Health Behaviour Research Centre, University College London, Gower Street, London, WC1E 6BT, UK.
J Behav Med. 2013 Oct;36(5):488-97. doi: 10.1007/s10865-012-9442-0. Epub 2012 Jul 4.
Habit formation is thought to aid maintenance of physical activity, but little research is available into determinants of habit strength aside from repeated performance. Previous work has shown that intrinsically motivated physical activity, underpinned by inherent satisfaction derived from activity, is more likely to be sustained. We explored whether this might reflect a tendency for self-determined activity to become more strongly habitual. A sample of 192 adults aged 18-30 completed measures of motivational regulation, intention, behaviour, and habit strength. Results showed that self-determined regulation interacted with past behaviour in predicting habit strength: prior action was more predictive of habit strength among more autonomously motivated participants. There was an unexpected direct effect of self-determined regulation on habit strength, independently of past behaviour. Findings offer possible directions for future habit formation work.
习惯的形成被认为有助于维持身体活动，但除了反复的表现之外，关于习惯强度的决定因素的研究很少。之前的工作表明，内在动机驱动的身体活动，由活动本身带来的内在满足来支撑，更有可能持续下去。我们探讨了这是否可能反映出自发活动更倾向于成为习惯性的趋势。192 名年龄在 18-30 岁的成年人完成了动机调节、意图、行为和习惯强度的测量。结果表明，自我决定的调节与过去的行为相互作用，从而预测习惯强度：在更自主的动机参与者中，过去的行为更能预测习惯强度。自我决定的调节对习惯强度有一个意外的直接影响，而与过去的行为无关。研究结果为未来的习惯形成工作提供了可能的方向。
