It’s just days into 2026, and many people must already be finding themselves reflecting on the resolutions they made at the start of the new Year. If you set goals for 2026, are you still sticking to them? If you are, that puts you in a small minority. According to a report in The Economist, polling in the United States suggests that nearly half of those who make New Year’s resolutions give up by the end of March. More rigorous scientific studies show that, regardless of when a change is attempted, it takes many months for a new behaviour to take hold.
This is where the science of habit formation becomes especially relevant. Research shows that habits are created and reinforced through a repeating cycle of cue, routine and reward. Understanding how this loop works can help people build positive behaviours while also making it easier to break those that are unhelpful or harmful.
Many of the actions people perform every day, from brushing their teeth to instinctively checking their phones, are not the result of conscious decision-making. Instead, they are driven by deeply ingrained habit loops in the brain. By automating behaviour in familiar situations, habits reduce the mental effort required to navigate daily life.
The Habit Loop
One of the most widely recognised frameworks for understanding how habits form is the “habit loop.” The model was popularised by researcher Charles Duhigg and is rooted in behavioural psychology. At its core, the habit loop explains behaviour as a three-part process which includes a cue, a routine and a reward. Over time, this sequence becomes a mental shortcut, shaping how people act without deliberate intent.
Understanding The Habit Loop: Cue, Routine, Reward
The cue, sometimes referred to as a trigger, is what sets the behaviour in motion. It can be an external factor such as a specific time of day or a familiar location, or an internal one, like an emotional state. Feeling stressed, for instance, may act as a cue that prompts someone to reach for a cigarette.
The routine is the behaviour that follows the cue. This is the action itself, whether it is making a cup of coffee, scrolling through social media or going out for a run. It is the part of the loop that becomes increasingly automatic with repetition.
The reward comes at the end of the cycle and is what reinforces the behaviour. It may take the form of the stimulation provided by caffeine, the temporary calm brought on by nicotine, or the endorphin release that follows physical exercise. During this stage, the brain releases dopamine, which strengthens the link between the cue and the routine.
As this loop repeats over time, it becomes deeply embedded. The cue begins to trigger the routine almost automatically, and the brain starts anticipating the reward even before the action is completed. This sense of anticipation creates craving, helping to explain why habits can be so powerful, and so difficult to change.
Why The Brain Forms Habits
A habit is a behaviour learned through repetition until it becomes automatic. Repeated actions create stable neural pathways, allowing the brain to perform tasks with little conscious effort. Once established, a habit feels natural and easy.
The defining feature of a habit is automaticity. Actions like driving a familiar route or tying shoelaces happen without active thinking, freeing the mind to focus elsewhere. This reflects the brain’s drive for efficiency, as it conserves energy by automating repeated behaviours.
Habits are controlled mainly by the basal ganglia, a deep-brain structure responsible for pattern recognition and motor control.
With repetition, this area strengthens the brain circuit and transforms conscious behaviour into routine by storing action sequences.
The prefrontal cortex, which controls decision-making, becomes less active as habits develop. This explains why, despite our best efforts, behaviours endure.
The brain’s capacity to rearrange itself through experience, or neuroplasticity, is the foundation of the habit development process. The neurones involved are stimulated collectively and their connections become stronger each time a pattern is carried out in response to a trigger. This continuous activation eventually produces an instinctive reaction that requires no conscious effort.
Crucially, during this process, the brain does not distinguish between “good” and “bad” habits. It searches for patterns that result in rewards.
How Rewards Cement Habits
Rewards are important because they provide the loop the drive it needs to continue. Dopamine, a chemical signal linked to learning and pleasure, is released both before and after rewards are obtained. Habits are strong and enduring because of this anticipated yearning.
Craving can influence action even in the absence of conscious intention when the brain starts to anticipate the reward as soon as it recognises the cue. For instance, someone may immediately grab for the sofa or the TV remote when they arrive home from work due to a need for relaxation.
Because of this reward expectation, behaviours can continue even when the actual benefit is negligible or non-existent. The cue-routine-reward loop continues to fire unless it is intentionally broken because the brain has learnt to anticipate the reward.
Breaking And Changing Habits
Deciding to stop a behaviour rarely works on its own since habit loops are so deeply ingrained. Rather, psychologists advise modifying the routine while maintaining the same cue and reward, effectively altering the brain’s route. The cue still triggers anticipation, the reward still satisfies it, but the behaviour in the middle is different.
Changing the surroundings to remove or substitute cues is another strategy. According to research, when a habit’s environmental triggers vanish, the behaviour may deteriorate because the cue is no longer present. For this reason, many people find that changing daily routines or environments makes it simpler to break bad behaviours.
Additionally, researchers emphasise how crucial instantaneous and significant incentives are for developing new habits. The stronger the association and the quicker the loop is reinforced, the more satisfying the reward feels at the time. This explains why little victories or noticeable improvements can serve as strong motivators to modify conduct.
The Future of Habit Science
Advances in neuroscience, behavioural economics and artificial intelligence are reshaping how habits are studied and understood. Wearable devices and behavioural tracking tools now generate real-time data on everyday actions. At the same time, digital platforms are increasingly built around behavioural design principles that encourage healthier choices, even as these techniques raise ethical concerns when used to manipulate user behaviour.
This growing overlap between technology and psychology is also opening the door to more personalised approaches to habit formation. The central challenge lies in ensuring these technologies are used to support and empower users, rather than to influence or exploit them.