# Wendy Wood Wendy Wood is an American social psychologist and one of the world's leading researchers on [[Habit Formation]]. A professor at the University of Southern California, Wood's research has fundamentally changed how we understand habits—showing that nearly 43% of daily behaviors are performed habitually, largely outside conscious awareness. Her work demonstrates that habits are not about willpower or motivation but about context: the cues, environments, and repetition that make behaviors automatic. Wood's 2019 book *[[Good Habits, Bad Habits]]* synthesizes decades of research for general audiences, explaining why willpower-based approaches fail and how to design environments that make desired behaviors effortless. Unlike [[Roy Baumeister]]'s focus on self-control as a depletable resource, Wood emphasizes that habits bypass the need for self-control entirely—once formed, they execute automatically in response to context cues. Her research has influenced [[Behavioral Design]], public health interventions, and productivity systems. She argues that successful behavior change requires "friction" manipulation: reducing friction for good habits, increasing it for bad ones. ## Key Contributions | Contribution | Description | |--------------|-------------| | **Habit frequency research** | 43% of daily behaviors are habitual | | **Context-dependent automaticity** | Habits triggered by environmental cues | | **Friction theory** | Ease/difficulty determines behavior | | **Habit discontinuity** | Life changes disrupt habits (opportunity for change) | | ***[[Good Habits, Bad Habits]]* ** | Popular science book (2019) | ## Core Ideas | Idea | Description | |------|-------------| | **Habits ≠ willpower** | Habits bypass conscious decision-making | | **Context is key** | Same behavior, different context = no habit | | **Friction matters** | Small barriers have large effects | | **Repetition + reward** | How habits form neurologically | | **Habit discontinuity** | Major life changes break habit loops | | **Environment design** | Change context, change behavior | ## Habit Formation Model | Element | Role | | ------------------ | ----------------------------------- | | **Cue** | Environmental trigger | | **Routine** | The automatic behavior | | **Reward** | Reinforces the loop | | **Repetition** | Builds automaticity over time | | **Stable context** | Same time, place, preceding actions | ## Research Findings | Finding | Implication | |---------|-------------| | **43% habitual** | Most behavior is automatic | | **Context transfer fails** | Habits don't travel to new environments | | **Willpower depletes** | Can't rely on it long-term | | **Small frictions matter** | Moving snacks 6 feet reduces consumption 50% | | **Habit change windows** | Life transitions are opportunities | ## Friction Manipulation | For Good Habits | For Bad Habits | |-----------------|----------------| | Reduce steps | Add steps | | Make visible | Hide triggers | | Prepare in advance | Create delays | | Place in path | Remove from environment | | Pair with existing routine | Break context associations | ## Quotes <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/quote AND [[Wendy Wood]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> ## Books <!-- QueryToSerialize: LIST FROM #type/book AND [[Wendy Wood]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> <!-- SerializedQuery: LIST FROM #type/book AND [[Wendy Wood]] WHERE public_note = true SORT file.name ASC --> - [[Good Habits, Bad Habits]] - [[Tiny Habits]] <!-- SerializedQuery END --> ## References - Wood, Wendy. *Good Habits, Bad Habits* (2019) - https://dornsife.usc.edu/wendywood/ - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wendy_Wood_(psychologist) ## Related - [[Habit Formation]] - [[Good Habits, Bad Habits]] - [[Behavioral Design]] - [[BJ Fogg]] - [[James Clear]] - [[Roy Baumeister]] - [[Phillippa Lally]] - [[Automaticity]] - [[Environment Design]] - [[Decision fatigue]]