William James : Habit (From The Principles of Psychology) - Research Paper Example

?William James – “Habit” Human life is a phenomenon which is bound by many things. Thought and actions determine the life of a person and hence the internal or mental aspects which affect the way that we perform these parts play an essential role in life. Psychology is one of the most essential areas in the sphere of science and human life and is studied in an attempt to understand why people behave in the manner in which they do and to comprehend their subconscious (Benjafield 1-4). A prominent author in the field is William James. He has written a number of texts on the subject including The Principles of Psychology in 1980. Within this book he considers a number of different aspects of psychology that play a large role in humans, including habit. Habit is a form of behavior that is followed routinely and repeated for a longer period of time which ultimately ends up occurring subconsciously in a person. He argues that some habits occur as the result of instinct, innate qualities that we have no control of but are part of our human nature, while others occur because of a choice. However, while humans may choose to do an action, they often do not intend for this to remain as a habit. The chapter considers habit from a physical point of view, examining the principles at a mechanical level that cause habits to become ingrained, and to form in the first place. Often habits can be thought of as a human trait. They are something that grows from repeated action to an extent that they can occur without intent. Some habits are innate, inherent in our genetic structure and may be an indication of earlier times for our species. Such habits include the rush of adrenaline when in danger or looking for exits when entering a new area. Other habits are more connected to our society, with smoking and alcohol drinking often considered to be strong bad habits. Habits however are not limited to humans. Rather “…the laws of habits are nothing but the immutable habits which the different elementary sorts of matter follow…” . Thus habits can be applied at all levels of matter and energy. For example, a particle of matter can be considered to have habits, as James himself considers, although these habits are unchangeable, much like the particle itself. In contrast, an organism or more complex collection of matter is able to change, and consequently its habits are not static. A term that can be used in this case is plasticity. This word can be applied both to physical and organic systems, and suggests a structure that is able to be influenced and changed, but that retains the strength not to change all at one time. James proposes that it is this plasticity at the level of matter that underlies the ability of living organisms to develop habits . Thus, we form habits because the systems in our body are formed in such a way to encourage many types of repeated action. Within living organisms, the level at which habits are formed also varies. A scar can be considered a form of habit. Wherever the body forms a scar, this location is more vulnerable than other parts of the body, even those nearby, and thus feels pain when other parts do not, is more sensitive to temperature and injury. Many diseases too show the behavior of habit. They are dominant in the system simply because they are present, providing a self-reinforcing cycle. The application of treatment or medication is often sufficient to break this cycle. Finally, and perhaps most evidently, habits form at the level of the brain. These are not the consequence of physical strain or pressure but of paths within the nerve centers, which follow each other in a string of action. Thus, when one action along the path is taken it is difficult to prevent the subsequent actions from occurring. Many reflex habits can be explained in this manner, such as nail biting or brushing hair behind the ears. Some habits however are formed initially from the conscious action, or formed de novo as James suggests. This can be likened to trampling a path through high grass. At first forming a path is difficult, and obstacles may have to be removed in order to make the path traversable. However, as the path continues to be used, it becomes more worn down and smooth, till the path is automatically taken regardless of what else is available. Thus, at the level of the nervous system this can be considered in the same light. Once current has traversed a particular path once, it is then easier to traverse it second and subsequent times. The formation of habit can often be strongly connected with the creation of associations. This can occur to such an extent that when the habit is performed it can have the desired effect whether or not the stimulus is present. For example, for many people having a cup of coffee first thing in the morning is a habitual action. It is something that they do without thinking about it, and many people make coffee while they are still waking up, their bodies so used to the process that little input from the mind is required. The coffee provides stimulation, and many people drink it in order to wake themselves up. However, the association between the cup of coffee and becoming alert is so strong that it is likely that if the coffee was changed or replaced so that it did not provide any stimulus, the subject would still be invigorated as a consequence of the association. There are both good and bad sides to habit. Some habits seem to provide the positive influence in people and at times even provides for liveliness of the person to a great extent. Take for example, the fisherman who has the knack of fishing as they are used to the practice of fishing for several years together. Thus it becomes absolutely easy on their part to perform fishing activity at a very good speed. On the other hand, people may get into the habit chain for wrong reasons as well. A chain smoker is a person who is a habitual smoker and who smokes for a longer period of time for over years. Some of the smokers are used to the habit of taking up smoking as soon as they wake up from the bed. A bad habit is considered to be a negative behavior pattern that is observed in a person. Procrastination, drug addictions and nail biting are considered to be habits that display negative behavioral pattern. The growth of a habit can be compared to the way in which a person learns a sport or gains muscle. “(O)ur nervous system grows to the modes in which it has been exercised” . Thus, the human body adjusts to what it has learned in order to make this more efficient. As the body becomes practiced at a movement, the stimulus that is required to create that movement becomes smaller and as a consequence it becomes more distinct and refined. When one examines the way in which habit works, it becomes clear that it is a necessary part of the way that people and organisms in general are built. If nothing became easier with repetition, then simple tasks that were once challenging, such as putting on clothes or tying shoelaces would always take a long amount of time. Consequently, nothing new could ever be learned with any efficiency, and most of the day would be spent on simple tasks. Habits that have been in place for a long time or subject to a significant amount of reinforcement can often be difficult to break. James gives examples of the way in which domestic animals go through the routines which they are trained for with little hesitation, and the strong effect calling a man to attention could have, even years after army service. Not only this, but habits drive expectations, and it is habits that enable things such as the class system to remain in place, and men and women to work mundane jobs . One of the prime things that could change the way the habitual behavior is going on is that of the willpower in a person. Will power is the ability to change the course of action through a great deal of determination. The willpower idea proves to be of great help in changing the negative behavioral pattern in a person. Habit also has a design and various kinds of habits occur in different age groups of the person. Below twenty is known to be the age group wherein the habit related to personal things is nurtured. Personal habits may include gesture, language and also motion in general. On the other hand, the above thirty is known to be development of intellectual habit in a person. People will develop likeliness related to reading, art and other such intellectual activities and makes them their habit in due course of time. Habit of concentrating on the right things will change the way the life moves for a person. It is found that if a person exercises concentrated attention with denials to other unwanted areas then he will surely succeed in his goal when the other fellow men could not meet up with it. Such is the power of habit. It is a well known fact that by paying attention to this unconscious pattern of your life one could even change the course of life. Say for instance, a person is so used to drinking every day as he has formed such a habit in him. In such case, it become necessary for one to take a self analysis to get to know whether what he is doing is right or wrong. Is it contributing to the life of the person in any positive way or its brining down the life of the person? Only such analysis will open up the person to know his course of action. Habits differ greatly from one person to another and there are various reasons that determine the habitual behavior of a person. One person may have a particular pattern of behavior whereas some others will have altogether different patterns when it comes to actions. There are also some most common habits that many people all over the world seem to posses such as the bed time coffee habit and watching television before going to sleep and many such things. These are harmless behavior but if it affects the lifestyle of the person then it needs to be changed. This area also has some touch of deep science in it and it is understandable that the habit theory will not affects the elementary particles in universe as they are not changeable in any manner. The compound matters on the other hand can undergo the necessary changes in order to attain different forms and shapes in course of the molding. Materials, living substances and human life will all respond to the change as they are compound matters. It is very much clear that any thing that is compound is changeable and will undergo a process of change in the course of its life. Human are one of the easy targets when it comes to habits. Human life is accustomed to these habits and thus they are following these methods blindly. Some cases like keeping the key in the key stand are all routine things that does not require a though process to do it as you are so used to doing it in a daily manner. The brain will not be in alert in such case of habitual actions to a great extent. In his chapter on habit, James examines what drives the way that habits are formed not only in humans, but in other organisms and even at the atomic level. Habits play a large role in the way that people live, although many of the effects are unknown and unobserved. Not just behavioral, habits can also be considered at the deeper physical level, such as the way cuts and scars behave. The unusual approach that the author takes allows for a very thorough examination of the subject and the mechanical aspects behind it. Works Cited: Benjafield, John. A History of Psycology, Oxford University Press, 2005. Print. James, W. "Habit". The Principles of Psychology. New York: Henry Hold and Company, 1980. Print.  Read More