Good Habits, Bad Habits by Wendy Wood

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About the Book

Good Habits, Bad Habits is Dr. Wendy Wood's authoritative, science-backed exploration of how habits actually form and change, drawing on more than three decades of pioneering behavioral research to challenge much of the conventional wisdom around willpower and self-control. Wood, one of the world's foremost experts on habit formation, argues that we've fundamentally misunderstood how change really works — we tend to believe that willpower and motivation alone are what drive lasting behavior change, when in reality, up to 43 percent of our daily actions are performed habitually, operating largely outside our conscious awareness and intention.

Drawing on her original research alongside insights from neuroscience and psychology, Wood explains why willpower so often fails us: habits are not formed through sheer discipline, but through repeated context-dependent repetition, where cues in our environment automatically trigger certain behaviors regardless of our momentary intentions or motivation. The book equips readers with concrete, evidence-based strategies for building good habits and breaking bad ones — emphasizing the power of "friction," context design, and environmental cues over willpower-driven effort — while addressing broader questions of how habits form differently across children and adults, how they can be leveraged for effective public policy, and why understanding the difference between conscious decisions and automatic habitual behavior is essential for anyone hoping to create lasting change in their own life.

Why Choose This Book?

• From a leading academic authority: Written by Wendy Wood, Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the University of Southern California and one of the world's foremost habit researchers.
• Genuinely research-driven, not anecdotal: Draws on over three decades of original behavioral science research rather than popular psychology speculation.
• Challenges conventional self-help wisdom: Offers a compelling, evidence-based rebuttal to willpower-centric approaches to behavior change.
• Practical and actionable: Provides concrete strategies rooted in context design and environmental cues rather than vague motivational advice.
• Broadly applicable: Extends beyond personal habits to insights on parenting, public policy, and organizational behavior change.

About the Author: Wendy Wood

Wendy Wood, PhD, is Provost Professor of Psychology and Business at the University of Southern California and one of the world's leading researchers on the science of habit formation. Her research has been published in top academic journals and has shaped both academic understanding and public policy approaches to behavior change, making her one of the most cited and respected voices in the field.

Who Should Read This Book?

• Readers looking to build better habits using genuine scientific evidence
• Anyone frustrated by past failures to change behavior through willpower alone
• Professionals in psychology, coaching, public health, or policy design
• Fans of behavioral science books like Atomic Habits and Thinking, Fast and Slow
• Parents and educators interested in how habits form differently across ages

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Order now and bring home Good Habits, Bad Habits — Wendy Wood's rigorously researched, myth-busting guide to how habits really form and how to change them for good.

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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