COM-B Behavior Model
You pick up your phone, and boom – you're already on Instagram. How? Why? There wasn't even a goal. It was just a habit. This happens because a trigger went off somewhere: boredom, a vibration, an app icon. Your brain already knows something "tasty" (dopamine, that feel-good chemical) is coming. That's how the Habit Loop kicks in – it's one of the most powerful behavioral models out there.
B.F. Skinner first described the Habit Loop in his work back in the 1940s. Later, it was popularized in books about habits. The model is simple, but it works.
James Clear popularized the Habit Loop even further in his book "Atomic Habits," identifying 5 types of triggers: time, place, preceding event, emotion, and other people.
Real-Life Habit Loop Examples
Boredom → Scrolling TikTok feed → Dopamine spike
Duolingo notification → Doing a lesson → Getting a badge and seeing progress
Stress and the smell of coffee → Drinking coffee → Feeling of control and relief
That smell of coffee isn't just a smell; for us, it's our personal Pavlov's bell.
Example
The green squares on your GitHub commit graph → this visual progress motivates you to commit code every workday. They might just seem like squares, but you don’t want to break that perfect streak, do you?
Virtual medals for hitting 10,000 steps → you’re less likely to skip your walk so you can ‘earn’ that new reward.
СОМ-В shows you where behavior is falling short. And the next framework will tell you how to change it.
