The remedy is rarely exhortation. It is a change to the situation so that the easier choice is also the better one. What looks like habit from the outside is usually something simpler from the inside: tiredness, a deadline, a wish not to look foolish. There is a version of this essay that ends with a policy prescription. This is not that version; the mechanism is interesting enough on its own. The textbook treats habit as a preference to be revealed. In practice it is a story we tell ourselves after the fact.
Why it persists
The honest conclusion is uncomfortable for reformers: people are not waiting to be corrected. The measure that matters is not what people say about habit but what they do when nobody is scoring. What looks like habit from the outside is usually something simpler from the inside: tiredness, a deadline, a wish not to look foolish. The mind that evolved for small groups and immediate dangers is now asked to manage a pension. It does its best.
