Glossary
Avoidance/reducing exposure to cues for the behavior
What is Avoidance/reducing exposure to cues for the behavior?
Avoidance/reducing exposure to cues for the behavior is a behavior change technique that limits contact with cues for an unwanted behavior. It can involve avoiding a place, changing a routine, or removing a reminder. You do not have to eliminate every cue to reduce your exposure.
How it works
The technique, numbered 12.3 in the Behavior Change Technique Taxonomy, concerns social and physical cues. The practical question is specific: what do you encounter just before the behavior, and can you change that encounter? Cue avoidance gives you a way to change the situation before you have to resist an urge.
Applied example
A person trying to reduce social media use who deletes the apps from their home screen (increasing friction) and charges their phone in another room at night (removing the bedtime scrolling cue) is using cue avoidance rather than relying on self-control to resist the apps when they are one tap away.
Why it matters
Start with the cues for the behavior you actually want to change. Moving your phone may help with bedtime scrolling; it does little about a habit triggered by a notification on your laptop. The change has to fit the behavior and your routine.