STREET DOGS: There’s a need to overcome habitual responses
As with most aspects of human behaviour, being aware of a behavioural tendency is not sufficient to eliminate it
From Mark Fenton-O’Creevy, professor of organisational behaviour at the Open University: Hermit crabs rely on acquiring discarded shells for their protection and are constantly on the lookout for better shells. However, faced with environmental stress they prefer to stick with their old shell, however unsuitable, than risk moving to a new one. Experiments with rats show that under stress habitual behaviour persists longer in the face of changed reward structures — the market conditions may have changed but stressed rats take longer to spot this than unstressed ones. In our daily lives we are faced with the need to navigate complex situations with limited cognitive resources. A major strategy that evolution has equipped us with (just like hermit crabs and rats) is the development of habitual responses. Habitual responses have value because they free us to devote cognitive resources to what is novel or challenging. But they are also rigid and inherently less adaptable to changing cond...
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