Will– a person’s conscious regulation of his behavior and activities associated with overcoming internal and external obstacles. This quality of consciousness and activity arose with the advent of society and labor. Will is an important component of the human psyche, inextricably linked with cognitive and emotional processes.

The will performs two interrelated functions - incentive and inhibitory.

The incentive function of the will is ensured by human activity. In contrast to reactivity, when an action is determined by a previous situation (a person turns around when called), activity gives rise to action due to the specific internal states of the subject, revealed at the moment of the action itself (a person in need of receiving the necessary information calls out to a friend).

The inhibitory function of the will, acting in unity with the incentive function, manifests itself in restraining unwanted manifestations of activity. A person is able to inhibit the awakening of motives and the implementation of actions that do not correspond to his worldview, ideals and beliefs. Regulation of behavior would be impossible without the process of inhibition. In their unity, the incentive and inhibitory functions of the will ensure overcoming difficulties on the way to achieving the goal.

As a result of volitional effort, it is possible to slow down the action of some motives and extremely enhance the action of other motives. The need for volitional efforts increases in difficult situations of “difficult life” and largely depends on the inconsistency of the inner world of the person himself.

By performing various types of activities, while overcoming external and internal obstacles, a person develops volitional qualities: purposefulness, determination, independence, initiative, perseverance, endurance, discipline, courage. But will and volitional qualities may not be formed in a person if the living and upbringing conditions were unfavorable.

The most significant factors preventing the formation of a strong will are the following: the child’s spoiling (all his wishes are immediately fulfilled without question, and no volitional efforts are required); suppression of the child by the harsh will of adults, demands to strictly follow all their instructions. In this case, the child becomes unable to make decisions independently.

Thus, it turns out that, although the parents in these cases adhere to directly opposite methods of education, the result is the same - the child’s almost complete absence of strong-willed personality traits.

To develop strong-willed qualities in a child, you need to follow a few simple rules. Do not do for the child what he must learn, but only provide the conditions for the success of his activities. Constantly intensify the child’s independent activity, encourage him to give him a feeling of joy from what he has achieved, and increase his faith in his ability to overcome difficulties. It is useful even for a small child to explain the expediency of the demands, orders, and decisions that adults make to the child. Gradually he learns to make reasonable decisions on his own. Nothing needs to be decided for a school-age child. It is better to lead him to a rational decision and convince him of the necessity of the inevitable implementation of the decision made.

Volitional actions, like all mental activity, are related to the functioning of the brain. An important role in the implementation of volitional actions is played by the frontal lobes of the brain, in which, as studies have shown, the result achieved each time is compared with the expected one.

WILL

Will- this is the ability of an individual to consciously and purposefully regulate and control his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to mobilize mental and physical capabilities to overcome difficulties and obstacles that stand in the way of achieving his goal.

One of the most important characteristics of volitional behavior is self-determination. Carrying out an act of will, a person acts arbitrarily and without submitting to the actions of external causes. Arbitrariness and over-situationalism are the fundamental principles of volitional behavior.

The will combines three main properties of consciousness: cognition, attitude and experience, being the motivating and administrative forms of their regulation, performing activating or inhibitory functions.

Volitional states are manifested in activity-passivity, restraint-intemperance, confidence-uncertainty, determination-indecisiveness, etc.

The incentive function is provided by human activity. Unlike reactivity, when an action is determined by a previous situation, activity gives rise to action due to the specific internal state of the subject, revealed at the moment of the action itself.

The inhibitory function of the will acts in unity with the incentive one. The inhibitory function manifests itself in restraining unwanted manifestations of activity. A person is able to inhibit the awakening of motives and the implementation of actions that do not correspond to his worldview, ideals, and beliefs.

A person’s motivation to act forms a certain ordered system - a hierarchy of motives (from the needs for food, clothing to higher motives associated with the experience of moral, aesthetic and intellectual feelings.

The motivation of a person to volitional actions is a specific need, which becomes a prerequisite for any activity if it turns into a motive.

One of the most characteristic manifestations of will is human behavior under risk conditions.

Volitional effort is an act of manifestation aimed at mobilizing a person’s mental and physical capabilities necessary to overcome obstacles in the process of activity.

Structure of an act of will

Volitional actions can be simple and complex. Simple volitional actions include those in which a person goes towards the intended goal without hesitation. In a complex act of will, a rather complex process intervening between the impulse and the action itself intersects.

In a complex volitional act, at least four phases can be distinguished: the first phase is the emergence of motivation and preliminary goal setting, the second phase is discussion and struggle of motives, the third phase is decision making, the fourth phase is execution of the decision.

The peculiarity of the course of a volitional act is that the mechanism for its implementation is volitional efforts at all phases. The implementation of an act of will is always associated with a feeling of neuropsychic tension.

Volitional personality traits

Will forms certain personality qualities, which are called “volitional personality qualities.” Volitional qualities of a person are personality traits that have developed in the process of life experience and are associated with the realization of will and overcoming obstacles on the path of life.

Psychologists name many volitional qualities of a person, let us first name the main, basic volitional qualities.

Determination- this is a conscious and active focus of the individual on a specific result of activity. There is a distinction between strategic and tactical determination. Strategic purposefulness presupposes the ability of an individual to be guided in all his life activities by certain values, beliefs and ideals. Operational determination is associated with an individual’s ability to set clear goals for individual actions and not be distracted from them in the process of execution.

Initiative- this is the active orientation of the individual to perform an action. It underlies the starting stage of any volitional act. Any act of will begins with initiative.

Independence- this is a conscious and active attitude of the individual not to be influenced by various factors, to critically evaluate the advice and suggestions of others, to act on the basis of one’s views and beliefs.

Excerpt- this is a conscious and active attitude of the individual to confront factors that impede the achievement of the goal, which manifests itself in self-control and self-control.

Determination- a personality trait that manifests itself in her ability to make and implement quick, informed and firm decisions. Decisiveness manifests itself in all phases of the volitional act.

Energy- this is the quality of a person associated with the concentration of all his forces to achieve his goal.

Perseverance- this is a quality of a person, manifested in his ability to mobilize his strength for a constant and long-term struggle with difficulties, pursuing the goals he has set for himself. Stubbornness is an unreasonable will.

Organization– a personality quality manifested in the ability to intelligently plan and organize the course of all one’s activities.

Discipline- this is a personality quality that manifests itself in the conscious subordination of one’s behavior to generally accepted norms, established order, and business requirements.

Self-control- this is a personality quality expressed in the ability to control one’s actions and subordinate one’s behavior to the solution of consciously set tasks.

Formation of strong-willed qualities

Will is an element of personal consciousness. Therefore, it is not an innate quality, but is formed and developed in the process of personality formation. The development of will in a person is associated with the transformation of involuntary mental processes into voluntary ones, with the acquisition of control over one’s behavior by people, with the development of volitional personality traits into some complex form of activity.

Control questions

What is will?

What is its role in regulating behavior and activity?

Name the main volitional qualities of a person.

Literature

Radugin A.A.

Psychology. M., 2003

Will Experimental studies of volitional activity. - Ryazan, 1986.

- conscious self-regulation of behavior, manifested in the deliberate mobilization of behavioral activity to achieve goals recognized by the subject as a necessity and opportunity, a person’s ability to self-determination, self-mobilization and self-regulation..

Volitional regulation of behavior

Will is an active function of the mind, a socially mediated mechanism for regulating human behavior - the incentive to volitional actions is carried out on the basis of socially formed concepts and ideas. The emergence of will is initially associated with the child’s communication with an adult. As noted by L.S. Vygotsky, at first the adult gives an order (“take the ball”, “take the cup”) and the child acts according to the external order. As the child masters speech, he begins to give himself speech commands. Thus, a function previously divided between people becomes a way of self-organization of the voluntary behavior of an individual.

In contrast to impulsive reactions, volitional behavior is determined by an internal plan of action, a conscious choice of goals and means of activity, taking into account the conditions necessary to achieve the planned result, and a proactive reflection of reality. The ability to control one’s behavior is formed in the process of social communication through the mastery of socially formed signs - concepts (“artificial means of behavior”). Volitional regulation of behavior is associated with the formation of higher mental functions - voluntary attention, memory, productive thinking, creative imagination.- action oriented to the future, emancipated (as opposed to emotions) from the current situation. “...Man is little by little emancipated in his actions from the direct influences of the material environment; the basis of action is no longer based on sensual impulses alone, but on thought and moral feeling; The action itself receives a certain meaning through this and becomes an action.”

Volitional regulation is determined by the objective conditions of activity, the natural development of events, and a person’s understanding of the necessity of his behavior. In an act of will, current emotions are suppressed—a person exercises power over himself. And the measure of this power depends both on his consciousness and on the system of his psychoregulatory qualities.

The most important manifestation of will is the individual’s ability to make volitional efforts, prolonged volitional tension. But the will is not associated only with the suppression of emotions. The very image of the desired future result is emotionally charged. Will, as a conscious regulation of life, has a specific energy source - a sense of socially responsible behavior.
A highly moral person, as a rule, has a strong will. But not every strong-willed person is moral. Certain volitional qualities can be inherent in both an altruist and an egoist, a law-abiding person and a criminal. But the higher a person’s behavior is regulated by moral Values, the higher the internal consistency of his behavior and, consequently, his volitional self-regulation.

In cases of desocialization of a person, his individual needs are separated from the needs of society, the individual becomes a victim of his immediate drives. Such behavior becomes tragic - it separates a person from humanity. To be human means to be socially responsible. The further the socially necessary is removed from the actually experienced needs, the greater the volitional effort required for its implementation and the greater the importance of the basic social values ​​included in the superconsciousness of the individual, forming the semantic context of his behavior.

Each volitional act is accompanied by a certain measure of volitional efforts to overcome external and internal obstacles.

Difficulties in achieving a goal can be objective and subjective. The degree of volitional effort may sometimes not correspond to the objective difficulty. Thus, a shy person expends considerable effort when speaking at a meeting, while for another person this is not associated with much stress. The ability to exert volition depends to some extent on the strength, mobility and balance of nervous processes. But basically this ability depends on a person’s development of the skill of subordinating his behavior to objective necessity.

A socialized personality anticipates and emotionally experiences an assessment of his possible behavior. This influences the self-determination of her behavior. Insufficient development of an individual's anticipatory and evaluative activity is one of the factors of his maladaptive (not adapted to the environment) behavior.

The volitional activity of a subject leading to socially significant results is called act. A person is responsible for his actions, even those that go beyond his intentions. (Hence, in jurisprudence, there are two forms of guilt - in the form of intent and negligence.)

Persistent and systematic overcoming of difficulties in achieving goals approved by society, completing the work started at all costs, avoiding the slightest lack of will, irresponsibility - this is the way to form and strengthen the will.

Volitional regulation of activity represents a certain dynamics of mental states. In some people, various mental states are more stable, while in others they are less stable. Thus, a stable state of initiative and determination can be combined with a less stable state of perseverance. All volitional states are interconnected with the corresponding volitional qualities of the individual. Long-term experience of being in certain volitional states leads to the formation of corresponding personality qualities, which then themselves influence volitional states.

So, human behavior is not determined by instinctive impulses, but is mediated by the consciousness of the individual, his value orientation. The will of the individual systematically organizes all the mental processes of the individual, transforming them into appropriate volitional states that ensure the achievement of set goals. Will, as a socially conditioned mental formation, is formed in social practice, work activity, and in interaction with people. It is laid down in conditions of systematic social control over socially significant behavior of the individual. Formation of will- this is the transition of external social control into internal self-control of the individual.

Neurophysiological foundations of will.

I.P. Pavlov noted that volitional actions are the result of the total work of the entire brain. The physiological mechanisms of volitional regulation of activity are not localized in any individual brain structures. They are complex functional systems. The acceptor (“permit”) of a person’s actions functions in his conceptual sphere. The neurophysiological basis of will is the systemic work of the entire brain, but the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex are of central importance in this system.

As already noted, three main functional blocks can be distinguished in the human brain, the joint work of which underlies conscious activity:

• a block that regulates brain tone and its waking state (reticular formation and other subcortical formations);
• the block for receiving, processing and storing information - the main apparatus of cognitive processes (posterior and parietal parts of the cortex);
• block of programming, regulation and control of mental activity (frontal lobes of the cortex).

The frontal lobes of the cortex carry out the functions of synthesizing external stimuli, preparing an action, forming its program, controlling the process of performing an action and evaluating its final result. Disruption of the frontal lobes of the brain causes disorganization of conscious behavior, pathological lack of will - abulia.

Components of volitional regulation of behavior.

Activity occurs in the form of a system of actions. Action is a structural unit of activity. A distinction is made between mental, perceptual, mental, mnemonic and external, practical actions. In each action it is possible to distinguish approximate, executive And control part.

Every action is performed to achieve a specific goal. Target- a mental image of the future result of an action or activity as a whole. The goals of the activity determine the nature and sequence of actions, and the specific conditions of action determine the nature and sequence of operations. Operation- a structural unit of action. In complex activities, individual actions serve as operations. The purpose of an activity sets its general direction. The specific conditions of activity determine the ways of implementing individual actions, the choice of means and instruments of action.

When starting a certain activity, a person makes a preliminary orientation in the conditions of the activity, examines the situation in order to develop a plan of action. At the same time, the relationships between the elements of the situation, their meaning, and the possibilities of combination to achieve the goal are established.

The system of an individual’s ideas about a goal, the procedure for achieving it and the means necessary for this is called indicative basis for action. The effectiveness of human activity depends on the content of its indicative basis. The success of the activity is ensured only by a complete indicative basis, which is specially formed during the training of the individual.

When implementing an activity, the subject interacts with the objective world - the objective situation is transformed, certain intermediate results are achieved, the significance of which is subject to emotional and logical assessment. Each operation in the structure of an action is determined by the conditions of the situation, as well as the skills of the subject of the activity.

Skill- a method of performing an action mastered by a subject, based on the totality of his knowledge and skills. The skill is realized both in usual and in changed conditions of activity.

Skill- a stereotypical way of performing individual actions and operations, formed as a result of repeated repetition and characterized by the collapse (reduction) of its conscious control.

There are perceptual, intellectual, motor and behavioral skills. Perceptual skills- a one-time, stereotypical reflection of the identifying characteristics of well-known objects. Intellectual skills— stereotyped ways of solving problems of a certain class. Motor skills- stereotyped actions, a system of well-established movements. Motor skills also include the stereotypical use of familiar tools.

Skills are characterized by varying degrees of generality—the breadth of their coverage of various situations, flexibility, and readiness for rapid implementation. Action at the skill level is characterized by the collapse (removal) of some of its regulatory components. Here needs, motives and goals are fused together, and methods of implementation are stereotyped. Thus, the skill of writing does not require thinking about how to do it. Due to the fact that many actions are consolidated as skills and transferred to the fund of automated acts, a person’s conscious activity is unloaded and can be directed to solving more complex problems.

Most daily activities are skills. An action at the skill level is performed quickly and accurately. As the skill develops, visual control over the execution of a physical movement weakens. It is replaced by muscle (kinesthetic) control. Thus, an experienced typist can type without looking at the keys, while a beginner typist constantly looks for letters with his eyes.

The skill is characterized by less effort, combining individual movements, and getting rid of unnecessary movements. But even one skill is not carried out completely automatically. A change in the usual environment of action, the emergence of unforeseen obstacles, a discrepancy between the results obtained and the previously set goal - all this immediately includes a partially automated action in the sphere of conscious control. There is a conscious adjustment of actions. (In investigative practice, there are attempts by the accused to deliberately distort his functional characteristics, which are manifested in various skills - handwriting, gait, etc. In these cases, the corresponding skill is taken by the accused under conscious control. To unmask these techniques, the investigator uses various situations that make it difficult to consciously control the skill - accelerating the pace of dictation of the control text, organizing distracting actions.)

Skills can be specific (calculation skills, solving standard problems, etc.) and general (comparison, generalization skills, etc.). Previously formed skills complicate the formation of new skills related in content - interference of skills occurs (from Lat. inter- between and ferens- transferring). It is easier to develop a new skill than to redo a previously formed one; hence the difficulties of retraining and re-education. Having a skill creates readiness for a certain action - operational setting.

The neurophysiological basis of skills is a dynamic stereotype- a stable system of conditioned reflex responses to certain trigger stimuli.

In a person’s behavior, his operationally stereotypical behavioral mechanism is fixed, its target and operational settings are formed. All this makes it possible to identify a person by the complex (syndrome) of his behavioral characteristics. (The criminal may not leave traces of hands and feet at the crime scene, but he will certainly leave his unique behavioral “imprint” there.)

Each person has inherent conceptual models of behavior - preferences in defining goals, predisposition to certain means of action. Some of his actions become a prerequisite for the commission of other actions.

Activity (behavior) of an individual- a stable system of his relationships with the world, based on a conceptual image of the world and a stereotypical behavioral foundation. This fund of behavior patterns is realized in the form of simple and complex volitional actions.

Classification of volitional actions.

Features of simple and complex actions.

All volitional actions are divided into simple and complex.

Simple volitional actions.

Simple volitional actions consist of three structural elements: 1) motive combined with a goal; 2) execution of an action; 3) evaluation of the result. Simple actions are usually not associated with significant volitional efforts and are implemented mainly in the form of skills.

Each simple action has different sensory, central, motor, and control-corrective components.

You saw the approaching transport from afar and cleared the way for it. All four components can be identified in this movement. The perception of transport is a sensory component; the idea that it is dangerous to stand close to the roadway is a central mental component; actual movement - the motor, movement component and making sure you have moved to a safe area - the control component.

In various movements, one or another of the first three components takes on leading importance. For example, during a biathlete’s starting jerk, the leading component is the motor component, and when shooting at a target, when the success of the action depends mainly on visual work, the sensory component is the leading one. When playing chess or writing a formula on the board, despite the presence of sensory and motor components, the leading moment is the central, mental moment of the action. In many movements, the leading components are sensory and motor. These movements are called.

They are characterized by coordination, quality and time parameters. The speed with which a person can respond to a stimulus is called reaction time(VR). The reaction time depends on: the modality of the stimulus (the RT for a visual stimulus is greater than for an auditory one); stimulus intensity (increasing stimulus intensity to a certain limit reduces RT); fitness; instructions to perform this action; operating organs (the right arm and leg respond to the stimulus faster than the left); age and gender; difficulty in responding to a complex stimulus.

Motor reactions are divided into simple and complex. Simple reaction- response to a single stimulus with one specific action (for example, pressing a button in response to a red light). Complex reaction is associated with the need to make decisions (for example, when the light is red, press a button, and when it is green, switch the switch).

The complex reaction time is calculated using the formula:

VR (ms) – 270×ln(n + 1), where n is the number of possible alternatives.

The average time of a simple reaction under favorable conditions is 150 - 200 ms.

Complex volitional actions.

The simple actions, operations, and skills discussed above have a simple structure. These actions are usually performed stereotypically. Complex volitional actions have a more developed structure.

In the structure of a complex volitional act, the following stages are essential: goal formation, predecisions, modeling significant conditions of activity, programming executive actions, processing current information about the achieved intermediate results, ongoing correction of actions and evaluation of the final result. Each stage of a complex volitional action is characterized by a specific volitional state, the manifestation of the corresponding volitional qualities of the individual.

Let us consider in more detail each stage of a complex volitional action.

1. Awareness of the possibilities of satisfying an actualized need, the struggle of motives (predecision stage).

Each need allows for different possibilities for its satisfaction. The process of choosing one of these possibilities is the process of forming the goal of an action.

In complex behavioral conditions, this choice is often accompanied by a clash of conflicting impulses—a struggle of motives. The struggle of motives can be short-term or very long, associated with a large expenditure of nervous energy (sometimes very painful). The struggle of motives is the confrontation of different desires. Before a desire turns into a goal of activity, a person evaluates, substantiates it, weighs all the pros and cons. The struggle of motives occurs especially intensely between personal and socially significant desires, between the arguments of feeling and reason. This tension intensifies if a particularly important decision has to be made.

Desires differ in their level, that is, in the degree of social significance, and emotional strength.(The famous hero of Saltykov-Shchedrin could not determine what he wanted more - a constitution or stellate sturgeon with horseradish. In this grotesque, the incomparability of desires at different levels is subtly noted.) If of two desires of the same level one becomes stronger, then no struggle of motives occurs.

Doubts and hesitations arise when choosing one of the options among a number of equally strong desires. Volitional effort here is manifested in a person’s ability to be guided by his principles and life positions in overcoming emotions in order to achieve a significant goal.

In the activities of different people there is not always a conflict of motives. Many people are guided by certain, constantly dominant motives. If these motives are socially valuable, then human behavior is socially adapted, that is, adapted to the requirements of the social environment. But some people are guided by motives that do not take into account the requirements of the environment, and their behavior becomes socially maladapted.

The drivers of behavioral activity are needs. However, the human needs and desires themselves arise, as a rule, taking into account the possibilities of their implementation. The current situation is taken into account and assessed through situational motives - motives-incentives.

Human behavior is directed by a complex system of factors, a hierarchy of motives. Thus, in work activity the motives of profit, satisfaction, convenience, prestige, safety, etc. are manifested. The place in which one or another of these motives will be, and what the strength of the corresponding motive will depend on the general orientation of the individual.

In addition to the value criteria of the individual, the strength of the motive can be influenced by the clarity, brightness, emotionality and accessibility of the goal, the skills available to achieve it, and the conditions facilitating its achievement. The strength of the motive, in turn, influences the nature of the action performed; it can dull attention to obstacles and limitations.

In an effort to achieve a desired goal, people often neglect dangers, take unjustified risks, overestimate the likelihood of desired events occurring and underestimate the likelihood of undesirable events.

Two general strategies of human behavior can be distinguished: striving for success or avoiding failure. Anything that contradicts the formed motivation causes a feeling of discomfort - cognitive dissonance. A person’s own positions usually seem more correct and fair than the positions of other people. To realize their attitude, people often put forward their protective motives, which sometimes do not correspond to real conditions.

The formulation of a motive does not always accurately reflect in the mind what really prompted a person to act. Sometimes encouraging a person to more accurately understand the motive of his behavior leads him to a critical assessment of his actions and a change in behavior.

So, the initial factors of activity are the needs, attitudes, and life positions of a person, on the basis of which the corresponding motives for activity are formed.

2. Decision making. From a number of possible goals, the individual chooses the one that is assessed as the most optimal in the given conditions for the given individual.

The choice of behavior may be transitive- justified, optimal, taking into account the conditions of development of events, and intransitive- suboptimal, when real possibilities and options for the development of events are not analyzed.

Actions carried out without a reasonable calculation, without taking into account the possibilities of implementing plans, are associated with the low intellectual level of the subject, the limitations of his operational and long-term memory, and significant defects in the motivational regulatory sphere.

Vary five types of decision making: 1) impulsive - the processes of constructing hypotheses sharply prevail over control processes; 2) a decision with risk; 3) balanced; 4) Cautious; 5) inert - control processes sharply prevail over the processes of constructing hypotheses, which proceed uncertainly and slowly.

People with a high level of intelligence development are characterized by a predominance of balanced types of decisions and a limitation of extreme types (impulsive and inert). In extreme conditions, they most effectively combine risk with prudence.

When making decisions, a person strives for maximum success with minimal losses. But people evaluate gains and losses differently.

Thus, at the risk of ruining one’s reputation in some matter, one person unconditionally rejects this action, another hesitates, and a third does not attach any importance to this risk.

Operating with initial data in the decision-making process, a person loads his RAM, the volume of which is very limited. Many people tend to ease decision-making stress by simplifying the relationships between inputs.

Decisions often have to be made under conditions of uncertainty, anticipating the development of events. Determining the probability of an event, i.e. the relative frequency of its occurrence, serves as the basis for making decisions in a risky situation. The probability assessment (if it is not calculated using mathematical methods) is subjective. People tend to hope for unlikely favorable events to occur.

(for example, the probability of winning the lottery), and unfavorable events of high probability are underestimated (for example, the inevitability of punishment for a crime). It is often mistakenly believed that expected events that have not occurred for a long time should occur in the near future.

Subjective assessments are very stable, and the role of intuition is usually overestimated. Relying on intuition, people often make wrong decisions. (Let us solve at least approximately the following problem. Let us mentally divide the globe into two halves. Next, we will also divide one of the halves into two parts, etc. Approximately how many divisions must be made so that an atom is obtained in the last of them? Hundreds of thousands, millions or billions? We intuitively tend to agree with these astronomical figures. In reality, only 80 divisions are needed).

When making a decision, people convince themselves that it is correct, exaggerate the merits of the chosen course of action and downplay its disadvantages.

Note that there are no standard, correct solutions for all occasions. The correctness of a decision depends on the principles on the basis of which it was made, the objective significance of the factors taken into account, their usefulness in a given situation, for a given individual and for society.

The decision made is usually accompanied by a subjective feeling of some relief (since this relieves the tension characteristic of the struggle of motives), a positive emotional experience that activates activity. Decision making ends with the formation of an action goal.

3. Purpose of action, that is, the mental model of its future result, subsequently appears system-forming factor of all means to achieve them.

The goal determines the significance of everything that has one or another relation to it, organizes the field of the conscious sphere of the subject. Our goals subordinate our perception, our thinking, and our memory. Only in relation to our goals does this or that influence acquire an informational character.

Goal formation and goal achievement are the main sphere of conscious human activity.

The main goals of life determine the main content of a person’s life activity, his personal meanings and values. A person's goals are always determined by what he needs. The objective basis of goal setting is the contradiction between reality and possibility, between reality and ideal.

Satisfy all the desires of a person, said K.D. Ushinsky, - but take away his goal in life and you will see what an unhappy and insignificant creature he will appear. Purpose in life is the core of human dignity and human happiness.

The focus of action on a goal that is significant for a given individual, the achievement of which is associated with the possibility of failure and dangerous consequences, is called risk. People’s behavior manifests both fear of risk, risk avoidance, and increased propensity to take risks.

4. Awareness of the tasks of the activity and the choice of methods of activity. After setting the goal of an activity, its objectives are realized, and ways and means of achieving the goal are planned in detail. Human activity occurs in certain conditions and depends on them. Correlating the purpose of an activity with these conditions is an awareness of the objectives of the activity.

The conditions of activity can be specially specified (for example, in a mathematical problem), but in most cases they must be identified as a result of studying the initial situation. The choice of methods of action is also associated with a more or less significant struggle of motives, for some methods may be accessible, but contrary to moral standards, while others may be socially approved, but personally unacceptable.

5. Formation of a program - an indicative basis for action. The approximate basis of action for a person is knowledge, a system of ideas and concepts. A person acts depending on what knowledge he is guided by in given conditions, what connections and relationships of things he takes into account.

Before performing a physical action with a material object, a person performs these actions in his mind with ideal images of things. Every action is performed as a result of knowledge of the principle of action, establishing a connection between the goal and the methods of achieving it. This knowledge becomes a regulatory, orienting basis for action; By forming an indicative basis for action, a person transforms in his mind the initial conditions into the system necessary to achieve the goal.

6. Execution of actions and its ongoing adjustment. Actions are performed in a certain way - an individualized system of operations, generalized actions.

Depending on the level of mental development of a person, his experience, knowledge and other individual characteristics, each person carries out activities in ways characteristic of him.

The methods of action of people differ in the number of intermediate operations, the unification of individual operations, the accuracy and speed of action. Each person develops a stereotype of performing actions - a characteristic way of using tools.

Physical actions - movements - have certain mechanical characteristics - trajectory, speed or tempo (cycle repetition rate) and force. In many cases, the success of an activity depends on reaction time (the speed of response to an external signal). Thus, safety depends on the speed of reaction to danger signals, the outcome of a hockey match depends on the reaction speed of the goalkeeper, and trouble-free operation depends on the reaction speed of the operator at the control panel.

The reaction time depends on the readiness to respond to the corresponding signal, on the type of nervous system, the age and gender of the person, and his mental state. Reaction time increases significantly in conflict and anxiety situations.

A distinction is made between the time of sensorimotor and verbal-associative reactions. It is more difficult to respond with a word than with a movement, so verbal reactions are slowed down (by 0.3 - 0.5 seconds).

External action is performed by a system of movements that are controlled on the basis of data received by the brain from various sense organs - through sensory control. Physical action is accomplished through continuous muscle and visual control and the execution of corrective movements. (With closed eyes, actions are performed inaccurately, and if you put prismatic glasses on your eyes, then many actions cannot be performed at all.) Correction of actions is made on the basis of an analysis of intermediate results and changes in the external environment. Thus, when braking a car by pressing the brake pedal, the driver correlates his movement with the condition of the road, the danger of the current situation, the weight of the car, the quality of the tires, etc.

The purpose of actions determines the guidelines by which they are adjusted. The actual results of all operations are constantly compared with the previously specified dynamic action model. Inaccurate actions are corrected by analyzing the reasons for not achieving the goal. In this case, it may sometimes turn out that the indicative model of action itself was formed incorrectly. In these situations, the level of critical thinking of the individual is revealed.

Method of action- a system of techniques determined both by the purpose, motives and conditions of action, and by the mental characteristics of the actor. The method of action is determined by the indicative, mental and sensory-motor characteristics of the subject and indicates the extent of the individual’s mental capabilities.

The method of action reveals the psychophysiological and characterological characteristics of a person, his knowledge and abilities, skills and habits, the neurophysiological basis of which is dynamic stereotype. Individualized stereotyping of actions makes it possible to identify a person by his method of action.

The method of action cannot be reduced only to automatisms of motor skills. In the mode of action, the characteristics of psychomotor skills are combined with the characteristics of thinking, memory, life experience, general abilities and temperament. Such a complex combination of diverse factors gives the unique individualization of a behavioral act.

Execution of action- the central element in the structure of volitional regulation of activity. It is here that such personality qualities as focus, perseverance, perseverance and, at the same time, flexibility in relation to a previously formed program, etc. are needed. The execution of an action requires significant volitional efforts: mental and physical fatigue causes a strong urge to rest and change activities. This impulse has to be overcome by willpower. But timely abandonment of a started action, if execution produces an unnecessary (and sometimes even harmful) result, is also one of the manifestations of a person’s will.

7. Achieving the result of the activity and its final assessment. The appropriateness of behavior is determined, first of all, by the achievement of results.

The neurophysiological mechanisms of the result of action as a structural element of action were put in the spotlight by the academician.

“In fact, reflex, “reflex act” and “reflex action” are of interest only to the researcher - a physiologist or psychologist. Animals and humans are always interested in the results of their actions.”

Biological systems constantly work on the basis of feedback, constantly comparing the achieved result with a previously formed program.

There is, however, a specificity of feedback in the regulation of human activity, in contrast to the behavior of animals. It lies in the fact that the goals of human activity, as a rule, are not related to the direct satisfaction of biological needs. The achieved result of a human action is not always a direct biological reinforcement, as in the behavioral acts of animals (the effectiveness of an aggressive act of a predator is determined by the presence of food in its mouth). In most cases, a person specifically evaluates the achieved result according to certain criteria. The result of an activity is assessed not by the formal achievement of a goal, but by the extent to which it satisfies the corresponding need and motives for the activity. The result of an activity may not coincide with a person’s desires and aspirations, and then another behavioral act is performed. The goal is only a criterion for the correctness of the progress of the activity towards the planned result. The result obtained is assessed not by the goal, but by its compliance with the impulse that caused the action. Only this compliance is a criterion for successful activity.

The correctness of performing a physical action is revealed directly as a result; the correctness of performing cognitive actions is controlled and assessed using special control actions. The higher the level of the indicative (theoretical) basis of the action, the less the need for feedback in actions. Actions of a moral nature are judged from the very beginning by their compliance with moral standards.

Activities that do not lead to success are modified. While maintaining the same motive, the goal and program of activity change. The essence of will is manifested in the persistent achievement of the required result.

Satisfaction with the result reinforces the image of this act of behavior and facilitates its repetition in the future.

In most cases, human activity is carried out in interaction with other people. Under these conditions, the leading importance becomes psychology of interpersonal relationships. The success of group activities largely depends on psychological compatibility individuals and their group cohesion.

By systematically performing socially significant and effective actions, an individual forms a system of positive personal qualities - the human psyche is formed in his activities.

Volitional states.

Conscious regulation of activity is manifested in a system of volitional mental states: initiative, determination, confidence, determination, perseverance, etc. These states manifest themselves in aggregate throughout the entire activity. However, at certain stages of activity, certain volitional states acquire leading importance. Thus, choosing a goal is associated, first of all, with a state of determination, making a decision with a state of determination, performing an action with a state of perseverance, etc.

Conditionality of volitional mental states by the structural stages of complex volitional action.

Let us consider volitional states in a sequence corresponding to the structure of activity.

State of initiative characterized by active processing of incoming information, identifying priority problems, setting the most significant goals and ways to achieve them. The state of initiative is increased excitability to search for a goal. When there are a number of possible goals, a state of determination becomes paramount.

Determination- a mental state of mobilization for a quick and reasonable selection of a goal and ways to achieve it. The state of determination is accompanied by an increase in emotional and intellectual activity of the psyche. Decisiveness is associated with suppressing various emotions and anticipating the consequences of future actions.

For different people, the state of determination has individual typological characteristics. Some people try to fit every decision under some idea, principle, or scheme approved by society (“this is how it is,” “this is how it should be,” “this is the instruction,” etc.). Submission to certain principles makes decision making easier. However, this creates the possibility of inappropriate behavior. Some people prefer to follow the “will of the waves” when making a decision, entrusting it to other people.

One of the individual typological features of the state of decisiveness is rapid, but unfounded, impulsive decision-making. This is explained by the desire of some people to quickly get rid of the tense state of struggle of motives. Under the external decisiveness here lies the insufficiency of volitional regulation of activity. True decisiveness requires making a firm decision relatively quickly, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of all alternative solutions.

However, despite subjective differences in the state of determination, there are also objective factors influencing the decision-making process. These factors include: lack of time, the significance of the action in favor of which the decision is made, the type of higher nervous activity of a person, features of the interaction of signaling systems. Thus, with insufficient regulation of the first signaling system by the second signaling system, a person shows fussiness and chaos when making decisions; if there is insufficient connection between the second signaling system and the first, there will be excessive “theorizing” and delay in decision-making.

The mental state of inability to make decisions quickly is a state of indecision. It can be a manifestation of mental passivity of the individual, weakness of nervous processes, and insufficient mobility. Indecisiveness is not a characteristic of any temperament. However, temperament influences the form of indecision. Alertness in melancholic people, procrastination in phlegmatic people, fussiness in sanguine people, impulsiveness in choleric people - these are some of the features of decision-making determined by temperament.

Indecisiveness is often associated with lack of awareness and lack of appropriate skills and abilities. The main reason for indecision is the presence in a given situation of equivalent opposing motives. At the same time, individuals tend to consistently make different decisions, change them, hesitate, and even decide on simultaneous contradictory actions (trial and error).

People's attitudes towards their indecision vary. Some experience it painfully, others find excuses for it in all cases, and still others do not attach much importance to this shortcoming. Meanwhile, indecision is a negative quality that needs to be overcome. It can lead to morally negative and illegal consequences (cowardice, criminal inactivity, etc.).

Determination as a volitional mental state is characterized by the concentration of consciousness on the main, most significant goals. This state, from a physiological point of view, is characterized by the emergence of a dominant, which subordinates all human actions to achieving the set goal.

Confidence as a volitional mental state - a high-probability expectation of the planned result of an activity based on taking into account the initial conditions. This state largely determines the effectiveness of activities. It consists of an objective assessment of the circumstances influencing the outcome of the activity; it is associated with a clear awareness of the connections between the initial data and the final goal, awareness (sometimes intuitive) of its achievability and reality. In this regard, a positive emotional attitude towards all activities to achieve this goal arises, and a person’s physical and mental activity increases. Cheerfulness and cheerfulness are the companions of confidence. The state of confidence depends on the possession of the means to achieve the goal (subject and instrument of activity, knowledge, skills, abilities and physical capabilities).

Successful completion of an activity requires overcoming both uncertainty and overconfidence. In the latter case, a person overestimates his capabilities and underestimates objective difficulties, and interferes in matters in which he is incompetent. The state of self-confidence can be episodic (arising as a result of temporary successes) and dominant (arising as a result of an uncritical attitude towards oneself).

Perseverance as a mental state consists of overcoming difficulties for a long time, controlling action, and directing it towards achieving a goal. The state of a selective attitude towards everything that can help achieve a goal is a manifestation of flexibility and perseverance in overcoming obstacles. One should distinguish stubbornness from perseverance - inflexibility, an uncritical attitude towards one’s activities.

State of restraint. In the process of activity, a person is exposed to various stimuli that provoke action in an undesirable direction. Inhibition of unwanted actions is a state of restraint, self-control, requiring significant volitional effort.

Restraint should not be confused with insensitivity or emotional unresponsiveness. Restraint presupposes a reasonable response to emotional influences. Restraint is a manifestation of the inhibitory function of V., which ensures controllability of behavior.

A person’s lifestyle, his style of life activity, reinforces certain psychoregulatory qualities in him, which are commonly called volitional personality traits. These properties are associated with the type of nervous activity of a person and with the requirements that are presented to him by the social environment. Some of these requirements turn into personal beliefs and principles of behavior. The individual develops a sense of social responsibility - a sense of duty, certain moral ideals. All this serves as the general basis for an individual’s behavior and determines the direction of the individual. Fig. 8. Manifestation of volitional qualities of a person at various stages of complex volitional action

A high level of development of mental self-regulation is characterized by the nobility of thoughts and the ability to realize them in any conditions. But every person also has “weak points”. Knowing them is a prerequisite for self-education.

The strength or insufficiency of individual volitional qualities of a person determines the originality of his volitional self-regulation.

Ms - millisecond - one thousandth of a second.

Cheat sheet on general psychology Yulia Mikhailovna Voitina

61. THE CONCEPT OF WILL IN PSYCHOLOGY. FORMATION OF WILL