A book I came to read on a book club's recommendation. Before reading it, I thought it would be a personal, practical, instructive self-help book about how to make a new habit (so prone to fizzling out after three days) your own, and why bad habits are so hard to fix—but this book is one in which an excellent scientist made an effort(!) to explain his own research to lay readers as understandably as possible. It begins by proving propositions about habits (as all science does..) and introduces them by approaching through brain science, the nervous system, psychology (and even literature).
Since it is a book containing a lot of information, I will write a little more carefully so that I can organize it and refer back to it later.
This book is broadly divided into two parts. Part 1, The Machine of Habit: 1) What exactly do scientists mean by a habit, and in which part of the brain is a habit born? 2) An explanation of the brain system that forms the foundation of habit. How does this system relate to other types of learning and memory?
- Chapter 3, why is habit so persistent? 4) How do the brain's different memory systems each act to guide our behavior in a wise direction?
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Among the theories explaining the brain's computation for learning a new habit, "reinforcement learning."
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Depending on two different kinds of reinforcement learning, habits are activated and planned/goal-directed behaviors are also manifested.
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Self-control and willpower — the prefrontal cortex. 6) Addiction; it is by no means a coincidence that all kinds of addictive drugs abnormally and excessively activate dopamine. Part 2, Habits can be changed.
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Regarding public health issues, how important and how difficult it is to change behavior; he explains the flaws of previous research on behavior change and, focusing on the basic mechanisms that support behavior change, introduces a new approach that will transform the existing research method.
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The countless strategies said to help change behavior—verifying the validity of this approach. 9) An explanation of "intervention strategies" based on neuroscience research. From the first chapter, he answers as if he knew my expectations.
The author presents not a simple solution that someone tells you, but a way for the reader to fully understand habits and take away their own ideas. A true scientist!
First, to lay down a definition of habit.. thought is characterized by automaticity, and the point that there is a "habit of thought" is also important. The emotional response shown when facing a particular situation also becomes a habit. Then why did our brain evolve into such a machine of habit?
Using the brain system continuously while doing unchanging things takes a lot of energy, so the brain evolved for its own sake. The brain system that learns habits and the system that helps form past conscious memories are completely different.
Dopamine plays an important role in reinforcing behavior that leads to reward, and as a result, in laying the groundwork for habit development. As for the various factors contributing to a habit's persistence... when the reason a habit becomes persistent is proven by such a scientific mechanism, it is even frightening, as if no one could escape this mechanism. lol Throughout the book, it explains in detail the various aspects in which the brain's functions trigger our thoughts and behaviors. The author explains that such detailed content is essential to understanding the formation and maintenance of habits.
In Part 2, the author says habits can be changed, introduces and rebuts scientific approaches to behavior change. If you want to approach and understand the algorithm of habits scientifically through this book, I strongly recommend it.
However, it is not a book that reads easily and smoothly, so being mentally prepared is essential. My score is 9/10.