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Good Habits, Bad Habits Paperback – December 29, 2020

4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 754 ratings

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A landmark book about how we form habits, and what we can do with this knowledge to make positive change

We spend a shocking 43 percent of our day doing things without thinking about them. That means that almost half of our actions aren’t conscious choices but the result of our non-conscious mind nudging our body to act along learned behaviors. How we respond to the people around us; the way we conduct ourselves in a meeting; what we buy; when and how we exercise, eat, and drink―a truly remarkable number of things we do every day, regardless of their complexity, operate outside of our awareness. We do them automatically. We do them by habit. And yet, whenever we want to change something about ourselves, we rely on willpower. We keep turning to our conscious selves, hoping that our determination and intention will be enough to effect positive change. And that is why almost all of us fail. But what if you could harness the extraordinary power of your unconscious mind, which already determines so much of what you do, to truly reach your goals?

Wendy Wood draws on three decades of original research to explain the fascinating science of how we form habits, and offers the key to unlocking our habitual mind in order to make the changes we seek. A potent mix of neuroscience, case studies, and experiments conducted in her lab,
Good Habits, Bad Habits is a comprehensive, accessible, and above all deeply practical book that will change the way you think about almost every aspect of your life. By explaining how our brains are wired to respond to rewards, receive cues from our surroundings, and shut down when faced with too much friction, Wood skillfully dissects habit formation, demonstrating how we can take advantage of this knowledge to form better habits. Her clear and incisive work shows why willpower alone is woefully inadequate when we’re working toward building the life we truly want, and offers real hope for those who want to make positive change.

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Editorial Reviews

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"In Good Habits, Bad Habits . . . the social psychologist Wendy Wood refutes both [William] James's determinism and glib exhortations to be proactive, and seeks to give the general reader more realistic ideas for how to break habits. Drawing on her work in the field, she sees the task of sustaining positive behaviors and quelling negative ones as involving an interplay of decisions and unconscious factors . . . Even people who score high on self-control questionnaires may owe their apparent virtue to situational factors rather than to sheer fortitude." --Jerome Groopman, The New Yorker

"Many authors have written about habits . . . but Wood is also a premier scientist in psychology, working on how habits affect and are affected by the human mind. Top tip: Willpower isn't enough. But through her original research, Wood explains what does work." --Bethanne Patrick, The Washington Post

"[An] enlightening debut . . . [Wendy Wood] eloquently explains current research on the role habits play in everyday activities such as snacking, exercising, and commuting . . . Her insightful, data-driven advice includes tactics such as "stacking"--grouping desired behaviors together with already-established behavioral patterns to incorporate actions into routines. Wood's research and perspective on the malleability of habits will bring hope to any reader looking to create long-term behavioral change." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)

"Fascinating and fun, this book will change a lot of lives. So much of human behavior is habitual--sometimes for better, sometimes for worse. Wood brings state-of-the-art social science into contact with the most pressing issues in daily life. She's a tremendous guide." --Cass R. Sunstein, Robert Walmsley University Professor, Harvard University, and author of How Change Happens

"Wendy Wood is the most thoughtful, innovative researcher studying the central role habits play in human behavior. Her work on habits has guided scientific understanding and will have a similar impact on public knowledge. I can't imagine a better person writing this book." --Dan Ariely, author of Predictably Irrational

"Wendy Wood is the world's leading expert on habits--how we make them, break them, and change them. I expect that her book will be both eye-opening and immensely useful in teaching people how to get more done, quit smoking, start exercising, make better choices, and stop annoying their partners." --Adam Grant, author of Originals

"Wendy Wood is the world's foremost expert in the field, and this book is essential." --Angela Duckworth, author of Grit: The Power and Passion of Perseverance

"No one has studied how habits form and influence behavior better than Wendy Wood. More importantly for readers, no one has done a better job of showing how to change negative habits into powerful, helpful versions." --Robert B. Cialdini, author ofInfluence and Pre-Suasion

"An insightful guidebook from the world's preeminent habits researcher. Good Habits, Bad Habits is a captivating tale of the science of habits and how you can use them to improve your life." --Jonah Berger, author of Contagious: Why Things Catch On

"Drawing on decades of research, combined with the results of her own meticulous studies, Wendy Wood shows us how conventional advice on creating good habits and eliminating bad habits is bound to fail. Wood's research reveals the surprisingly simple features that lie at the heart of good and bad habits. In Good Habits, Bad Habits, she shows how understanding these features is crucial to making habits stick and teaches us how to shape our own habits to improve our lives." --Samuel D. Gosling, personality and social psychologist

"Good Habits, Bad Habits is a fascinating tour of the science of habits, and Wendy Wood is the consummate tour guide. One of the world's leading habit researchers, Wood shares decades of her own research with wit, charm, and a keen eye for the stories that illuminate the processes of habit-making, habit-breaking, and habit-reshaping. If you want to understand your own habits--and how they form and can be reformed--Good Habits, Bad Habits is for you." --Adam Alter, NYU Stern School of Business

"Good Habits, Bad Habits is a huge achievement. Wendy Wood manages to distill the science of habit formation, most of which emerges from her own lab, in a manner that is fascinating but also, above all, extremely useful for people looking to make positive change in their life."--David Kessler, New York Times-bestselling author of The End of Overeating and Capture

About the Author

Wendy Wood is Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the University of Southern California. She has written for The Washington Post and the Los Angeles Times, and her work has been featured in The New York Times, the Chicago Tribune, Time magazine, and USA Today, and on NPR. She lectures widely and recently launched the website Good Habits Bad Habits to convey scientific insight on habit to the general public.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Picador Paper; Reprint edition (December 29, 2020)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 320 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1250159091
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1250159090
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.35 x 0.85 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 754 ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book provides useful insights and practical solutions. They describe it as readable, entertaining, and easy to understand for lay readers. The author's writing style is described as fantastic and engaging.

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29 customers mention "Insight"26 positive3 negative

Customers find the book provides useful insights into habits. They appreciate the compelling research and practical solutions. The book explains how we think and develop habits. Readers appreciate the author's extensive study of habits and consider it the best book on the subject.

"...bit challenging to follow and may require a second read, the book provides practical and effective solutions. It's definitely worth the effort!" Read more

"...the world, she has also outlined for the lay person, a wonderful set of practical and useful choices to improve our daily lives...." Read more

"...Most of the chapters are rich with detail. My favorite story is how America went from a smoking country to a nonsmoking country...." Read more

"I’d recommend this book to anyone. Taking a hard look at the science of how habits work in our minds, Wendy Wood helps the reader to understand just..." Read more

25 customers mention "Readability"21 positive4 negative

Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They appreciate the personal anecdotes and quotes. The writing style is user-friendly and the science is explained in a straightforward manner. Readers say it's a great read that provides useful insights into the topic.

"...It's definitely worth the effort!" Read more

"...used in college class rooms around the world, she has also outlined for the lay person, a wonderful set of practical and useful choices to improve..." Read more

"...His writing is fantastic. Wendy’s writing style is kind of standard of what you would expect from a book that is coming from a researcher...." Read more

"...more tightly linked to the science, and in a highly engaging and accessible style, presents a set of established principles that will guide you..." Read more

3 customers mention "Humor"3 positive0 negative

Customers enjoy the humor in the book. They find it entertaining and informative on habits.

"...reading this book and the author manages to bring it all to light with humor, wit and loads of flair. Highly recommended!!" Read more

"...In my opinion, the book is interesting, practical, and humorous. Nicely done! I highly recommend it." Read more

"Entertaining and informative book on Habits!..." Read more

Interesting and informative read
4 out of 5 stars
Interesting and informative read
“Why is it easy to make that initial decision to change, and even to start to do some of the right things—but difficult to persist in the longer term?” Wendy Wood poses this question and, really, she got my attention.Wood’s book, Good Habits, Bad Habits: The Science of Making Positive Changes that Stick (Farrar, Straus, and Giroux, 2019), is more than just popular self-help with a side of convenient science. Wood is a behavioral scientist and has been researching and seeking the answer to this question for decades.Her answer takes 236 pages of writing, nearly 30 pages of notes, and another 30 pages of bibliography.But really, it was just fun to read.And it should make sense to those of us who struggle with the Catholic life. A large part of what we’re struggling with falls under the habit category.Prayer time? Habit. Check. Mass each week? Habit. Check. Regular confession? Habit. Check.Unlike many of the books offering you ten tips to crack the code to be a better person, Wood doesn’t make any promises. She unpacks the science, explains how things work in the brain, and talks down-to-earth, like a friend over a cup of coffee.She debunks the “how things are done” side of things in Part 1, and then she goes into describing how habits are formed and solidified. There’s a reason I can’t go up and down stairs without praying a Hail Mary, hardly even noticing it. It’s because I made it a habit years ago, and that context is just there. Boom. I do it.I don’t know if it’s comforting or unnerving that habits are more resilient than other types of memory. I can’t help but think that God made us this way for a reason, and that reason is so that we can better align ourselves to him, right? Of course, free will chimes in, so there’s bound to be some hiccups.“To illuminate the force behind our habits,” Wood writes, “it has been necessary to show how drastically most of us overestimate the strength (and necessity) of conscious thought. It’s not that it’s ineffective; it’s just not as tenacious as we think.”There’s hope for us: “A huge part of our lives flows through our habit selves,” says Wood. “This part of us moves more slowly than our conscious understanding. It takes a while to get going—but then it’s pretty resilient. This part of ourselves is like a powerful, reliable laborer: always going, always on call. But it’s occupied with what’s right in front of it. That means there’s still a place for ‘you’—for the you who’s reading this book, the you who wants to lose some weight, or save some money, or get more out of your working day.” Or, I would add, be better at praying, have a better spiritual life, or make a positive change towards God.In fact, there’s wisdom Mother Church has had for us all along. Lent: That time when we tackle habits and realign ourselves. And, to some extent, Advent. The liturgical year is a big habit-making and habit-breaking cycle.If you like science-y reads and enjoy research-heavy books, you’ll like this one. You may also get some tips—or reminders—about how to make actual changes that take effect in your life.
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Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2024
    If you're looking to break bad habits and make lasting changes, this book is an excellent resource. It offers fresh insights supported by recent scientific findings. While some parts can be a bit challenging to follow and may require a second read, the book provides practical and effective solutions. It's definitely worth the effort!
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on November 11, 2019
    If you’re looking for a book offering quick fixes for dealing with the complex issues surrounding our daily habits and how to change them, don’t read this book. But if you’re interested in reading about thoughtful methods which are based on a ton of well- structured academic based research, providing the reader with a useful path for managing our habits, then you should read this excellent book. While Professor Wendy Wood has written a book that will most likely be used in college class rooms around the world, she has also outlined for the lay person, a wonderful set of practical and useful choices to improve our daily lives. We’re fast approaching the holiday season along with the setting of new year resolutions, so I can’t think of a better gift for everyone on your list than a copy of “Good Habits, Bad Habits.”
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 1, 2020
    Wendy’s book is very informative. She’s clearly an expert as she has spent her life studying habits. This book seems to be a good summary of where the field is currently. The obvious comparison to this book is naturally going to be “Atomic Habits” by James Clear. Though they are about the same topic (habits) they are NOT in the same genre. Atomic Habits is a self-help book. Good Habits, Bad Habits is a psychology book.

    If you are nerdy like me and have a psych background, then this the book for you. Most of the literature is what James Clear read to write his book. If you just want to change your behaviors, Clear’s book is the one you want. His writing is fantastic.

    Wendy’s writing style is kind of standard of what you would expect from a book that is coming from a researcher. Not that is it a bad thing, it just won’t be a best seller. Most of the chapters are rich with detail. My favorite story is how America went from a smoking country to a nonsmoking country.

    As someone who started writing about habits on the blog “yournexthabit.com”, it gives me more to chew on in implementing the research into my own habits.

    TLDR; Read Atomic Habits first then read this one if you want even more.
    74 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on July 17, 2022
    I’d recommend this book to anyone. Taking a hard look at the science of how habits work in our minds, Wendy Wood helps the reader to understand just how much habits play a role in our daily lives, and consequently, enable them to structure their habits to enact positive, lasting, and effortless change. We’re all subject to our habits, and Wendy brings that notion to the forefront, making it easier to see the ways that habits influence multiple different behaviors. I can already see how my habits are impacting my life, and I have a better grasp now of what I need to do to structure those in a way that’s analogous to the life I want to live. I hope this book will do the same for you.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on February 23, 2025
    There are useful nuggets to gain from this book, but the author's style resembles a sequence of educated brain farts about habits peppered with research. Hard to get through and not sure what to make of the material in the end.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 11, 2019
    Good Habits, Bad Habits offers an excellent synthesis of the science of habit, straight from the leader in the field. Habits are a central part of our daily lives, yet we tend to overestimate the role of conscious goals/intentions (“willpower”) in guiding our behavior, while underestimating the power of our habits, or our “second self”. Good Habits, Bad Habits presents a wide range of interesting research studies (several conducted by Dr. Wood and her colleagues) and real-world examples to illustrate the core tenets of the science of habit—context, repetition, reward—and its implications for supporting habit change—redesigning your context, reducing/creating friction, making habits rewarding. I’ve read and enjoyed the other popular books on habits. Good Habits, Bad Habits is more tightly linked to the science, and in a highly engaging and accessible style, presents a set of established principles that will guide you toward making lasting, positive changes in your life.
    25 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on October 5, 2021
    If you have any questions pertaining to habit, this book will likely handle them. The title of ‘Good habits, Bad Habits’ could easily be continued to include ‘why habits, how habits, which habits, when habits’. Wood addresses each of these functional addendums thoroughly. For example, Wood tackles the ‘When habits’ by both examining how long it takes to create various types of habits while also detailing truths about when we need to feel rewarded to reinforce habituation. From Volkswagen PSAs to expert firemen, from British flossers to American former-cigarette smokers, from college football coaches to cognitive examinations of 4-year-olds practicing restraint, Wendy Wood’s text is a masterpiece in how we transfer conscious knowledge into what she aptly titles “benignly thoughtless” action.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 23, 2020
    Based on numerous research studies, Wendy Wood takes the reader on a quest into our brain and explains how we think, how we develop habitual behavior and how we can make our brain work for us in long term. She also stresses the importance of spatial queues that trigger unconscious frictionless behavior working either for our good or against it. My key takeaway “You contain depths. You can put those depths to work for you.” I enjoyed the reading.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

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  • Gopal Patil
    5.0 out of 5 stars Simple sweet and straight forward points with clear examples
    Reviewed in India on April 3, 2024
    Good
  • John
    5.0 out of 5 stars Didn't know AMAZON had books.
    Reviewed in Canada on May 16, 2021
    Live in the country and don't/can't get to any decent book stores in the city often. Heard about this book on the radio and searched it on AMAZON. Had it and it was delivered within 3 to 5 days. Great service. Good book.
  • JD
    5.0 out of 5 stars Interessant und hilfreich
    Reviewed in Germany on February 8, 2023
    Wer schnelle und einfache Lösungen für seine Probleme sucht, wird hier nicht fündig, aber wenn man sich darauf einlässt und etwas Zeit investiert, kann man mit den hier gewonnenen Erkenntnissen echte und vor allem langfristige Veränderungen in Gang setzen.
  • adrienne dunne
    5.0 out of 5 stars Completely new perspective
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 21, 2020
    Great read factual and fascinating
  • peaches brighton
    5.0 out of 5 stars Good habits, bad habits,
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 31, 2025
    Can highly recommend this book and author, lovely to read and understand, Prof Wendy Wood descriptions are very well written, difficult to put this book down, recommend same, there are other books on the market but not as well written as this one