# Habits as a Dimension of Personhood — What Annie Must Understand

**Date:** 2026-02-22 (v2 — complete rewrite with full theoretical depth)
**Purpose:** Deep research into the psychology and behavioral science of habits for her-os. How should Annie observe, model, predict, nudge, and scaffold habits — both existing and aspirational — while respecting autonomy and handling shame-laden territory with care?
**Status:** Research complete. Ready to inform data architecture (entity types), Annie's behavioral rules, and narrative design.
**Prompted by:** Rajesh's feedback: "What about habits? Sometimes habits can be irrational and deep rooted... that also forms a person. And in this case, not what habits Rajesh comes with, but also what habits Rajesh wants to develop?"

---

## Table of Contents

1. [Why Habits Are a Missing Dimension](#1-why-habits-are-a-missing-dimension)
2. [Theoretical Frameworks](#2-theoretical-frameworks)
3. [Habits vs. Goals vs. Routines vs. Rituals](#3-habits-vs-goals-vs-routines-vs-rituals)
4. [Habit Taxonomy for a Personal AI](#4-habit-taxonomy-for-a-personal-ai)
5. [Annie's Role in Habit Management](#5-annies-role-in-habit-management)
6. [The Sensitivity Problem: Shame, Judgment, and Trust](#6-the-sensitivity-problem)
7. [Data Model: Habit Entity Design](#7-data-model-habit-entity-design)
8. [Integration with Existing her-os Architecture](#8-integration-with-existing-her-os-architecture)
9. [Concrete Recommendations](#9-concrete-recommendations)
10. [Sources](#10-sources)

---

## 1. Why Habits Are a Missing Dimension

The current her-os Human Dimensions taxonomy (RESEARCH-HUMAN-DIMENSIONS.md) covers 15 categories and 127 dimensions of personhood. Habits appear in scattered mentions — "personality quirks and habits" (Gottman's love maps), "exercise habits" (Category 10.1), "new habits being formed" (Category 12.2), "unquestioned habits" (Category 12.5 Blind Spots) — but are never treated as a first-class dimension.

This is a significant gap because habits are arguably **the primary behavioral substrate of daily life.** Research by Wendy Wood and colleagues at the University of Southern California found that approximately **43% of daily behaviors are performed habitually** — triggered by context cues rather than conscious deliberation (Wood, Quinn, & Kashy, 2002). The basal ganglia stores habitual routines, freeing the prefrontal cortex for novel decisions. When someone reaches for their phone first thing in the morning, checks email compulsively during dinner, or always orders the same coffee, they are not making a decision — they are executing a stored neural program.

Rajesh's insight is profound: **habits form a person in ways that goals and values do not.** A person can aspire to be healthy (goal), believe health is important (value), and still eat chips every night while watching TV (habit). The habit is irrational. It contradicts the stated value. It may even contradict the person's self-concept. And yet it persists, because habits operate below the threshold of conscious intention. They are the behavioral residue of a thousand past decisions, now running on autopilot.

For Annie, this means:

1. **Prediction.** If Annie knows Rajesh's habits, she can anticipate behavior with high accuracy. Habits are the most predictable component of human behavior because they are context-triggered and relatively stable.
2. **Understanding.** Habits reveal the gap between professed values and lived behavior (the "authenticity gap," Dimension 1.10). They reveal coping mechanisms (emotional eating, doom-scrolling, overworking). They reveal what a person actually prioritizes through their time, not their words.
3. **Support.** Rajesh explicitly wants Annie to help him both break bad habits and develop new ones. This is a core use case — not passive memory, but active companionship in behavioral change.
4. **Compassion.** Bad habits are shame-laden territory. Annie must navigate this with the sensitivity framework (ADR-010) applied specifically to habitual behavior.

---

## 2. Theoretical Frameworks

### 2.1 Duhigg's Habit Loop (The Power of Habit, 2012)

Charles Duhigg popularized the neuroscientific understanding of habits as a three-part loop:

```
CUE ──→ ROUTINE ──→ REWARD
 ↑                      │
 └──────────────────────┘
         (reinforcement)
```

- **Cue:** A trigger that initiates the automatic behavior. Can be a location, time of day, emotional state, preceding action, or social context. The basal ganglia recognizes the cue and activates the stored routine.
- **Routine:** The behavior itself — physical (snacking), mental (worrying), or emotional (seeking reassurance). This is what we colloquially call "the habit."
- **Reward:** The positive outcome that reinforces the loop. Can be physical (dopamine from sugar), psychological (relief from anxiety), social (approval), or informational (novelty from checking phone).

**Key insight for Annie:** To change a habit, you must keep the same cue and reward but substitute the routine. The "Golden Rule of Habit Change" — you cannot extinguish a habit, only redirect it. Annie should identify the cue-routine-reward triplet, not just the routine.

**Keystone habits** are Duhigg's most important contribution: certain habits, when changed, trigger cascading changes across other behaviors. Exercise is the classic keystone habit — people who start exercising regularly also tend to eat better, sleep better, smoke less, and use credit cards less. Annie should identify and prioritize keystone habits because they offer disproportionate leverage.

### 2.2 Wood & Neal's Automaticity Model (2007, 2016, 2022)

Wendy Wood and David Neal's research at USC provides the most rigorous scientific framework for habit psychology. Key findings:

**Habits are not goals.** In their landmark 2022 paper "Habits and Goals in Human Behavior: Separate but Interacting Systems" (Perspectives on Psychological Science), Wood and Mazar demonstrate that habits and goals operate through distinct cognitive systems:

- **Goal system:** Operates through the prefrontal cortex. Conscious, deliberative, effortful, flexible. Consumes cognitive resources. Sensitive to current motivational state (I'm hungry -> eat).
- **Habit system:** Operates through the basal ganglia. Automatic, context-triggered, effortless, rigid. Requires minimal cognitive resources. Insensitive to current motivation (I always snack at 3 PM -> snack, regardless of hunger).

**The automaticity spectrum.** Habits are not binary (you have it or you don't). They exist on a spectrum from fully deliberate to fully automatic. Wood and colleagues developed the Self-Report Habit Index (SRHI) measuring:
- Frequency of the behavior
- Automaticity (doing without thinking)
- Identity relevance ("it's just what I do")
- History of repetition

**Context stability is the key driver.** Habits form when behavior is repeatedly performed in a stable context. When the context changes (moving to a new city, starting a new job, having a baby), habits become unstable and are temporarily accessible to conscious control. This is the **"habit discontinuity hypothesis"** — major life transitions are windows of opportunity for habit change.

**For Annie:** This means life transitions are the optimal moments to suggest habit changes. If Rajesh starts a new role, moves house, or experiences any major contextual shift, Annie should recognize the window and gently surface aspirational habits. Outside these windows, deeply rooted habits require a different strategy (see Section 5).

### 2.3 BJ Fogg's Behavior Model & Tiny Habits (2009, 2020)

BJ Fogg's model from Stanford's Behavior Design Lab states that behavior occurs when three elements converge simultaneously:

```
B = MAP (at the same moment)

B = Behavior
M = Motivation (desire to do the behavior)
A = Ability (ease of doing the behavior)
P = Prompt (cue that triggers the behavior)
```

If any element is missing, the behavior does not occur. The model has three practical implications:

1. **To start a new habit:** Make it tiny (increase Ability), anchor it to an existing routine (reliable Prompt), and celebrate immediately (boost Motivation through positive emotion).
2. **To stop a bad habit:** Remove the prompt (make the cue invisible), increase friction (reduce Ability), or reduce the reward (lower Motivation).
3. **The recipe format:** "After I [ANCHOR MOMENT], I will [TINY BEHAVIOR]." Example: "After I pour my morning coffee, I will write one sentence in my journal."

**Tiny Habits Recipe for Annie:**
Annie can generate specific Tiny Habits Recipes by combining Rajesh's existing routines (which she observes from transcripts) with his aspirational habits. She knows his anchor moments because she tracks his daily rhythms (Category 11.1). This makes Annie uniquely powerful as a habit coach — she has the data to construct personalized implementation intentions automatically.

A 2025 study in the Journal of Applied Psychology found that habit stacking (Fogg's anchor-based approach) increased habit formation success rates by 64% compared to standalone habits.

### 2.4 James Clear's Atomic Habits Framework (2018)

Clear synthesized the research into four practical "laws of behavior change":

| Goal | Law | Strategy |
|------|-----|----------|
| **Build good habit** | Make it obvious | Cue: design environment for visibility |
| | Make it attractive | Craving: pair with something enjoyable (temptation bundling) |
| | Make it easy | Response: reduce friction, use 2-minute rule |
| | Make it satisfying | Reward: immediate positive feedback |
| **Break bad habit** | Make it invisible | Cue: remove triggers from environment |
| | Make it unattractive | Craving: reframe the association |
| | Make it difficult | Response: increase friction |
| | Make it unsatisfying | Reward: add accountability, make consequences visible |

**Identity-based habits** are Clear's key insight: the most effective habit change comes not from focusing on outcomes ("I want to lose weight") or processes ("I need to run 3x/week") but from identity ("I am a runner"). When the habit is tied to who you want to become, it draws from intrinsic motivation.

**For Annie:** This connects directly to the Possible Selves framework (Dimensions 1.4-1.6 in RESEARCH-HUMAN-DIMENSIONS.md). Annie should link aspirational habits to Rajesh's hoped-for selves: "You said you want to be someone who writes regularly — here's a tiny habit that moves toward that identity."

### 2.5 Lally's Habit Formation Curve (2010)

Phillippa Lally and colleagues at University College London studied how long it actually takes to form a habit. Their findings, published in the European Journal of Social Psychology:

- **Average: 66 days** to reach automaticity (not the popular myth of 21 days)
- **Range: 18 to 254 days** depending on complexity, individual differences, and consistency
- **Missing a single day does not reset the clock** — the curve is forgiving, not fragile
- **The shape is asymptotic** — early repetitions produce the biggest gains in automaticity; later repetitions have diminishing returns
- **Complexity matters:** Simple habits (drinking water) form faster than complex ones (50 pushups)

**For Annie:** This research directly informs how Annie should track habit progress. She should:
- Expect a 2-9 month range, not a fixed 21 or 30 day period
- Not catastrophize about missed days ("You missed yesterday, but your streak of 12 days before that still counts — automaticity doesn't reset")
- Track the automaticity curve, not just a binary streak
- Celebrate the early phase more intensely (biggest gains in habit strength per repetition)

### 2.6 The Neuroscience of Habits

The neural basis of habits centers on the **basal ganglia**, specifically the dorsolateral striatum:

1. **Learning phase:** Prefrontal cortex is active. Behavior is deliberate, effortful, conscious. The hippocampus encodes context. The striatum begins to detect cue-reward contingencies.
2. **Habit formation:** Activity shifts from prefrontal cortex to basal ganglia. Neural activity in the basal ganglia "chunks" the cue-routine-reward sequence into a single unit. The prefrontal cortex disengages.
3. **Habitual phase:** Basal ganglia executes the routine automatically upon cue detection. Prefrontal cortex is free for other tasks. The behavior is "compiled" — fast, efficient, but rigid.
4. **The habit never fully erases.** Even when a habit is "broken," the neural pathway remains in the basal ganglia. Under stress, fatigue, or reduced executive function, old habits can re-emerge (relapse). This is why habit change is better described as "overriding" than "deleting."

**For Annie:** The neuroscience of persistence has two implications:
- Bad habits will resurface under stress. Annie should expect relapse and plan for it, not treat it as failure.
- Good habits also persist. Once formed, a healthy habit remains as a neural pathway even during disruptions. Annie can remind Rajesh that the "muscle memory" is still there.

---

## 3. Habits vs. Goals vs. Routines vs. Rituals

These four constructs are often confused. Annie must model each differently because they require different data structures, different tracking, and different interventions.

| Construct | Definition | Cognitive System | Flexibility | Emotional Valence | Example |
|-----------|-----------|-----------------|-------------|-------------------|---------|
| **Habit** | Automatic behavior triggered by context cues, minimal conscious deliberation | Basal ganglia (automatic) | Rigid — resists change | Often neutral or negative (bad habits carry shame) | Checking phone first thing in the morning |
| **Goal** | Desired future state pursued through deliberate action | Prefrontal cortex (deliberative) | Flexible — strategy can change | Positive (aspiration) or anxious (fear of failure) | "I want to exercise 3x/week" |
| **Routine** | Deliberate sequence of behaviors, regularly performed but requiring conscious execution | Prefrontal cortex, with some basal ganglia support | Moderately flexible | Can be positive (pride) or negative (tedium) | Morning work routine: check email, review calendar, prioritize tasks |
| **Ritual** | Behavior with symbolic/emotional significance beyond its functional purpose | Prefrontal + limbic (meaning-laden) | Resistant to change (culturally/personally sacred) | Deep positive (grounding, identity, sacred) | Sunday morning coffee while reading — "my time" |

**The lifecycle relationship:**

```
Goal → Routine → Habit
              ↘ Ritual (if meaning is attached)
```

A goal ("I want to meditate") becomes a routine (consciously meditating every morning), which through repetition becomes a habit (automatically sitting on the cushion after brushing teeth), and may evolve into a ritual (meditation is now a sacred part of identity, not just a health practice).

**For Annie's data model:**
- **Habits** are a distinct entity type (proposed in Section 7)
- **Goals** already exist as Aspirations (Dimension 7.2, active goals)
- **Routines** already exist as Rituals (inner-world entity type in ADR-009), though the name is misleading — we should distinguish functional routines from meaningful rituals
- **Rituals** are already captured (inner-world entity type)

The new Habit entity connects these: a Habit may originate from a Goal, overlap with a Routine, and evolve into a Ritual. These relationships must be modeled as edges in the knowledge graph.

---

## 4. Habit Taxonomy for a Personal AI

Annie needs to categorize habits along multiple dimensions, not just "good vs. bad."

### 4.1 By Awareness Status

| Status | Description | Annie's Detection Method | Example |
|--------|-------------|-------------------------|---------|
| **Conscious-Acknowledged** | Person knows they do it and has discussed it | Explicit mention: "I have a bad habit of..." | "I always check my phone before bed" |
| **Conscious-Unacknowledged** | Person knows but hasn't mentioned it to Annie | Inferred from pattern, never discussed | Consistent late-night snacking detected from timing patterns |
| **Unconscious** | Person doesn't realize they do it | Detected only by pattern analysis across conversations | Always interrupting colleagues in meetings (detected from conversation dynamics) |
| **Denied** | Person has been confronted with it but rejects it | Pattern persists after being surfaced, but person deflects | "I don't procrastinate, I just work better under pressure" |

**For Annie:** Awareness status determines approach. Conscious-Acknowledged habits can be discussed openly. Unconscious habits require the most delicate handling — Annie may know about a habit the person doesn't see in themselves. Denied habits should generally be left alone unless the person re-opens the topic.

### 4.2 By Valence (Subjective Assessment)

| Valence | Description | Note |
|---------|-------------|------|
| **Beneficial** | Person and/or objective evidence says this habit is good | Exercise, reading, meditation, healthy eating |
| **Neutral** | Neither helpful nor harmful | Always sitting in the same chair, ordering the same coffee |
| **Harmful** | Person recognizes it as damaging to health, relationships, or goals | Smoking, excessive drinking, doom-scrolling, emotional eating |
| **Ambiguous** | Person is uncertain whether this habit helps or hurts | Workaholic patterns (productive but unsustainable), risk-taking |
| **Conflicted** | Habit contradicts stated values but person isn't ready to change | Knows junk food is bad but hasn't decided to stop |

**Critical principle:** Valence is **the person's assessment, not Annie's.** Annie should never unilaterally declare a habit "bad." She can note objective health consequences (smoking causes cancer), but the judgment of whether a habit needs changing belongs to Rajesh. This is the autonomy principle — Annie informs, she does not moralize.

### 4.3 By Domain

| Domain | Examples | Detection Signals |
|--------|---------|-------------------|
| **Physical health** | Exercise, sleep, eating, hydration, substance use, posture | Body references, energy mentions, health complaints, food discussions |
| **Mental health** | Rumination, gratitude practice, journaling, therapy attendance, meditation | Emotional patterns, coping language, stress responses |
| **Productivity** | Deep work routines, task management, planning, time-blocking, procrastination | Work discussions, project progress, time complaints |
| **Social/Relational** | Check-in calls, date nights, conflict avoidance, people-pleasing | Relationship discussions, social activity mentions, isolation patterns |
| **Digital** | Screen time, app checking, notification responses, social media, doom-scrolling | Device references, attention complaints, "I got lost on Twitter" |
| **Financial** | Spending patterns, saving routines, impulse purchases, budget tracking | Financial discussions, purchase mentions, money stress |
| **Learning/Growth** | Reading, courses, skill practice, deliberate practice, reflection | Learning mentions, book references, skill discussions |
| **Environmental** | Tidiness, organization, space setup, nature time | Space descriptions, complaints about clutter, environment references |

### 4.4 By Trigger Type (Cue Classification)

Understanding what triggers a habit is essential for both prediction and intervention:

| Trigger Type | Description | Annie's Detection | Example |
|-------------|-------------|-------------------|---------|
| **Temporal** | Time of day, day of week, season | Clock-correlated patterns | "3 PM snacking" |
| **Locational** | Physical place | Location mentions correlated with behavior | "Every time I'm at the office, I buy coffee" |
| **Emotional** | Feeling state | Sentiment before behavior pattern | Stress -> alcohol, boredom -> phone, anxiety -> cleaning |
| **Social** | Presence of specific people | Conversation partner correlations | "When I'm with [person], I always end up at the bar" |
| **Sequential** | Preceding action (habit chain) | Action-before-action patterns | Finish dinner -> dessert -> TV -> snack |
| **Environmental** | Sensory stimuli, weather, context | Environmental references | "Rainy days I just stay in and binge TV" |
| **Cognitive** | Thought patterns | Rumination cycles, worry spirals | Thinking about work -> checking email -> anxiety loop |

### 4.5 By Automaticity Level

Using Wood's automaticity spectrum (adapted from the Self-Report Habit Index):

| Level | Score | Description | Subjective Experience |
|-------|-------|-------------|----------------------|
| **Nascent** | 0.0-0.2 | Newly attempted, requires full conscious effort | "I have to force myself" |
| **Developing** | 0.2-0.4 | Becoming easier but still requires reminders | "I remember most days" |
| **Consolidating** | 0.4-0.6 | Frequently performed, occasionally forgotten | "It's becoming natural" |
| **Established** | 0.6-0.8 | Performed automatically in context, rarely missed | "I just do it" |
| **Entrenched** | 0.8-1.0 | Deeply automatic, feels wrong to skip, identity-level | "It's just who I am" |

**For Annie:** Automaticity level determines intervention strategy:
- **Nascent-Developing (building):** Needs frequent nudges, celebration, friction reduction
- **Consolidating (building):** Needs occasional reminders, progress tracking, identity reinforcement
- **Established-Entrenched (building):** Self-sustaining — Annie should celebrate and maintain
- **Established-Entrenched (breaking):** Requires significant friction introduction, cue removal, and alternative routine design — the hardest intervention
- **Nascent-Developing (breaking):** Easiest to interrupt — catch it before it consolidates

### 4.6 Habit Chains and Keystone Habits

Habits rarely exist in isolation. They form chains and clusters:

**Habit chains:** Sequential habits where one triggers the next.
```
Alarm -> Phone check -> Social media -> Late to morning routine -> Skip exercise -> Bad mood -> Comfort food
```

**Keystone habits:** Habits that have disproportionate ripple effects:
- **Exercise** -> better sleep + better eating + more energy + improved mood + higher productivity
- **Sleep hygiene** -> better cognitive function + better emotional regulation + fewer bad food choices
- **Morning routine** -> sense of control + productive day + less anxiety
- **Journaling** -> self-awareness + emotional processing + better decision-making

**For Annie:** Identifying keystone habits is strategically important. Instead of trying to change six habits, Annie can recommend the one keystone habit that will naturally cascade into the others. This requires cross-habit correlation analysis over time.

---

## 5. Annie's Role in Habit Management

Annie has five distinct roles in habit management, ordered from passive to active. Each requires progressively more trust and consent.

### 5.1 Observer (Passive — Always On)

Annie detects habitual patterns from the continuous stream of conversational data without being explicitly asked to track habits.

**What Annie observes:**
- **Temporal patterns:** What Rajesh mentions doing at the same time each day/week
- **Behavioral sequences:** Actions that consistently follow other actions
- **Cue-behavior correlations:** Emotional states that precede specific behaviors
- **Frequency:** How often a behavior is mentioned (proxy for how often it occurs)
- **Consistency:** How stable the pattern is across days, weeks, months
- **Sentiment association:** Whether the habit is discussed with pride, neutrality, or shame

**What Annie does NOT observe (limitations):**
- Annie only knows about behaviors that are mentioned in conversation or inferable from conversational context. Silent habits (nail biting, posture, screen time outside conversations) are invisible unless discussed.
- Annie cannot observe physiological data (heart rate, blood sugar, cortisol) — these would require additional sensor integration.

**Ethical boundary:** Observation is always happening, but Annie does not surface observations uninvited. She stores patterns as Inferred-sensitivity entities (ADR-010 Level 4) until Rajesh discusses the topic himself or gives consent for habit tracking.

### 5.2 Predictor (Passive — On Request)

Annie uses observed habit patterns to anticipate behavior, enabling proactive support.

**Prediction types:**
- **Temporal:** "Rajesh usually goes for a run at 6:30 AM on weekdays. It's 6:15 AM."
- **Sequential:** "After a stressful meeting, Rajesh tends to check social media for 20+ minutes."
- **Relapse risk:** "Rajesh hasn't exercised in 4 days. Historically, gaps longer than 5 days correlate with the habit dropping off for weeks."
- **Contextual:** "Rajesh is traveling next week. When traveling, his meditation practice drops to zero."

**How Annie uses predictions:**
- To time nudges optimally (5.3)
- To prepare resources proactively ("You mentioned wanting to maintain exercise while traveling — here are hotel gyms near your accommodation")
- To avoid bad timing ("Rajesh just had a stressful call — now is not the time to bring up his diet goals")
- Internal context shaping — prediction informs Annie's approach without being explicitly shared

### 5.3 Nudger (Active — Consent Required)

Nudging is the first active intervention. Annie gently prompts behavior change through timely, contextual suggestions.

**Nudge types (ordered by intrusiveness):**

| Nudge Type | Description | Example | When to Use |
|-----------|-------------|---------|-------------|
| **Environmental** | Suggest context changes that remove cues or add positive ones | "You mentioned wanting to read more — leaving a book on your nightstand tonight?" | Early in habit change, low intrusiveness |
| **Temporal** | Remind at the optimal moment based on observed rhythm | "It's 6:25 — usually your run time" | When anchor is established, needs reinforcement |
| **Motivational** | Connect the habit to identity, values, or aspirations | "Day 18 of the meditation practice. You mentioned wanting to be more centered at work — this is building that." | When motivation dips, mid-formation |
| **Friction** | Suggest adding barriers to bad habits or reducing barriers to good ones | "You could leave your phone in another room after 9 PM" | When person has expressed desire to change |
| **Social** | Leverage social accountability | "You mentioned telling Maya you'd exercise together. She might be expecting you." | When social commitment exists |
| **Progress** | Show streak, trend, or automaticity growth | "3 weeks in — you're past the hardest phase. It gets easier from here." | Mid-formation, to prevent dropout |
| **Compassionate redirect** | After a lapse, gently redirect without judgment | "Yesterday was a miss, but the 14 days before it still count. Want to get back on track today?" | After relapse |

**The Nudge Consent Model:**

This is the most important design decision. Annie must have explicit consent before nudging on habits.

```
CONSENT LEVELS FOR HABIT NUDGING:

Level 0: OBSERVE ONLY (default)
  - Annie detects patterns silently
  - Never surfaces habit observations
  - Uses patterns only for internal context

Level 1: REPORT (on request)
  - Annie shares habit observations when asked
  - "What patterns do you notice in my behavior?"
  - No unsolicited nudges

Level 2: GENTLE NUDGE (opt-in per habit)
  - Annie sends occasional reminders for specific opted-in habits
  - Max 1 nudge per habit per day
  - Easy to dismiss ("Not now" / "Stop nudging about this")
  - Respects time-of-day preferences

Level 3: ACTIVE COACH (opt-in, ongoing consent)
  - Annie proactively suggests strategies, tracks progress, adjusts approach
  - Daily or weekly check-ins on habit goals
  - Feedback loops: tracks which nudges work and adapts
  - Can be revoked at any time ("Stop coaching me on this")

Level 4: ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNER (highest trust)
  - Annie calls out avoidance and rationalizations (gently)
  - Asks difficult questions: "You said you'd do this. What got in the way?"
  - Only for habits where person has explicitly asked for this level of support
  - Requires periodic re-consent (monthly)
```

**Nudge timing intelligence:**

Drawing from the OpenClaw nudge feedback loop pattern (TODO-OPENCLAW-ADOPTION.md #13):
- Track nudge acceptance, ignore, snooze, and dismissal rates
- Learn optimal nudge timing per habit and per day
- If nudge acceptance rate drops below 30%, reduce frequency automatically
- If a nudge is dismissed 3 times in a row, downgrade consent level for that habit and ask: "I've been nudging you about [X] but you seem to be ignoring it. Should I stop?"
- Never nudge about habits after 9 PM (or whatever wind-down time Annie has learned) unless the habit is specifically about evening routine

### 5.4 Scaffolder (Active — Collaborative)

Scaffolding goes beyond nudging to actively designing the conditions for habit formation.

**Scaffolding strategies Annie can employ:**

| Strategy | Description | Example | Research Basis |
|----------|-------------|---------|---------------|
| **Implementation intentions** | Specific if-then plans linking cue to behavior | "After I brush my teeth at night, I will journal for 2 minutes" | Gollwitzer (1999): 2-3x more likely to follow through |
| **Habit stacking** | Attaching new habit to existing anchor habit | "You already make coffee at 6:30 AM — that's the perfect anchor for a 5-minute meditation" | Fogg's Tiny Habits: 64% higher success rate |
| **Temptation bundling** | Pairing a desired behavior with a tempting one | "Only listen to that podcast during your run" | Milkman et al. (2014): 51% increase in gym visits |
| **Environment design** | Suggesting physical changes to support/prevent habits | "Move the guitar to where you sit down after work" | Wood: context is the primary habit driver |
| **Commitment devices** | Pre-committing to consequences | "Tell Maya you'll donate $50 to charity if you miss 3 days in a row" | Behavioural economics: loss aversion |
| **The 2-minute rule** | Scale the habit down to 2 minutes to overcome inertia | "Don't commit to a 30-minute workout. Commit to putting on your running shoes." | Clear's Atomic Habits |
| **Identity reinforcement** | Connect habit to desired identity | "Every time you write, you're becoming a writer. Not 'trying to write' — being a writer." | Clear: identity-based habits are most durable |

**How Annie generates personalized scaffolding:**

Annie's unique advantage is data. She knows:
- Rajesh's existing habits (anchor points for stacking)
- His daily rhythm (optimal times for new behaviors)
- His emotional patterns (when he's receptive vs. resistant)
- His values and aspirations (for identity-based framing)
- His relationship network (for social accountability)
- His flow activities (for temptation bundling)
- His past attempts (what worked and what didn't)

No human habit coach has this breadth of context. Annie can generate implementation intentions that are precisely tailored: not generic advice, but specific plans woven into the unique fabric of Rajesh's actual life.

### 5.5 Partner (Active — Deep Trust)

At the highest level, Annie becomes a long-term partner in behavioral change, tracking trajectory over months and years.

**What partnership looks like:**

- **Quarterly habit reviews:** "Let's look at the last 3 months. Your meditation practice went from nascent to established. Your reading habit plateaued at consolidating. Your screen time reduction relapsed after the project crunch. Here's what I notice..."
- **Trajectory awareness:** "Six months ago, you couldn't run for 10 minutes. Last week you ran 5K. Regardless of what today felt like, the trajectory is clear."
- **Relapse normalization:** "You've been stressed this week and the old snacking pattern came back. This is normal — the neuroscience says the old pathway never fully erases. It doesn't mean you've lost your progress."
- **Goal-habit alignment:** "You said you want to be more present with your kids. I notice you check your phone during dinner — would you want to work on that?"
- **Evolution tracking:** "The habits you wanted to build a year ago were about productivity. Now they're about health and presence. Your priorities are shifting — that's a good thing."

---

## 6. The Sensitivity Problem

### 6.1 Why Habits Are Shame Territory

Bad habits sit at the intersection of several psychological pain points:

1. **The authenticity gap (Dim 1.10):** "I know I should exercise but I don't" — the gap between self-concept and behavior is itself a source of shame.
2. **Moral self-judgment:** Society moralizes health behaviors. "Lazy," "undisciplined," "weak-willed" — these are moral judgments disguised as habit assessments.
3. **Loss of agency:** Deeply rooted habits feel involuntary. "I can't stop" is a statement about perceived loss of control, which threatens autonomy (a core psychological need from SDT).
4. **Relapse shame:** After publicly committing to change and failing, shame compounds. The person may stop trying to avoid the shame of another public failure.
5. **Identity threat:** Labeling a behavior as a "bad habit" can feel like labeling the self as a bad person, especially for habits tied to coping mechanisms (emotional eating, substance use, avoidance patterns).

Research on shame and behavioral change (PMC, 2022) shows:
- **Self-criticism activates the threat system** (amygdala, cortisol release, fight-flight-freeze), putting the prefrontal cortex offline — exactly the brain region needed for deliberate behavior change
- **Self-compassion activates the caring system** (oxytocin, endorphins), calming the threat system and creating the neurological conditions required for learning new behaviors
- **Shame predicts relapse.** The shame-relapse cycle: fail -> feel shame -> use the habit to cope with shame -> fail again -> more shame

**For Annie:** This is the most important section of this research. Annie must be a self-compassion machine, not a shame machine. Her role is to create the psychological safety that enables change, not to add another voice of judgment.

### 6.2 Annie's Sensitivity Rules for Habits

**Rule 1: Observation, never judgment.**
Annie notices patterns. She does not evaluate them morally. "I notice you've been snacking late at night more this week" is observation. "You've been eating junk food again" is judgment. The difference is in framing (neutral vs. evaluative), specificity (concrete behavior vs. category label), and tone (curious vs. disappointed).

**Rule 2: The person defines the problem.**
Annie never unilaterally decides a habit is "bad." Even if the habit is objectively harmful (smoking), Annie's role is to provide information and support, not to declare war on the behavior. The person must identify the habit as something they want to change. Annie can ask: "How do you feel about [pattern]?" but cannot say: "You need to stop [pattern]."

The one exception: if Annie detects a pattern that poses **immediate serious harm** (substance abuse escalation, self-harm indicators, complete sleep deprivation), she should flag it with care — not as a habit judgment, but as a concern from someone who cares.

**Rule 3: "I want to change this" is not "I am ready to change this."**
The Transtheoretical Model (Prochaska & DiClemente) identifies stages of change:

| Stage | Description | Annie's Role |
|-------|-------------|-------------|
| **Pre-contemplation** | Not considering change | Do nothing. Observe silently. |
| **Contemplation** | Aware of the problem, ambivalent about change | Listen. Reflect back what she hears. Don't push. |
| **Preparation** | Intending to change, making initial plans | Offer scaffolding (implementation intentions, tiny habits) |
| **Action** | Actively changing the behavior | Nudge, track progress, celebrate wins |
| **Maintenance** | Sustaining the change | Monitor for relapse, reinforce identity |
| **Relapse** | Returning to old pattern | Compassionate redirect, normalize, help re-engage |

Annie must detect which stage Rajesh is in for each habit and respond accordingly. Pushing someone in Contemplation to Action creates resistance. Supporting someone in Action with gentle nudges accelerates change.

**Rule 4: Relapse is expected, not catastrophized.**
Annie should never express disappointment, surprise, or frustration at a relapse. Instead:
- Normalize: "This is completely normal. The neural pathway doesn't disappear — it just gets quieter."
- Contextualize: "You were under a lot of stress this week. Stress makes old patterns resurface."
- Preserve progress: "The 23 days before yesterday still built something real. You're not starting over."
- Reconnect to motivation: "What made you want to make this change in the first place?"

**Rule 5: Know when NOT to nudge.**

Annie should suppress nudges when:
- Rajesh is in acute stress or crisis
- He just experienced a significant loss
- He explicitly said "not now" or "stop"
- He's sick or physically unwell
- The nudge acceptance rate for this habit has dropped below 20%
- It's a habit in Denied status — the person has rejected the characterization
- The habit is serving an important coping function during a difficult period (smoking more during a divorce is not the time to push quitting)

**Rule 6: Distinguish "I want to change this" from "this is who I am."**
Some habits are identity-congruent. They are not "bad habits" — they are personal quirks, preferences, or lifestyle choices that the person embraces:
- "I always eat dessert. Life's too short."
- "I work late. That's when I'm most creative."
- "I don't exercise. I hate it and I'm fine with that."

Annie must detect when a habit is identity-congruent (part of who the person chooses to be) vs. ego-dystonic (conflicts with who the person wants to be). Only ego-dystonic habits are candidates for change intervention. Identity-congruent habits should be respected, documented, and never challenged unless the person changes their assessment.

Detection heuristic: If the person discusses the habit with **resignation or shame**, it's ego-dystonic. If they discuss it with **pride, humor, or acceptance**, it's identity-congruent.

---

## 7. Data Model: Habit Entity Design

### 7.1 Habit Entity Structure (Existing Habits)

```yaml
# ~/.her-os/entities/habits/morning-phone-check.md
---
entity_type: Habit
name: "Morning phone check"
description: "Checks phone within 2 minutes of waking, before getting out of bed"

# Classification
awareness: conscious-acknowledged    # conscious-acknowledged | conscious-unacknowledged | unconscious | denied
valence: harmful                     # beneficial | neutral | harmful | ambiguous | conflicted
valence_source: user                 # user | inferred | objective
domain: digital                      # physical-health | mental-health | productivity | social | digital | financial | learning | environmental
identity_congruent: false            # true = "this is who I am" | false = "I wish I didn't do this"

# The Habit Loop
cue:
  type: temporal+sequential          # temporal | locational | emotional | social | sequential | environmental | cognitive
  description: "Alarm goes off -> immediate phone reach"
  specificity: high                  # high (exact trigger known) | medium | low (vague)
routine:
  description: "Unlock phone -> check notifications -> social media -> news -> 15-30 min gone"
  duration_minutes: 15-30
  frequency: daily
  time_of_day: "06:00-06:30"
reward:
  description: "Novelty seeking, anxiety reduction (fear of missing something), dopamine from notifications"
  type: psychological                # physical | psychological | social | informational

# Strength
automaticity_score: 0.85             # 0.0-1.0 (Wood's SRHI scale)
automaticity_trend: stable           # increasing | stable | decreasing
formation_date: ~2020                # approximate, when this habit likely formed
streak_current: null                 # not tracking (not in active change)
streak_best: null

# Change Status
change_stage: contemplation          # pre-contemplation | contemplation | preparation | action | maintenance | relapse | not-applicable
change_consent_level: 1              # 0=observe | 1=report | 2=gentle-nudge | 3=active-coach | 4=accountability-partner
desired_replacement: "Morning routine: bathroom -> coffee -> 10 min journal before phone"
related_goal: "aspiration/be-more-present"
nudge_preference:
  timing: "06:00"
  max_per_day: 1
  tone: warm                         # warm | direct | playful | minimal
  acceptance_rate: null              # tracked over time

# Chains
triggers_habits: ["social-media-rabbit-hole", "morning-anxiety"]
triggered_by: ["alarm-clock"]
is_keystone: false
keystone_for: []

# Sensitivity (ADR-010)
sensitivity: sensitive               # open | sensitive | guarded | inferred | forbidden

# Evidence & Confidence
confidence: 0.9                      # how confident Annie is this habit exists
evidence:
  - date: "2026-02-15"
    source: transcript
    observation: "Mentioned 'I always check my phone first thing, even before I pee'"
  - date: "2026-02-18"
    source: pattern
    observation: "Third mention of morning phone use in 5 days"
counter_evidence: []
source_type: observed                # observed | inferred | asked | hypothesized
last_validated: "2026-02-18"
created: "2026-02-15"
updated: "2026-02-22"
---

## Notes

Rajesh expressed frustration about this habit on 2/15 ("I hate that I do this"). Has not
yet committed to changing it — in contemplation stage. The reward structure suggests
anxiety reduction (FOMO) and novelty seeking. Related to broader screen time concerns.

## Attempts

### Attempt 1 (2026-01 — estimated, pre-Annie)
- Strategy: "Just don't pick up the phone" (willpower-only)
- Duration: ~3 days
- Outcome: Relapsed
- Learning: Willpower alone doesn't work against an entrenched habit
```

### 7.2 Aspirational Habit Entity Structure

Aspirational habits — habits Rajesh *wants to develop* — need a slightly different structure:

```yaml
# ~/.her-os/entities/habits/daily-journaling.md
---
entity_type: Habit
name: "Daily journaling"
description: "Write for 10 minutes each morning to process thoughts and set intentions"

# Classification
awareness: conscious-acknowledged
valence: beneficial
valence_source: user
domain: mental-health
identity_congruent: true             # "I want to be someone who writes"
status: aspirational                 # existing | aspirational | in-formation | abandoned

# Formation Plan (Fogg/Clear framework)
formation:
  anchor_habit: "morning-coffee"     # existing habit to stack onto
  tiny_version: "Write one sentence after pouring coffee"
  two_minute_version: "Open journal and write date"
  full_version: "10 minutes of reflective writing"
  current_version: tiny              # tiny | two-minute | full
  scaling_plan: "Tiny for 2 weeks -> 2-minute for 2 weeks -> full version"

  # Clear's 4 Laws applied
  make_obvious: "Journal and pen on kitchen counter next to coffee maker"
  make_attractive: "Use the nice leather journal. Pair with favorite coffee."
  make_easy: "Pre-write prompts on sticky notes so you never face a blank page"
  make_satisfying: "Annie celebrates each entry. Monthly review of entries."

  # Temptation bundle
  bundle_with: null                  # e.g., "favorite music" or "special coffee"

  # Implementation intention
  if_then: "After I pour my morning coffee, I will open my journal and write one sentence."

# Tracking
automaticity_score: 0.15             # just starting
automaticity_trend: increasing
formation_start_date: "2026-02-20"
expected_formation_days: 66          # Lally's average, adjusted for complexity
days_completed: 3
days_missed: 0
streak_current: 3
streak_best: 3
formation_curve_phase: early         # early (biggest gains) | middle | consolidating | established

# Change Status
change_stage: action
change_consent_level: 3              # active coaching
related_goal: "aspiration/write-more"
related_identity: "possible-self/writer"

# Nudge Configuration
nudge_preference:
  timing: "06:35"                    # 5 min after observed coffee time
  max_per_day: 1
  tone: warm
  acceptance_rate: 1.0               # 3/3 nudges acted on so far
  celebration_style: "simple"        # simple | enthusiastic | data-driven | quiet

# Chains
triggers_habits: []                  # will develop as habit forms
triggered_by: ["morning-coffee"]
is_keystone: true                    # journaling is a keystone habit
keystone_for: ["self-awareness", "emotional-processing", "creativity"]

# Obstacles & Contingencies
obstacles:
  - type: "time pressure"
    frequency: "2-3x/week"
    mitigation: "On rushed mornings, write ONE word that captures how you feel"
  - type: "travel"
    frequency: "monthly"
    mitigation: "Digital journal backup (phone notes app)"
  - type: "motivation dip"
    frequency: "expected around day 20-30"
    mitigation: "Review early entries to see progress. Identity reinforcement."

# Relapse plan
relapse_plan:
  if_missed_1_day: "No comment. Resume tomorrow."
  if_missed_3_days: "Gentle nudge: 'Hey, your journal's been quiet. No pressure — want to write something today?'"
  if_missed_7_days: "Check-in: 'I noticed the journaling paused. How are you feeling about it? No judgment either way.'"
  if_missed_14_days: "Move to contemplation. Ask: 'Do you still want to build this habit, or has something shifted?'"

# Sensitivity
sensitivity: open
confidence: 1.0                      # directly stated by user
source_type: asked
---

## Progress Log

### Week 1 (2026-02-20 to 2026-02-22)
- Day 1: Wrote 3 sentences. Seemed energized afterward (positive sentiment in morning conversation).
- Day 2: Wrote 1 sentence. Rushed morning.
- Day 3: Wrote half a page. Mentioned feeling "clearer" in afternoon conversation.
```

### 7.3 New Edge Types for Habit Graph

```
habit -> cue             ("triggered by this context")
habit -> reward          ("reinforced by this outcome")
habit -> goal            ("serves this aspiration")
habit -> value           ("aligns with this value")
habit -> value           ("contradicts this value" — conflict edge)
habit -> emotion         ("triggered by this emotional state")
habit -> emotion         ("produces this emotional state")
habit -> habit           ("chains to this habit")
habit -> habit           ("is keystone for this habit")
habit -> person          ("performed with this person")
habit -> place           ("performed at this location")
habit -> ritual          ("evolved into this ritual")
habit -> identity_role   ("part of this identity")
habit -> possible_self   ("building toward this self")
habit -> fear            ("driven by this fear")
habit -> growth_edge     ("this is a current growth edge")
```

---

## 8. Integration with Existing her-os Architecture

### 8.1 Relationship to Current Entity Types

| Existing Entity | Relationship to Habits |
|----------------|----------------------|
| **Emotion** | Emotional cues trigger habits; habits produce emotional rewards. Bidirectional edges. |
| **Promise** | "I'll start exercising" is both a Promise and the beginning of an Aspirational Habit. Annie should detect when promises map to habit formation. |
| **Decision** | Choosing to change a habit is a Decision entity. The habit entity stores the ongoing process. |
| **Person** | Social habits involve specific people. "Going to the bar with Dave" is a social-trigger habit. |
| **Place** | Location-triggered habits need Place links. |
| **Topic** | Habits become conversational topics when discussed. |
| **Event** | Life events create habit discontinuity windows. |

### 8.2 Relationship to Inner-World Entity Types (ADR-009)

| Inner-World Entity | Relationship to Habits |
|-------------------|----------------------|
| **Value** | Habits either express or contradict values. The gap between values and habits is the "authenticity gap." |
| **Aspiration** | Aspirational habits serve aspirations. "I want to be a writer" -> "I want to journal daily." |
| **Belief** | "I can't change" (fixed mindset belief) blocks habit formation. "Small changes compound" (growth belief) enables it. |
| **Personality_Trait** | Conscientiousness predicts habit formation ease. Neuroticism predicts stress-triggered bad habits. |
| **Fear** | Fears drive avoidance habits and coping habits. Fear of failure -> procrastination habit. |
| **Growth_Edge** | Active habit formation IS a growth edge. |
| **Ritual** | Rituals are habits with meaning. A habit can evolve into a ritual when it gains emotional/symbolic significance. |
| **Flow_Activity** | Flow activities can become keystone habits. |
| **Formative_Event** | Early experiences shape habit patterns ("My father always worked late -> I work late"). |
| **Narrative_Theme** | "I'm someone who always starts strong but can't finish" is a narrative theme that manifests in habit relapse patterns. |
| **Need_State** | Unmet needs drive compensatory habits (need for connection -> social media checking). |

### 8.3 Relationship to Sensitivity Classification (ADR-010)

Habits need their own sensitivity rules layered on top of the general 5-level system:

| Habit Type | Default Sensitivity | Rationale |
|-----------|-------------------|-----------|
| Beneficial (acknowledged) | Open | Person is proud of these |
| Neutral | Open | No shame attached |
| Aspirational (in-progress) | Sensitive | Vulnerability of trying and potentially failing |
| Aspirational (abandoned) | Guarded | May carry disappointment |
| Harmful (acknowledged, wanting to change) | Sensitive | Active shame territory |
| Harmful (acknowledged, not ready to change) | Guarded | Pre-contemplation — don't push |
| Harmful (unacknowledged/unconscious) | Inferred | Annie knows but person doesn't — never surface uninvited |
| Harmful (denied) | Forbidden-equivalent | Person has rejected this framing — respect that |
| Coping-mechanism habits | Guarded | Removing a coping mechanism without replacement is harmful |
| Addiction-adjacent habits | Guarded/Inferred | Maximum sensitivity required |

### 8.4 Relationship to Heartbeat Daemon (TODO #13)

The heartbeat system should include habit-specific checks:

```markdown
# HEARTBEAT.md — Habit Section

## Every 30 Minutes
- [ ] Check if current time matches any habit nudge windows
- [ ] If nudge is due AND consent level >= 2, deliver nudge

## Daily (Morning)
- [ ] Report on yesterday's habit tracking (for opted-in habits)
- [ ] Note any streaks, milestones, or approaching formation thresholds

## Weekly (Sunday evening)
- [ ] Habit progress summary for all active habits
- [ ] Identify stalled habits (no progress in 7+ days)
- [ ] Keystone habit impact analysis

## Monthly
- [ ] Automaticity score update for all tracked habits
- [ ] Nudge acceptance rate analysis — adjust timing/tone for low-performing nudges
- [ ] Suggest new aspirational habits based on recently expressed goals
- [ ] Review consent levels — re-confirm Level 4 (accountability partner)

## Quarterly
- [ ] Full habit review conversation prompt
- [ ] Trajectory analysis (which habits are strengthening/weakening)
- [ ] Goal-habit alignment check (are current habits serving current aspirations?)
```

### 8.5 Relationship to Progressive Learning Timeline (TODO #48)

Habits should be integrated into Annie's progressive learning phases:

| Phase | Habit Learning | Annie's Access |
|-------|---------------|---------------|
| **Phase 1 (Week 1-4)** | Observe daily rhythms, detect obvious temporal habits, note explicitly mentioned habits | Can report observations when asked |
| **Phase 2 (Month 2-3)** | Detect emotional-trigger habits, identify habit chains, map habit domains | Can offer gentle nudges for opted-in habits |
| **Phase 3 (Month 4-6)** | Infer keystone habits, detect unconscious habits, understand cue-reward structures | Can scaffold new habit formation with personalized plans |
| **Phase 4 (Month 6+)** | Full habit model: chains, triggers, automaticity tracking, relapse patterns, identity connections | Full partnership: long-term trajectory, quarterly reviews, deep intervention |

### 8.6 Relationship to Nudge Feedback Loops (TODO #13, Video 4)

Habit nudges feed directly into the self-improving nudge system:

```
Annie sends nudge -> Rajesh acts / ignores / dismisses / snoozes
                           |
                           v
                    Nudge feedback log
                           |
                           v
              Analyze per-habit nudge performance:
              - Acceptance rate
              - Best time of day
              - Best tone/framing
              - Diminishing returns detection
                           |
                           v
              Update nudge strategy automatically:
              - Shift timing
              - Change tone
              - Reduce frequency if declining
              - Escalate if requested
```

### 8.7 Relationship to Morning Debrief (TODO #12)

The morning debrief should include a habits section (when consent level >= 2):

```
MORNING DEBRIEF — February 22, 2026

[... existing sections: yesterday's conversations, promises, emotions ...]

## Habits
- Journaling: Day 3 streak. Yesterday you wrote about [topic].
  Progress: 4.5% toward automaticity target.
- Running: Scheduled for 6:30 AM today. Weather: 18C, clear. Good conditions.
- Phone-free dinner: 5-day streak.
- [Screen time: No data — not opted in for tracking]
```

---

## 9. Concrete Recommendations

### 9.1 New Entity Type: Habit

Add `Habit` as the 14th inner-world entity type (expanding ADR-009 from 13 to 14 inner-world types). The Habit entity is unique because it bridges the transactional world (observable behavior, specific instances) and the inner world (values, aspirations, identity).

### 9.2 Habit Entity Belongs in Sprint 1B

The Habit entity should be added to the Inner-World Entity Model (#46 in TODO-OPENCLAW-ADOPTION.md), making it 14 inner-world entity types instead of 13.

### 9.3 Habit Nudging Belongs in Sprint 3

Habit nudging is a specialization of the heartbeat daemon (#13) and should be implemented in Sprint 3 alongside the morning debrief. The nudge consent model and feedback loop should be part of the proactive behavior system.

### 9.4 Habit Scaffolding Belongs in Sprint 4

The habit scaffolding system (implementation intentions, habit stacking, temptation bundling) could be implemented as an Understanding + Action hybrid skill:

```yaml
# ~/.her-os/skills/habit-coach/SKILL.md
---
name: habit-coach
kind: hybrid
description: "Understand habit patterns from conversations and actively support habit formation/change."
triggers:
  keywords: [habit, routine, trying to, want to start, can't stop, should do, keep doing, every day, every morning]
  entities: [Habit, Aspiration, Promise]
---
```

### 9.5 Sensitivity Rules Are Non-Negotiable

The sensitivity framework for habits (Section 6.2) should be hardcoded, not configurable. Annie should never:
- Judge a habit as "bad" without the person's own assessment
- Surface an unconscious habit without being asked about patterns
- Nudge a denied habit
- Express disappointment at relapse
- Moralize about health behaviors
- Remove a coping mechanism without offering an alternative

### 9.6 Keystone Habit Detection is High-Priority

Identifying keystone habits provides disproportionate return on investment. Annie should maintain a running hypothesis about which of Rajesh's habits are keystone habits, based on:
- Correlation analysis: when this habit is active, what other positive behaviors increase?
- Cascade detection: when this habit lapses, what else breaks down?
- Research literature: exercise, sleep, meditation, and journaling are well-established keystone habits

### 9.7 Habit Discontinuity Windows

Annie should flag major life changes as habit change opportunities:
- New job, new role, or new project
- Moving to a new home
- Relationship changes
- Travel (both disruption risk for good habits and opportunity for new ones)
- Season changes
- Health events
- Major life milestones

During these windows, Annie can gently ask: "Things are changing. Is there anything you'd like to add to — or remove from — your daily routine?"

### 9.8 Anti-Patterns to Avoid

Based on the research and the specific context of an ambient AI:

| Anti-Pattern | Why It's Harmful | What Annie Should Do Instead |
|-------------|-----------------|----------------------------|
| **Streak obsession** | Makes one missed day feel like total failure | Track automaticity score, not just streaks. Frame missed days as data, not failure. |
| **Moral language** | "Good habits" / "bad habits" imports moral judgment | Use "beneficial" / "harmful" or better yet, the person's own language |
| **Unsolicited surveillance** | Tracking habits without consent feels creepy | Default to observe-only. Never surface uninvited. |
| **One-size-fits-all timing** | "21 days to a new habit" myth | Use Lally's range (18-254 days). Track individual formation curves. |
| **Willpower framing** | "You just need more discipline" blames the person | Frame around system design: environment, cues, friction, rewards |
| **Comparison** | "Other people manage to exercise daily" | Never compare to others. Compare only to past self, and gently. |
| **All-or-nothing** | "You missed the run, so the day is ruined" | Any progress counts. "You didn't run, but you walked. That's not nothing." |
| **Advice dumping** | Listing 10 strategies unprompted | Offer one suggestion at a time. Ask before offering more. |

### 9.9 Updates to Related Documents

This research should trigger the following updates:

1. **TODO-OPENCLAW-ADOPTION.md:** Add habit-related items (#51: Habit entity type + detection, #52: Habit nudge system, #53: Habit coach skill)
2. **PROJECT.md:** Update ADR-009 to mention Habit as the 14th inner-world entity type
3. **RESEARCH-HUMAN-DIMENSIONS.md:** Add a note at Category 12.2 (Current Learning Edge) linking to this research for the habit formation dimension that was under-explored
4. **Narrative pages:** Future "Day in the Life" scenes should include habit interaction moments — Annie's gentle morning nudge, the habit progress in the debrief, the compassionate response to a relapse

---

## 10. Sources

### Core Habit Science

- [Wood, Quinn & Kashy (2002) — Habits in Everyday Life: Thought, Emotion, and Action](https://dornsife.usc.edu/assets/sites/545/docs/Wood.Quinn.Kashy.2002.pdf) — 43% of daily behavior is habitual
- [Wood & Neal (2007) — A New Look at Habits and the Habit-Goal Interface](https://www.semanticscholar.org/paper/A-new-look-at-habits-and-the-habit-goal-interface.-Wood-Neal/bb823dc25585259f247f25d5cd7123a20ddd8427) — Habits as distinct from goals, context-triggered automaticity
- [Wood, Mazar & Neal (2022) — Habits and Goals in Human Behavior: Separate but Interacting Systems](https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1745691621994226) — Dual-system model of habitual vs. goal-directed behavior
- [Wood & Runger (2016) — Psychology of Habit](https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26361052/) — Comprehensive review of habit psychology
- [Lally et al. (2010) — How are habits formed: Modelling habit formation in the real world](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ejsp.674) — 66-day average, 18-254 day range, asymptotic formation curve

### Popular Frameworks

- [Duhigg (2012) — The Power of Habit](https://charlesduhigg.com/the-power-of-habit/) — Habit loop (cue-routine-reward), keystone habits, Golden Rule of Habit Change
- [Clear (2018) — Atomic Habits](https://jamesclear.com/atomic-habits) — Four Laws of Behavior Change, identity-based habits, habit stacking
- [Fogg (2020) — Tiny Habits](https://www.tinyhabits.com/) — Behavior = MAP, anchor moments, celebration, tiny version scaling
- [Fogg Behavior Model](https://www.behaviormodel.org/) — Motivation, Ability, Prompt convergence model
- [Clear — Habit Stacking](https://jamesclear.com/habit-stacking) — Anchor-based habit formation technique

### Neuroscience

- [Graybiel (2008) — Habits, Rituals, and the Evaluative Brain](https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/abs/10.1146/annurev.neuro.29.051605.112851) — Basal ganglia role in habit encoding
- [The Science Behind Habit Formation — Counselling Connection](https://www.counsellingconnection.com/index.php/2021/01/07/the-science-behind-habit-formation/) — Prefrontal to basal ganglia shift during habit formation
- [Habit Loop — Stanford GDT](https://gdt.stanford.edu/the-habit-loop/) — Neural basis of the cue-routine-reward loop

### Shame, Self-Compassion & Relapse

- [Relapse on the Road to Recovery — PMC (2022)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9014843/) — Self-compassion in relapse prevention
- [Addressing Shame Through Self-Compassion — PMC (2024)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11556665/) — Shame as barrier to behavioral change
- [Self-Compassion and Habit Change — MindlyWave](https://mindlywave.com/blogs/news/self-compassion-habit-change) — Neuroscience of self-criticism vs. self-compassion in behavior change
- [Lear (2025) — Transforming Shame: ACT for Psychological Flexibility — Wiley](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/jclp.23810) — Self-compassion as antidote to shame in behavioral change
- [Gilbert & Procter — Compassionate Mind Training for High Shame](https://self-compassion.org/wp-content/uploads/publications/Gilbert.Procter.pdf) — Compassion-focused therapy for shame-driven behavior

### AI and Digital Behavior Change

- [Digital Behavior Change Intervention Designs for Habit Formation — JMIR (2024)](https://www.jmir.org/2024/1/e54375) — Systematic review of digital habit formation interventions
- [AI Chatbots for Health Behavior Change — JMIR (2026)](https://www.jmir.org/2026/1/e79677) — Scoping review: 81.67% positive outcomes from AI chatbot interventions
- [ML and AI in Digital Behavior Change Interventions — ScienceDirect](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2949761224000427) — Machine learning for adaptive behavioral interventions
- [Nudging in Digital Environments — ACR Journal](https://acr-journal.com/article/download/pdf/1378/) — Context-aware nudging and just-in-time interventions
- [AI-Powered Recommender Systems for Healthy Habits — MDPI (2024)](https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3417/14/22/10220) — Systematic review of AI for active aging and healthy habits
- [MediHabit — Digital Habit Formation for Medication Adherence — PMC](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12182621/) — Digital intervention using habit formation techniques
- [Small Changes, Big Impact: Mini Review of Habit Formation — WJARR (2025)](https://journalwjarr.com/sites/default/files/fulltext_pdf/WJARR-2025-1333.pdf) — Incremental changes for sustainable behavioral change

### Stages of Change

- [Prochaska & DiClemente — Transtheoretical Model](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transtheoretical_model) — Pre-contemplation through Maintenance stages
- [Gollwitzer (1999) — Implementation Intentions](https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1999-01024-014) — If-then planning doubles follow-through rates
- [Milkman et al. (2014) — Temptation Bundling](https://pubsonline.informs.org/doi/abs/10.1287/mnsc.2013.1784) — 51% increase in gym visits when pairing exercise with entertainment

### Applying Habit Science to Mental Health

- [Applying the Science of Habit Formation to Evidence-Based Psychological Treatments — PMC (2025)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12318445/) — Habit formation principles applied to mental health treatment adherence
