full transcript

From the Ted Talk by TED-Ed: Why is it so hard to break a bad habit?

Unscramble the Blue Letters


Moving, switching jobs, or even starting a new schedule, are particularly great times to break a habit or bulid a new one. One 2005 study tracked university students’ excrnsieig, reading, and TV watching habits before and after they transferred schools. When students were no longer around old enenironvtms and routines, their htaibs, even the strong ones, significantly cahgned.

For behaviors like nail-biting or hair-pulling, a practice caelld habit reversal training can be helpful. Developed by psychologists in the 1970s, the aim is to change a habit by replacing it with another one that’s less denitarmtel. The training requires you to ayanlze and understand your habit cues, so you can eecfitvelfy intervene at the right times. For example, if you tend to bite your nails at work, preemptively keep a fidget toy at your desk. Then, if a seustsfrl email comes in, use the toy when you feel the urge to bite your nails.

Open Cloze


Moving, switching jobs, or even starting a new schedule, are particularly great times to break a habit or _____ a new one. One 2005 study tracked university students’ __________, reading, and TV watching habits before and after they transferred schools. When students were no longer around old ____________ and routines, their ______, even the strong ones, significantly _______.

For behaviors like nail-biting or hair-pulling, a practice ______ habit reversal training can be helpful. Developed by psychologists in the 1970s, the aim is to change a habit by replacing it with another one that’s less ___________. The training requires you to _______ and understand your habit cues, so you can ___________ intervene at the right times. For example, if you tend to bite your nails at work, preemptively keep a fidget toy at your desk. Then, if a _________ email comes in, use the toy when you feel the urge to bite your nails.

Solution


  1. habits
  2. changed
  3. called
  4. build
  5. effectively
  6. analyze
  7. exercising
  8. detrimental
  9. stressful
  10. environments

Original Text


Moving, switching jobs, or even starting a new schedule, are particularly great times to break a habit or build a new one. One 2005 study tracked university students’ exercising, reading, and TV watching habits before and after they transferred schools. When students were no longer around old environments and routines, their habits, even the strong ones, significantly changed.

For behaviors like nail-biting or hair-pulling, a practice called habit reversal training can be helpful. Developed by psychologists in the 1970s, the aim is to change a habit by replacing it with another one that’s less detrimental. The training requires you to analyze and understand your habit cues, so you can effectively intervene at the right times. For example, if you tend to bite your nails at work, preemptively keep a fidget toy at your desk. Then, if a stressful email comes in, use the toy when you feel the urge to bite your nails.

Frequently Occurring Word Combinations


ngrams of length 2

collocation frequency
stressful email 2


Important Words


  1. aim
  2. analyze
  3. behaviors
  4. bite
  5. break
  6. build
  7. called
  8. change
  9. changed
  10. cues
  11. desk
  12. detrimental
  13. developed
  14. effectively
  15. email
  16. environments
  17. exercising
  18. feel
  19. fidget
  20. great
  21. habit
  22. habits
  23. helpful
  24. intervene
  25. jobs
  26. longer
  27. moving
  28. nails
  29. practice
  30. preemptively
  31. psychologists
  32. reading
  33. replacing
  34. requires
  35. reversal
  36. routines
  37. schedule
  38. schools
  39. significantly
  40. starting
  41. stressful
  42. strong
  43. students
  44. study
  45. switching
  46. tend
  47. times
  48. toy
  49. tracked
  50. training
  51. transferred
  52. tv
  53. understand
  54. university
  55. urge
  56. watching
  57. work