Habitus

Habitus is a sociological concept developed by Pierre Bourdieu to describe the deeply ingrained habits, skills, dispositions, and ways of thinking that individuals acquire through socialization within particular social groups. It reflects how social structures shape personal behavior and perceptions, guiding how individuals act, perceive opportunities, and relate to the world. Habitus operates unconsciously, influencing tastes, lifestyle choices, and actions without deliberate thought, and it both reinforces and is reinforced by social conditions. In sociology, habitus helps explain how inequality persists over generations, as people’s social origins deeply inform their life trajectories and cultural capital. It also accounts for differences in behavior across class, gender, ethnicity, and other social divisions. Understanding habitus allows sociologists to analyze the relationship between individual agency and structural constraints in shaping social life.