Habitus is a concept introduced by Pierre Bourdieu. It refers to the system of durable, transposable dispositions, or structured propensities to think, feel, and act in determinant ways, which then guide individuals' practice and social reproduction. In other words, habitus is the way that our social background and experiences shape our thoughts, feelings, and actions. It is a set of embodied dispositions that we acquire through our interactions with the world. These dispositions are often unconscious, and they guide our behavior in ways that we are not always aware of. For example, someone who grew up in a wealthy family may have a habitus that leads them to value material possessions and to be comfortable in high-status social settings. Someone who grew up in a poor family, on the other hand, may have a habitus that leads them to value hard work and to be comfortable in informal social settings.
Habitus is not fixed, however. It can be changed through experience and social interaction. For example, someone who goes to college and interacts with people from different social backgrounds may start to develop a new habitus that is more open and accepting of different ways of life.
Bourdieu argued that habitus is a key concept for understanding social reproduction. He argued that the habitus of the dominant class is reproduced through the educational system, the media, and other institutions. This means that people from the dominant class are more likely to succeed in society, while people from the subordinate class are more likely to struggle for social mobility.
Habitus is a complex concept, and it has been the subject of much debate among thinkers over the past few decades. However, it is a powerful tool for understanding the relationship between individuals and society. Habitus is often invisible to us, it functions below the level of consciousness, but it plays a powerful role in shaping our lives. It is the filter through which we see the world, and it influences our choices and actions.
Pierre Bourdieu’s concept of habitus emphasises that our attitudes and behaviours are socially structured and therefore questions how much agency we have in our daily lives. That is not to say that people do not have free will and are not able to make choices for themselves. Rather, it emphasises how deeply rooted our habits and dispositions are, so much so that we may not be aware of how they influence us. Much like other social theories, Habitus helps us think about groups of people, their social contexts, and how these contexts influence their actions. This can be a great tool when thinking about audiences in terms of their demographics and other market segmentation factors. Habitus can provide a framework for understanding why people do what they do and why they make the choices that they make. This can help inform a greater understanding of audiences and their needs.
Some themes that could be explored using the concept of habitus are:
Thinking about a particular audience (group or persona), how might their habitus give us a better understanding about how they behave and why they behave in the way they do?
How can an understanding of someone’s (or a group of people) habitus help us to create more effective graphic design and visual communication?
How can someone’s dispositions and habits affect how they engage with visual communication (for instance, what gets their attention)?
How does habitus affect graphic designers, the choices they make and the tools they use to communicate?