Special Interest Groups

‘Habit’ refers to a psychological process whereby, on encountering a situational cue, a person is automatically triggered to engage in a behaviour that they have grown to associate with that cue, through a history of cue-consistent repetition.

This special interest group (SIG) speaks to a common interest among EHPS members in the concept of habit and how it can be developed and applied to understand and change health behaviour. The group arose from a Synergy session at the 2019 European Health Psychology Society Conference in Croatia and became an official SIG in 2020. The group is administered via a mailing list and a Twitter/X account (@ehpshabit).

To provide a structure that connects health psychology researchers interested in habitual behaviour and surrounding issues (definition, measurement, theory, application)

To provide a forum for generating, exchanging and debating new ideas and questions, as well as advertising relevant publications, events and endeavours that others might be interested in

To be a source of support and expertise for other researchers less involved in the habit area to ask questions and receive expert responses

The SIG is co-led by Drs Benjamin Gardner and Phillippa Lally (both at University of Surrey, UK).

The SIG meets at least twice a year – once at the EHPS conference, and once virtually. Communication among SIG members occurs through the year, via a mailing list and Twitter/X account.

To join the SIG mailing list, please email Dr Benjamin Gardner at benjamin.gardner@surrey.ac.uk. Follow us on Twitter/X at @ehpshabit.

The EHPS Habit Special Interest Group runs events throughout the year, including online workshops, in person events at EHPS conferences, and more. We also work together for research opportunities, for example with our seed funding competition. You can find all the information on our activities, including recordings of previous workshops, at linktr.ee/ehpshabit