Key themes
- The habit loop — cue, routine, reward — and how to work within it
- Institutional habits and what they produce in organisations
- Why knowing what to do is not enough to change behaviour
About this book
How habits work in people, companies and societies, and how to change them; readable and useful.
Published in 2012, The Power of Habit became one of the bestselling nonfiction books of the decade and was on the New York Times bestseller list for over three years.
Discussion questions
- Duhigg's habit loop (cue, routine, reward) is the book's central structure. How does he apply it — to individuals, organisations and societies — and where does the framework become strained?
- The book argues that you can't eliminate habits, only replace them. How does this claim translate to practice — and what does it say about willpower?
- The chapter on Target's pregnancy-prediction algorithm is one of the most discussed in the book. What is Duhigg saying about data, privacy and the line between knowing customers and manipulating them?
- Duhigg uses reported case studies throughout. How does he establish reliability — and how much does the narrative form depend on the reader accepting these as representative?
- The Power of Habit has been used in corporate training, addiction programmes and sports coaching. What does this wide application say about the framework — and what might each application miss about the others' contexts?
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