The Loop Behind a Habit
Written by Studio AM.
Your result
- Words per minute
- Score
- Pace
Words per minute mean something only with the score beside them. They describe this passage on this read. With fewer than 3 right, try the next slower pace.
Choose a pace and select Start. The passage is paced and timed, then the questions check what you understood. How pace mode works
Reading time 0:00
A habit is a behavior that becomes easier to repeat with little conscious thought. Practicing an action in a recurring situation can connect that situation with the response. A cue, such as a time of day or a place, can then prompt the routine. A rewarding result may encourage repetition while the habit is developing.
For example, someone might read a page after breakfast each day. Breakfast becomes the cue, reading is the routine, and enjoying the story is a reward. After repeated practice, the person may reach for the book without deliberating about whether to read. This automatic response can free attention for other tasks. Unhelpful routines can become familiar in the same way.
Changing a habit can involve changing its surroundings. Keeping a book beside the breakfast table makes reading easier to start. Moving a distracting phone to another room may reduce the competing cue. Repeating a new response in a consistent setting can help it become more automatic. The time this takes varies between people and behaviors.
The passage is hidden while you answer. It comes back with your result.
Questions
Choose an answer. The explanation appears after you answer.
-
Question 1 of 4
The passage mainly explains
The answer is B: Repeated actions can become linked to cues and easier to perform automatically.
The passage explains how repeated actions become associated with situations and how changing cues can support a new routine.
-
Question 2 of 4
Why might keeping a book beside the breakfast table help?
The answer is B: The book is easy to reach when the regular cue occurs.
Breakfast is the regular cue, and placing the book nearby makes it easier to repeat the reading response.
-
Question 3 of 4
According to the passage, what does the reward do?
The answer is B: It may encourage repetition as a habit develops.
A rewarding result may encourage repetition while a habit is developing.
-
Question 4 of 4
In this passage, "deliberating" most nearly means:
The answer is C: thinking a choice over carefully
The reader may reach for the book without deliberating, or carefully thinking over the decision, each time.
Score: none answered yet.