Habit

High school (ages 12+)
Human Body

Name:

Date:

Step 1 · Read the article

Open the article and read it at the level above. Then answer the questions below in your own words.

https://smallwhale.org/articles/habit

Write what each word means, using the article.

Do not copy the article. Write two things you learned, the way you would explain them to a friend.

Answers below are taken from the article’s stored facts, so they match what the student read.

1. What is the characteristics of automaticity?Features of automatic behaviors include efficiency, lack of awareness, unintentionality, and uncontrollability
2. Why do we have habits?Habits help our brain work faster and save energy, so we can do many things automatically without using too much thinking.
3. How does a habit form?A habit starts with a cue that tells us to act, then we do a routine, and we get a reward. Repeating this loop makes it automatic.

Subconscious Processing: Mental operations that occur without conscious awareness or volitional control.
Neural Plasticity: The brain's ability to reorganize itself by forming new neural connections throughout life.
Cue-Routine-Reward Loop: A neurological pattern where a trigger leads to a behavior, which is followed by a positive outcome.