Are persons with nervous habits nervous? A preliminary examination of habit function in a nonreferred population.

Woods, D. W., & Miltenberger, R. G. (1996). Are persons with nervous habits nervous? A preliminary examination of habit function in a nonreferred population. Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, 29, 259-261.

In this study, 44 individuals were exposed to three conditions (anxiety, bored, and neutral) while being covertly videotaped. The videotapes were then scored for the occurrence of five classes of habits including hair, face, and object manipulation; object mouthing; and repetitive movement of the limbs. Results showed that hair and face manipulation increased during the anxiety condition, whereas object manipulation increased in the bored condition. The implications of this research are discussed.

DESCRIPTORS: habit disorders, habits, anxiety, self-stimulation