HABIT AND INTENTION IN EVERYDAY LIFE - THE MULTIPLE PROCESSES BY WHICH PAST BEHAVIOR PREDICTS FUTURE BEHAVIOR

Past behavior guides future responses through 2 processes. Well-practi ced behaviors in constant contexts recur because the processing that i nitiates and controls their performance becomes automatic. Frequency o f past behavior then reflects habit strength and has a direct effect o n future performance. Alternately, when behaviors are not well learned or when they are performed in unstable or difficult contexts, conscio us decision making is likely to be necessary to initiate and carry out the behavior. Under these conditions, past behavior (along with attit udes and subjective norms) may contribute to intentions, and behavior is guided by intentions, These relations between past behavior and fut ure behavior are substantiated in a meta-analytic synthesis of prior r esearch on behavior prediction and in a primary research investigation .