Principlev1PR-735
Recognize that existing habits and automatic reactions…
Recognize that existing habits and automatic reactions are undesigned agents installed by environment and repetition, then audit them before attempting to install new ones.
Why This Is a Principle
This principle follows from: habits form through repeated behavior in stable contexts (Habits as Context-Response Associations); automatic processes operate without conscious control (Automaticity Without Conscious Control); cognitive systems maintain existing beliefs/patterns (Belief Perseverance Against Contradictory Evidence); early schemas are installed by environmental input (Environmental Installation of Early Schemas); and System 1 generates automatic responses that System 2 typically endorses (Cognition Operates Through Dual Processing Systems). The principle prescribes auditing existing automatic processes before designing replacements.