Hey there, curious minds! Have you ever wondered why brushing your teeth is such a common habit today? Well, it all started about 100 years ago with a clever advertiser named Claude C. Hopkins. Back then, not everyone brushed their teeth daily. Claude needed to change that and get people to buy his toothpaste. How did he do it? By understanding the science of habits!
We all have habits. They’re things we do automatically without thinking much about them, like tapping your foot when you’re bored or biting your nails while watching a movie. Habits can be good, like exercising regularly, or not-so-good, like eating too much junk food.
Habits form because our brains like to be efficient. When you repeat a behavior, your brain creates new pathways to make it easier to do that action without thinking. For example, when you first learned to ride a bike, you had to focus on balancing, pedaling, and steering. But after practicing, it became second nature, and you didn’t have to think about it anymore.
Claude Hopkins figured out that habits have three parts: a cue, a behavior, and a reward. A cue is something that triggers you to do a behavior, like an alarm clock making you hit the snooze button. The reward is what you get from doing the behavior, like extra sleep.
Claude used this idea to sell toothpaste. He told people about the film on their teeth in the morning, which was the cue. Brushing their teeth was the behavior, and the reward was a prettier smile. This simple idea got people to start brushing their teeth every day!
Claude didn’t realize that rewards can create cravings, which make habits strong. Scientists have discovered that when a habit and a reward are linked, our brains start craving the reward even before we do the behavior. That’s why you might want popcorn at the movies or feel like brushing your teeth for that minty fresh feeling.
So, how can you create a new habit, like eating an apple every day? And can you break a bad habit? The good news is that our brains are flexible and can change. When you repeat a behavior, your brain’s structure changes, forming new pathways.
Breaking a bad habit is tough because those pathways don’t disappear overnight. Instead of trying to erase a bad habit, it’s often better to replace it with a new one. Remember, you have the power to change your brain, just like brushing your teeth became a habit for so many people. Stay curious and keep learning!
Draw a chart that shows the habit loop: cue, behavior, and reward. Choose a habit you want to develop or change, and fill in the chart with your own examples. Share your chart with the class and discuss how understanding this loop can help you form new habits.
Become a habit detective! Observe your daily routines and identify at least three habits you have. Write down the cue, behavior, and reward for each habit. Share your findings with a partner and discuss how these habits impact your day.
In groups, create a short skit that demonstrates how a new habit is formed using the cue, behavior, and reward model. Perform your skit for the class and explain the habit loop you illustrated. This will help you understand how habits are built and maintained.
Start a habit journal where you track a new habit you want to develop over the next month. Write down your cue, behavior, and reward, and record your progress daily. Reflect on any challenges you face and how you overcome them.
Create a board game that helps players understand and build new habits. Include spaces that represent cues, behaviors, and rewards. Play the game with your classmates and discuss how it can help reinforce the concept of habit formation.
Sure! Here’s a sanitized version of the transcript:
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Hey smart people, Joe here. What if I told you that the reason you had fresh breath this morning was because 100 years ago, an advertiser named Claude C. Hopkins was having trouble selling a brand of toothpaste? He needed to convince people that brushing their teeth should be a daily routine, and back then, it wasn’t for most people. In the end, he was able to get half the American public to adopt this new behavior and repeat it every single day, while also paying for his toothpaste. How did he do it? By tapping into neuroscience and understanding the power of habits.
Habits. We’ve all got them. You can probably think of a few of your own. I often find myself tapping my feet when I’m trying to sit still, and I tend to bite my nails whenever I’m focused on reading or watching a movie. I don’t consciously think about doing these things; they’ve become habits. We know habits as things we do automatically; tasks we perform subconsciously, like walking or high-fiving. There are many things that count as habits, and they can be good or bad.
So why do we form habits? And how do we learn new ones or unlearn old ones? If you’ve ever taken the same path to school or work, then you likely have that pathway ingrained in your brain. You can probably walk it without really paying attention. Habits are built in a similar way. New neural pathways are formed when you repeat a behavior. The more a brain circuit fires, the easier it becomes for our brain to perform that action without conscious thought.
Think back to how you learned to ride a bike. At first, riding a bike is challenging. You have to learn how to pedal, balance, and turn all at the same time, consciously thinking about each action. This happens in an area of your brain called the prefrontal cortex, which is associated with complex thought. But eventually, after enough practice, you no longer have to consciously think about each individual action. Riding a bike becomes a habit, controlled by different parts of your brain. One area involved in habitual behavior is the striatum, which releases chemicals that reduce the need for complex thinking for that task. This is your brain being efficient.
Let’s return to Claude Hopkins and his toothpaste strategy. Claude realized that habits have three key ingredients: a cue, a behavior, and a reward. A cue is something that triggers a behavior, like how an alarm clock prompts you to hit the snooze button, followed by the reward of extra sleep. Claude got people thinking about the film on their teeth in the morning, caused by bacteria that accumulate overnight. This film served as the cue that triggered the brushing behavior. What was the reward? Claude convinced people that this film would make their smile look unattractive, and a prettier smile was the reward for brushing.
Claude understood that with the right cue and reward, you could encourage people to adopt almost any behavior. However, he didn’t realize that rewarding a behavior can create a craving, which is what makes habits so strong. Scientists now know that specific neurons in the brain can fire and provide chemical rewards. Interestingly, once a habit and a reward are linked in our brain, those reward neurons start firing even before the behavior is performed. This is what causes cravings and explains why you might want popcorn when you go to the movies or pick up bad habits when you see others doing them.
Claude knew that a prettier smile would be a reward that motivated people to brush, but he didn’t anticipate that over time, people would subconsciously start craving the minty sensation that toothpaste left in their mouths. People’s brains began to crave tooth brushing.
So how can you train yourself to adopt a new habit, like eating an apple a day? And if you have a bad habit, can you break it, or are you stuck with it forever? Scientists used to believe that our brains didn’t change much after reaching adulthood, like concrete once it’s set. However, it turns out your brain is much more flexible. The chemistry of your brain is constantly changing in response to various factors, including learning, movement, and hunger. These chemical changes are temporary, but over time, if the same behaviors are repeated, the physical structure of the brain actually changes, creating new neural pathways.
Because the neural network has changed, so does the flow of information. When a behavior is repeated often enough, a habit is formed. There’s a popular idea that a new skill is learned by putting in 10,000 hours of work, but it’s not that straightforward. The time required varies greatly between tasks and individuals. What’s certain is that when it comes to forming a habit, whether it’s learning guitar or meditation, repetition is essential.
The reason bad habits are difficult to break is that you have literally woven new neural networks into your brain, and that doesn’t disappear overnight. So give yourself a break. If you’re trying to change a habit, it’s usually best to replace the bad behavior with a new one instead of trying to erase the pattern altogether. The good news is that you have the power to change your brain. It’s as simple as brushing your teeth. And if you haven’t already made it a habit – stay curious.
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Let me know if you need any further modifications!
Habits – Regular actions or routines that are often done without thinking because they have been repeated many times. – Example sentence: Developing good study habits can help improve your grades over time.
Behavior – The way a person acts or conducts themselves, especially towards others. – Example sentence: Positive behavior in class can create a better learning environment for everyone.
Reward – A positive reinforcement or benefit given in response to a particular action or behavior. – Example sentence: Receiving praise from a teacher can be a rewarding experience that encourages students to keep trying their best.
Cue – A signal or prompt that triggers a specific behavior or response. – Example sentence: The school bell acts as a cue for students to move to their next class.
Brain – The organ in our head that controls thoughts, memory, emotions, and behavior. – Example sentence: Learning new skills can help strengthen different parts of the brain.
Cravings – Strong desires or urges for something, often related to habits or routines. – Example sentence: After a long day at school, I often have cravings for a sweet snack.
Change – The process of becoming different, often involving a shift in behavior or thinking. – Example sentence: Adapting to change can be challenging, but it is an important part of personal growth.
Flexible – Willing to adapt or change to new situations or conditions. – Example sentence: Being flexible in your thinking can help you solve problems more effectively.
Pathways – Connections in the brain that are formed through repeated experiences and learning. – Example sentence: Practicing a new skill helps build stronger pathways in the brain.
Learning – The process of acquiring new knowledge or skills through study, experience, or teaching. – Example sentence: Learning about different cultures can broaden your understanding of the world.
