Habit Formation Dynamics: Finding Factors Associated with Building Strong Mindfulness Habits

Robert Lewis*, Yuanbo Liu, Matthew Groh, Rosalind Picard

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingConference contribution

2 Scopus citations

Abstract

Mindfulness is widely recognized as an effective technique for managing mental and physical health. However, a significant challenge remains when attempting to transform its practice into a habit. To understand the individual characteristics and contexts that correlate with habit formation experiences, we conducted a six-week observational study involving 62 participants who planned to adopt a new mindful breathing habit. Overall, 47.4% (N = 1,234) of daily surveys were completed and 41 participants completed the post-study survey. Using a growth curve modeling framework, we confirm the presence of significant overall change in habit automaticity across participants in the first 21 days of habit practice. Furthermore, we identify four factors that are significantly correlated with the gradient of participant habit formation trajectories: how committed a participant is to building the habit before starting the practice period, their prior mindfulness experience, and two dimensions of personality – agreeableness and emotional stability.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Title of host publicationHCI International 2021 - Posters - 23rd HCI International Conference, HCII 2021, Proceedings
EditorsConstantine Stephanidis, Margherita Antona, Stavroula Ntoa
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media Deutschland GmbH
Pages348-356
Number of pages9
ISBN (Print)9783030786441
DOIs
StatePublished - 2021
Event23rd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2021 - Virtual, Online
Duration: Jul 24 2021Jul 29 2021

Publication series

NameCommunications in Computer and Information Science
Volume1421
ISSN (Print)1865-0929
ISSN (Electronic)1865-0937

Conference

Conference23rd International Conference on Human-Computer Interaction, HCII 2021
CityVirtual, Online
Period7/24/217/29/21

Keywords

  • Growth curve modeling
  • Habit formation
  • Health behavior change
  • Mindfulness
  • Observational study
  • Well-being

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • General Computer Science
  • General Mathematics

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