at Ono Academic College in Israel. She received her Ph.D. in Educational Psychology from University of Minnesota and her BA in Biopsychology from University of Virginia. She is interested in the fields of character and leadership development, medical decision making, education, and human-centered design.
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