The Hooked Model: Transforming Lunchtime Habits Through Habit-Forming Loops
Habits are integral to our daily lives, shaping everything from our morning routines to how we spend our lunch breaks. Understanding how habits form and how they can be influenced is crucial for businesses aiming to create loyal customers. At the heart of this understanding lies the concept of the habit loop, a cycle consisting of a cue, routine, and reward. By mastering this loop, companies can encourage new habits among their users.
Understanding the Lunchtime Habit Loop
Cues: The Starting Point of a Habit
A habit loop begins with a cue, something that triggers the behavior. For lunchtime habits, cues can vary but typically include:
Hunger: The natural signal that it’s time to eat.
A work colleague asking about lunch plans: Social interactions can prompt the decision to go out for lunch.
The smell of food: Whether it’s a colleague’s meal or aromas wafting from a nearby kitchen, scent is a powerful trigger.
Hearing clinking plates in the office kitchen: Auditory cues remind us that it’s time to eat.
These cues set the stage for the habitual lunchtime routine.
Routine: The Action That Follows the Cue
Once triggered, the routine kicks in. A typical lunchtime routine might involve:
Leaving the office and heading to a nearby eatery.
Waiting in line to place an order.
Scanning the menu or display to decide on a meal.
Placing the order and waiting for it to be prepared, often a 5-8 minute wait.
Walking back to the office with the meal in hand.
This routine, while simple, reinforces the habit loop through repetition.
Rewards: Reinforcing the Habit
The final part of the habit loop is the reward, which solidifies the behavior. Lunchtime rewards can include:
Satisfying hunger: The most immediate and obvious reward.
Getting away from your desk: A chance to stretch your legs and take a mental break.
Social interaction: Chatting with colleagues during the break.
Enjoying the weather: Especially on a pleasant day.
Time to relax: A brief respite from work stress.
These rewards not only reinforce the routine but also make it more likely to be repeated.
The Hooked Model: A New Approach to Habit Formation
How Do We Hook People into Building a New Habit?
Traditional habit loops are effective, but modern companies are employing an advanced mechanism known as the Hook Model to make habits even more compelling. The Hook Model centers on the concept of variable rewards, a powerful psychological tool that taps into our brain’s natural desire for unpredictability and novelty.
Skinner’s Box Experiment: The Science Behind Variable Rewards
B.F. Skinner’s experiments in the 1950s provide the foundation for understanding variable rewards. Skinner found that lab mice pressed a lever compulsively when the rewards were unpredictable, sometimes a small treat, sometimes a large one, and sometimes nothing at all. This variability drove the mice to keep pressing the lever, hoping for a reward.
In the context of human behavior, this same principle applies. We are drawn to actions that offer variable rewards, such as scrolling through social media feeds or gambling.
Types of Variable Rewards: Tribe, Hunt, and Self
The Hook Model categorises variable rewards into three types:
Rewards of the Tribe: Social rewards fueled by our desire for connection, like getting likes on social media posts.
Rewards of the Hunt: The pursuit of material or informational rewards, such as finding a relatable post after scrolling through irrelevant ones.
Rewards of the Self: Intrinsic motivations related to mastery, competence, and completion, like the satisfaction of mastering a challenging task.
Increasing User Commitment
Another key component of the Hook Model is investment. When users invest time, effort, or resources into a product, they become more committed to it. This concept, known as the “IKEA effect,” suggests that the more effort we put into something, the more we value it.
For example, users who regularly update their profiles, engage with content, or personalise their experience on a platform are more likely to remain loyal. This investment builds a stronger bond between the user and the product, making the habit harder to break.
Examples from the Tech Industry
To illustrate the Hook Model in action, let’s look at some successful applications in the tech industry:
Pinterest: Users are hooked by the variable reward of finding relevant pins after scrolling through others. The more they invest by pinning and organising content, the more they value their Pinterest boards.
LinkedIn: The platform uses internal triggers like the fear of losing touch with connections. Users are rewarded when they successfully reconnect with someone, and their investment grows as they add more connections and details to their profiles.
Facebook: Facebook’s variable rewards come from social interactions, likes, comments, and friend requests, which keep users coming back. The more users invest by growing their network and sharing content, the more entrenched their habits become.
Duolingo: The language-learning app uses gamified rewards (badges, leaderboards) and encourages users to invest time in daily practice, reinforcing the habit through both intrinsic and social rewards.
Building New Lunchtime Habits with the Hooked Model
To create new lunchtime habits using the Hook Model, we can identify new cues, routines, and rewards, and strengthen the habit through variable rewards and investment.
New Cues and Routines
Cues: Along with the usual triggers like hunger or a colleague’s invitation, new cues could include push notifications, emails, or social media prompts.
Routine: Instead of the traditional routine, users might open a food delivery app like Just Eat, pre-order a meal, and collect it without waiting in line.
New Rewards
To reinforce the new routine, the rewards must be compelling:
Avoiding queues: Faster service is a major draw.
Guaranteed availability: Knowing their favorite meal is ready.
Efficient use of time: Feeling clever and productive for managing time well.
Satisfying hunger: The ultimate goal.
Social interaction: Lunch with colleagues remains a reward.
Enjoying the weather: If the routine still involves a short walk.
The Hook: Strengthening the Habit
Emotions, especially negative ones, are powerful internal triggers that solidify new habits. In the context of lunchtime, feelings like hunger, boredom with lunch, or the desire to maximise time can be used as triggers to engage with a new lunchtime routine.
Investment: Small actions like setting up a Just Eat account, entering payment details, and leaving reviews can increase users’ commitment.
Variable Rewards: Just Eat can introduce variable rewards like discovering new restaurants, trying new dishes, joining our stamp card or points program or even just receiving surprise discounts.
Conclusion: Redefining Lunchtime with the Hooked Model
By applying the Hook Model to lunchtime habits, companies like Just Eat can create stronger, more compelling habits that keep users engaged. Through new cues, routines, and rewards, and by leveraging the power of variable rewards and user investment, lunchtime can become a more efficient, enjoyable, and habitual experience.