n. A disposition of embodied habits, and ways of perceiving/acting in the world that are acquired through life experience, culture, and social context.
Habitus are ingrained ways of thinking and doing that are part of a shared cultural fabric. They are internalized structures that are built over time, are long-lasting, and are components of how we see and make sense of the world. Habitus are a set of learned behaviors and perspectives that are so deeply rooted that they seem to become part of you (“That is just how theyhe areis”). Habitus emerges from a person’s social and cultural background, manifesting as individual qualities that are called dispositions by Bourdieu, but might also be thought of as one’s poise or fluency in a given situation. Like a swimmer’s location in a moving river, habitus is a characteristic of the individual, but profoundly influenced by the force of the culture and surroundings.
(Lizardo, O. 2004, “The cognitive origins of Bourdieu’s Habitus”, Journal for the Theory of Social Behaviour, vol. 34, no. 4, pp. 375-448.)
Pierre Bordieu
Tony Fry