The stimulating function of the will in psychology. Volitional act. Will as "arbitrary motivation"

Since childhood, we all hear such phrases as "willpower", "a weak-willed person" or "gather your will into a fist." Each of us has an approximate idea of what exactly the interlocutor means when he says these words. However, a precise definition of the concepts of "will" and "functions of the will" can usually only be given by a specialist in the field of psychology or philosophy. This is all the more surprising because without this term it is difficult to imagine a person as a whole and all aspects of his life. Therefore, in this article we will consider the concept of will, and the function of will.

Interpretation of the concept in philosophy and psychology

Since ancient times, philosophers and psychologists have been concerned with questions of the will, and they have been viewed from numerous angles and interpreted in completely different ways. For example, studies of the will in psychology were conducted by Schopenhauer. He revealed rational nature will, but took it to the most hidden corners of the soul. During this period of time, it was believed that it represents a force that binds a person and obliges him to perform certain actions. Therefore, in order to have the hope of a happy and free life, a person had to get rid of the fetters of the will.

I would like to note that in psychologists there are three main areas human activity:

emotional;
intellectual;
strong-willed.

Experts believe that the latter area is the least studied, and often it is presented in a distorted version. For example, psychologists in the Soviet Union, defining the function of the will and the concept itself, argued that it can be understood as the pressure of social goals and interests over individual ones. It is noteworthy that with such an interpretation, individual values formed by volitional nature became just a set of accepted value orientations of society as a whole. This approach has brought up several generations of citizens, whose will was completely and unconditionally subordinated to public and state interests.

It is noteworthy that philosophers are still debating about free will. Some authors of works adhere to the ideas of determinism. Their meaning in a few words can be expressed in the absence of free will in principle. That is, a person cannot independently choose one or another path, based on his own convictions, and Another group of philosophers promotes the theory of indeterminism. Representatives of this trend provide an evidence base for the ideas of free will. They argue that every person is free from birth, and in such a context, the will only contributes to development and movement forward.

In psychology, there are certain characteristics through which the will is determined:

personality traits - purposefulness, perseverance, self-control, and so on;
the ability to regulate mental and behavioral reactions;
volitional actions that have a number of clear signs - overcoming moral and other types of obstacles, awareness, and the like.

Of course, all of the above does not give a precise definition of the structure of the will and function. However, in general, the mechanism of its action under certain conditions becomes clear. In the following sections of the article, we will take a closer look at the will, its main features and functions.

Definition

In the modern scientific world, the concept of will is considered one of the most complex and multifaceted. After all, considering it, one has to take into account that the will can act as an independent process, an indispensable aspect of certain actions, as well as the ability of a person to subordinate and control his actions and emotions.

If we refer to the terminology of psychology, then we can say that will is the ability of a person to regulate his behavior by overcoming a number of difficulties and obstacles. This process proceeds consciously and has a number of functions and features. Will in this case appears as a certain property of the human psyche. Indeed, in order to achieve his goal, a person must not only overcome a number of obstacles, but also apply all his emotional and physical strength for this. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine human activity without the volitional aspect.

act of will

It is possible to reveal the signs of will and function only through understanding the volitional act. This process is extremely complex, it includes several successive stages, which can be represented as follows:

a need that performs a motivational function;
awareness of the need;
internal definition of motives that prompt action;
selection of options to meet the needs;
first steps towards the goal;
control over the implementation of a well-thought-out plan.

It is noteworthy that each stage is accompanied by a strain of will. She participates in all the above processes. Psychologists believe that each time a person compares his action with a picture drawn in his head, taken as an ideal. The real plan is adjusted and re-launched.

Experts also call all items on our list “volitional actions” and believe that it is in them that the personality is most fully revealed, and also enters a new stage of development.

signs

Before talking about the functions of the will, it is necessary to consider its features. There are several of them:

concentration of efforts for a volitional act;
a detailed action plan;
attention to one's own efforts;
lack of positive emotions in the process of their actions;
mobilization of all the forces of the body;
ultimate concentration on the goal and the path to it.

These signs reveal the psychological basis of the will. After all, such actions are aimed primarily at overcoming their own fears and weaknesses. In the process of implementing a volitional action, a person is set to fight with himself, which is considered characteristic only of a highly developed personality.

Signs of volitional action

We have already said that the will is the main aspect of all human activity. It imperceptibly penetrates into all spheres of life and sometimes subjugates them to itself. This process has three main features that explain that will and volitional processes and functions of will are closely interrelated concepts:

Providing the goal of any human activity, as well as streamlining life. Volitional actions are able to change the world around a particular person, subordinating it to certain goals.
The ability to control oneself with the help of the will gives a person freedom. After all, in this case, external circumstances cannot have a decisive influence and the personality turns into an active subject, having the ability to make conscious decisions.
The conscious overcoming of obstacles on the way to the goal activates all volitional processes. After all, when faced with difficulties, only the person himself can decide whether to continue moving forward or whether it is time to stop. Will gives him the impetus to make a decision.

It should be noted that the mental function described by us is manifested in various properties of the human personality. It is worth talking about them in more detail.

Manifestation of will

Every person has certain qualities. Many of them are a clear reflection of the will:

persistence. It can be interpreted as the ability to gather all the forces and concentrate on the task at hand.
Excerpt. Subjugation and restraint of the mind, emotions and actions for the sake of a single goal.
Determination. The desire for the fastest decision-making and implementation of the action plan.
obligatory. Completion of all activities on time and in full.

Of course, these are not all personality traits. In reality, there are many more of them, but already from this small list it becomes clear that the will literally permeates all human activity, his thoughts and dreams. Without it, a person would not be able to realize any of the ideas that have arisen. This fully reveals the will and volitional processes.

Will Functions

Science has distinguished them for a long time. Initially, psychologists spoke of the presence of two functions of the will, but now their number has increased to three. This is considered the most accurate definition of the functional role of this mental aspect. Today we can highlight:

incentive function;
brake;
stabilizing.

In the following sections of the article, we will take a closer look at the main functions of the will.

Incentive

Many scientists consider it to be the main function of the will. It provides human activity, both arbitrary and conscious. It is noteworthy that this function is often confused with reactivity. However, there are serious differences between them, which are noticeable even to beginners in psychology. Reactivity causes action in response to a particular situation. For example, a walking person almost always turns into a shout, and a teaser will definitely cause resentment and negativity. In contrast to this process, the incentive function is expressed in the action caused by certain states within the personality. An example is a situation where the need for some information forces a person to shout and start a conversation with a friend or classmate. This is what distinguishes the basic function of the will, as it is called, from the described reactivity in the first place.

It is noteworthy that the activity caused by the impulse of the will makes it possible to rise above the situation. The action can be carefully thought out in advance and go beyond what is happening right now.

It should be borne in mind that the incentive function often provokes a person to an activity that is not mandatory. Nobody expects it from a person and will not condemn him for not performing any actions. But, despite this, the action plan is built and implemented.

The incentive function contributes to the mobilization of all forces even when there is no need for activity right now. For example, it can be difficult for a school graduate to study hard every day for a year, but the thought of the final exam and entering the coveted university makes him mobilize and start studying.

braking function

The functions of the will in psychology have been studied for a long time, so experts say that the inhibitory and incentive functions act in unity and work for the same goal in human life. Any person is able to suspend actions that are contrary to his principles, moral principles and the worldview formed as a result of education. It is noteworthy that the inhibitory function can even stop the development of unwanted ideas. Without it, not a single person could regulate his behavior in society.

The habit of controlling oneself in a team is especially important. She is nurtured as a person from infancy. Parents first, then teachers kindergarten teach the baby to slow down himself in various negative manifestations. Even Anton Semenovich Makarenko in his works more than once emphasized how important it is to educate self-regulation in a growing personality. Moreover, control should become a habit and be as natural as possible. For example, one of the manifestations of the inhibitory function is considered banal politeness. At the same time, it is a certain framework that regulates the relationship of a person with society.

We have already said that a person cannot exist without motives for action. They can be divided into lower and higher. The former form our need for the simplest and most necessary things: food, drink, clothing, and the like. But the higher ones give us the opportunity to experience a wide range of emotions and feelings associated with moral experiences. The will allows the individual to restrain his lower needs for the sake of higher ones. Thanks to her, a person can bring to its logical conclusion the work begun, despite all the temptations and difficulties.

Incentive and inhibitory functions in their unity work to achieve the goal, despite all the problems encountered on the way.

Stabilizing

Determination of the functions of the will is impossible without a description of the stabilizing function. It performs its very significant role in the development and formation of personality. Thanks to it, the necessary degree of activity is maintained in the event of a collision with obstacles. At the moment when a person is aware of a number of problems that he will have to overcome in order to achieve his goal, and is ready to retreat, it is the stabilizing function that does not allow activity to decline and motivates the person to continue the struggle.

Determination of the function of the will: arbitrary and volitional regulation

Talking about the will and its functions, it is impossible not to mention voluntary and volitional regulation. This is not the easiest topic, because until now in psychology there is no unity between specialists regarding terminology. It is noteworthy that most psychologists equate voluntary and volitional regulation, but they apply these definitions in various situations.

In the broad sense of the word, arbitrary regulation is understood as control over the behavior and activities of a person as a whole. This process has its own characteristics, but it should be borne in mind that not every action that is subject to self-regulation is volitional. For example, a person who abuses alcohol does so voluntarily. That is, he consciously destroys himself every day, but he does not have enough to radically change the situation. However, in others life situations it is the arbitrary regulation of behavior that becomes the very mechanism that starts the process of dominance of higher motives and needs over the lower ones. It depends on the level of development of the personality itself and the conditions in which certain actions must take place.

When psychologists mention volitional regulation, then most often this is understood as an action in a situation that is critical or difficult for a particular person, requiring concentration of physical and, above all, moral forces. Any volitional action includes a struggle of motives and is accompanied by a continuous movement towards a consciously set goal. regulation can be considered on the simplest example. Many people are actively involved in sports and do morning runs. What motivates them to do these things almost every day? Let's find out:

First of all, the need for the need for physical activity is determined, which is converted into a specific and clear goal.
Every morning there is a struggle of motives, because often you want to sleep much more than go out into the fresh air in the very early hours, when all the household members are still sweetly napping.
At this stage comes into play volitional regulation, forcing a person to get out of bed and go for a run.
In parallel, this process weakens the motivation that inclines a person to abandon his intentions regarding the morning run.
Before returning home, the individual carefully regulates his actions so as not to be tempted to enter the store, for example, or run a shorter distance than originally planned.

Based on the foregoing, it can be understood that volitional regulation contributes to the manifestation, formation and development of various mental processes. Thanks to them, the volitional qualities of the individual become more noticeable. Consciousness, purposefulness, determination and self-control of a person increase. Some psychologists call this mechanism genetic function will. However, not all scientists agree with this term, so it is used in scientific papers rarely.

Summing up, I would like to say that the will is not yet a fully studied mental process. But it is difficult to argue about its significance, because it is thanks to it that humanity still lives and develops.

Will is one of the most complex concepts in psychology. Will is considered both as an independent mental process, and as an aspect of other major mental phenomena, and as unique ability individuals arbitrarily control their behavior.

Will is a mental function that literally permeates all aspects of human life. In the content of volitional action, three main features are usually distinguished:

Will provides purposefulness and orderliness of human activity. But the definition of S.R. Rubinshtein, "Volitional action is a conscious, purposeful action by which a person achieves the goal set for him, subordinating his impulses to conscious control and changing the surrounding reality in accordance with his plan."
Will as a person's ability to self-regulate makes him relatively free from external circumstances, truly turns him into an active subject.
Will is a person's conscious overcoming of difficulties on the way to the goal. Faced with obstacles, a person either refuses to act in the chosen direction, or increases efforts. to overcome the difficulties encountered.

Will Functions

Thus, volitional processes perform three main functions:

initiator, or incentive, providing the beginning of this or that action in order to overcome the emerging obstacles;
stabilizing associated with volitional efforts to maintain activity at the proper level in the event of external and internal interference;
brake which is to restrain others, often strong desires that are inconsistent with the main objectives of the activity.

act of will

The most important place in the problem of will is occupied by the concept of "volitional act". Each volitional act has a certain content, the most important components of which are decision-making and its execution. These elements of the volitional act often cause significant mental stress, similar in nature to the state.

The following main components are distinguished in the structure of a volitional act:

urge to commit a volitional action, caused by a particular need. Moreover, the degree of awareness of this need can be different: from a vaguely realized attraction to a clearly realized goal;
the presence of one or more motives and the establishment of the order of their implementation:
"struggle of motives" in the process of choosing one or another of conflicting motives;
making a decision in the process of choosing one or another variant of behavior. At this stage, either a feeling of relief or a state of anxiety associated with uncertainty about the correctness of the decision may arise;
implementation of the decision taken, the implementation of one or another option of action.

At each of these stages of a volitional act, a person manifests will, controls and corrects his actions. At each of these moments, he compares the result obtained with the ideal image of the goal that was created in advance.

In the personality of a person, its main features are clearly manifested.

Will manifests itself in such personality traits as:

purposefulness;
independence;
determination;
persistence;
excerpt;
self-control;

Each of these properties is opposed by opposite character traits, in which lack of will is expressed, i.e. lack of one's own will and submission to someone else's will.

The most important volitional property of a person is purposefulness how to achieve your life goals.

Independence manifests itself in the ability to perform actions and make decisions based on internal motivation and one's own knowledge, skills and abilities. A dependent person is focused on subordination to another, on shifting responsibility to him for his actions.

Determination It is expressed in the ability to make a well-considered decision in a timely manner and without hesitation and put it into practice. The actions of a decisive person are characterized by thoughtfulness and speed, courage, confidence in their actions. The opposite of decisiveness is indecision. A person characterized by indecision constantly doubts, hesitates in making decisions and using the chosen methods of decision. An indecisive person, even having made a decision, begins to doubt again, waits for what others will do.

Endurance and self-control there is the ability to control oneself, one's actions and the external manifestation of emotions, constantly control them, even with failures and big failures. The opposite of endurance is the inability to restrain oneself, which is caused by the lack of special education and self-education.

persistence It is expressed in the ability to achieve the set goal, overcoming difficulties on the way to its achievement. A persistent person does not deviate from the decision made, and in case of failures, he acts with redoubled energy. A person deprived of perseverance, at the first failure, deviates from the decision made.

Discipline means the conscious submission of one's behavior to certain norms and requirements. Discipline manifests itself in various forms, both in behavior and in thinking, and is the opposite of indiscipline.

Courage and boldness are manifested in the readiness and ability to fight, to overcome difficulties and dangers on the way to achieving the goal, in the readiness to defend one's life position. Courage is opposed to such a quality as cowardice, usually caused by fear.

The formation of the listed volitional properties of the personality is determined mainly by the purposeful education of the will, which should be inseparable from the education of feelings.

Willpower and volitional regulation

To move on to a conversation about differences in the will, you need to understand this concept itself. Will, as you know, is the ability to choose the goal of an activity and the internal efforts necessary for its implementation. This is a specific act, not reducible to consciousness and activity as such. Not every conscious action, even associated with overcoming obstacles on the way to the goal, is volitional: the main thing in the volitional act is the awareness of the value characteristics of the goal of the action, its compliance with the principles and norms of the individual. The subject of the will is characterized not by the experience of “I want”, but by the experience of “I must”, “I must”. Carrying out a volitional action, a person opposes the power of actual needs, impulsive desires.

In its structure, volitional behavior breaks down into decision-making and its implementation.. When the goal of a volitional action and the actual need do not coincide, the decision-making is often accompanied by what is called in the psychological literature a struggle of motives (the act of choice). The decision made is implemented in different psychological conditions, ranging from those in which it is enough to make a decision, and the action after that is carried out as if by itself (for example, the actions of a person who sees a drowning child), and ending with those in which the implementation volitional behavior any strong need is opposed, which gives rise to the need for special efforts to overcome it and achieve the intended goal (manifestation of willpower).

Various interpretations of the will in the history of philosophy and psychology are connected, first of all, with the opposition of determinism and indeterminism: the first considers the will as conditioned from the outside (by physical, psychological, social reasons, or divine predestination - in supranaturalistic determinism), the second - as an autonomous and self-sustaining force. In the teachings of voluntarism, will appears as the original and primary basis of the world process and, in particular, human activity.

The difference in philosophical approaches to the problem of will is reflected in the psychological theories of will, which can be divided into two groups: autogenetic theories that consider will as something specific, not reducible to any other processes (W. Wundt and others), and heterogeneous theories that define the will as something secondary, a product of some other mental factors and phenomena - a function of thinking or representation (intellectualistic theory, many representatives of the school of I.F. Herbart, E. Meiman and others), feelings (G. Ebbinghaus and others), a complex of sensations, etc.

Soviet psychology at one time, relying on dialectical and historical materialism, considered the will in the aspect of its socio-historical conditioning. The main direction was the study of the phylo- and ontogeny of voluntary (originating from the will) actions and higher mental functions (voluntary perception, memorization, etc.). The arbitrary nature of the action, as shown by L.S. Vygotsky, is the result of the mediation of the relationship between man and the environment by tools and sign systems. In the process of development of the child's psyche, the initial involuntary processes of perception, memory, etc. acquire an arbitrary character, become self-regulating. At the same time, the ability to keep the goal of the action develops.

An important role in the study of the will was played by the work of the Soviet psychologist D.N. Uznadze and his schools on the theory of attitude.

The problem of educating the will has great importance and for pedagogy, in connection with which various methods are being developed that aim to train the ability to maintain the efforts necessary to achieve the goal. The will is closely connected with the character of a person and plays a significant role in the process of its formation and restructuring. According to the widespread point of view, character is the same basis of volitional processes as intelligence is the basis of thought processes, and temperament is the basis of emotional processes.

Like other types mental activity, will - a reflex process physiological basis and type of commission.

The evolutionary prerequisite for volitional behavior is the so-called freedom reflex in animals, an innate reaction for which a forcible restriction of movements serves as an adequate stimulus. "Not be it (freedom reflex), - wrote I.P. Pavlov, “every slightest obstacle that an animal would meet on its way would completely interrupt the course of its life.” According to the Soviet scientist V.P. Protopopov and other researchers, it is the nature of the obstacle that determines in higher animals the enumeration of actions from which an adaptive skill is formed. Thus, the will, as an activity conditioned by the need to overcome the encountered obstacle, has a certain independence in relation to the motive that initially initiated the behavior. Selective inhibition of the coping reaction. as well as the specific effect of certain medicinal substances on this reaction, we can speak of the presence of a special brain apparatus that implements the freedom reflex in Pavlovian understanding of it. The system of speech signals plays an important role in the mechanisms of human volitional effort (L.S. Vygotsky, A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria). A competing need often becomes an obstacle to purposeful human behavior. Then the dominance of one of the motives will be determined not only by its relative strength, but also by the emergence of activity, in relation to which the subdominant motive is an obstacle, an internal hindrance. A similar situation occurs in those cases when it is customary to talk about the volitional suppression of emotions, more precisely, the needs that caused these emotions. Being closely connected with the actions, consciousness and emotions of a person, will is an independent form of his mental life. While emotions ensure the mobilization of energy resources and the transition to those forms of response that are oriented to a wide range of supposedly significant signals (emotional dominants), the will prevents excessive generalization of emotional arousal and helps to maintain the initially chosen direction. In turn, volitional behavior can be a source of positive emotions before the final goal is achieved, by satisfying the very need to overcome obstacles. That is why the combination of a strong will with an optimal level of emotional stress is the most productive for human activity.

The problem of will, arbitrary and volitional regulation of human behavior and activity has long occupied the minds of scientists, causing heated disputes and discussions. Fine in Ancient Greece There are two points of view on understanding the will: affective and intellectualistic.

Plato understood the will as a certain ability of the soul, which determines and encourages the activity of a person.

Aristotle connected the will with the mind. He used this term to designate a certain class of actions and deeds of a person, namely those that are determined not by needs, desires, but by an understanding of need, necessity, i.e. conscious actions and actions or aspirations mediated by reflection. Aristotle spoke of voluntary movements in order to separate them from involuntary, carried out without reflection. He referred to arbitrary actions as those about which "We consulted with ourselves beforehand."

From the history of psychology, it is known that the concept of "will" was introduced as an explanatory about the origin of an action, which is based not only on the desires of a person, but also on a mental decision about its implementation.

In the future, intensive development of ideas about the will begins only in the 17th century. and continues in the XVIII-XIX centuries, in the New Age, marked by the rapid development of natural science and psychological knowledge. These ideas can be divided into three directions, which in modern psychology are presented as motivational and regulatory approaches, as well as the “free choice” approach.

motivational approach. Within the framework of this approach, ideas about the nature of freedom are reduced either to the initial moment of action motivation (desire, aspiration, affect), or to the recognition of freedom as closely related to motivation, but not identical to it, the ability to induce actions, in particular, to overcome obstacles.

The identification of the will and the desire dominating in consciousness can be traced in the views of a significant part of the researchers. So, some of them explained the will as the ability of the soul to form desires, others - as last wish, preceding the action. Thus, the will did not arise as an independent reality. but as one of the desires, the benefit of which is established by reason. In this case, the essence of the motive was emotions, and the volitional process had two moments: affect and the action caused by it (R. Descartes, T. Hobbes, W. Wundt, T. Ribot).

TO regulatory approach in the study of the will belongs to the concept of free will as the ability to consciously deliberately overcome obstacles. If motivation is only a factor, the initiator of an action, then the existence of obstacles on the way to the performance of an action and their deliberate overcoming becomes a factor in an act of will. This is how L.S. overcomes obstacles. Vygotsky and S.L. Rubinstein. At the same time, they also include coercion as a function of the will. At the same time, noting complex nature will, scientists point to the importance of the regulatory function.

Free choice approach. For the first time, the question of spontaneous, undetermined free choice of behavior was raised by the ancient philosopher Epicurus. In the future, this led to the allocation of the problem of free will.

The positions of the representatives of this approach were fundamentally differentiated. One part of the scientists believed that the versatility of the world is manifested in the will. In their opinion, in the Universe there is a single world will, which is completely free in its manifestations, is not limited by anything and therefore powerful. Man has a universal will, which is represented in his own character. It is given to man from birth as unchanging and generally unknowable. These scientists interpreted the will as an independent force of the soul capable of free choice (A. Schopenhauer, W. James). Such ideas were considered voluntaristic, because they declared the will to be the highest principle of being and asserted the independence of the human will from the surrounding reality.

They took a different position. who considered the will not as an independent force, but as the ability of the mind to make decisions (make a choice). At the same time, choice was either the main function of the will, or only one of the moments of volitional action (B. Spinoza, I. Kant, V. Frankl, and others).

In the will as a synthetic characteristic of the personality, its systemic property, the practical side of consciousness is expressed. One cannot but agree with those who believe: if there is a will, there is a person; if there is no will, there is no person; how much will, there is so much a person.

The data available today make it possible to interpret the will as a systemic quality in which the whole personality is expressed in an aspect that reveals the mechanisms of its independent, initiative activity. According to this criterion, all human actions can be considered as a successively more complex series from involuntary (impulsive) to arbitrary and actually volitional actions. It manifests itself in arbitrary actions, according to I.M. Sechenov, the ability of a person to lead the challenge, termination, intensification or weakening of activity aimed at achieving consciously set goals. In other words, there is always an action instructions and self-instructions.

Actually, they cannot but be arbitrary at the same time, since they also always represent actions on self-instruction. However, their characterization does not end there. Volitional actions (will as a generalized designation of the highest level of control specific to a person with all his psychophysical data) suggest the ability of a person to subordinate the satisfaction of lower needs to higher, more significant, albeit less attractive points of view. actor. The presence of will in this sense reliably testifies to the predominance of higher, socially conditioned needs in a person and the higher (normative) feelings corresponding to them.

At the heart of volitional behavior, driven by higher feelings, are, thus, assimilated by the personality social norms. The code of human norms, which determines which course of action he will choose in a particular situation, is one of the most eloquent characteristics of a person, especially in terms of the degree to which it takes into account (or ignores) the rights, legitimate claims and aspirations of other people.

In those cases when lower needs subjugate higher ones in human activity, we speak of lack of will, although a person can overcome great difficulties in order to achieve his goal (trying, for example, to get alcohol, drugs, etc.). Consequently, the essence of a morally educated, good will lies in the subordination of lower (in some cases antisocial) needs to higher ones, expressing the needs of larger groups, sometimes humanity as a whole.

important psychological mechanism conscious hierarchization of motives is a volitional effort. Volitional effort is a conscious self-motivation associated with tension to prefer higher aspirations and inhibit lower ones, to overcome the corresponding external and internal difficulties. As you know, submission to lower impulses, directly more attractive, leading to easier and more pleasant actions, does not require effort.

Volitional components included in the regulation of integral acts of activity are closely intertwined with a person's emotions and the level of his orientation in the environment. This can be traced in any manifestations of activity. Thus, the more perfect, more adequate to the problem to be solved the orienting activity, the higher, other things being equal, the higher the level of organization and its direct consequence—the economy of activity. Features of the connection of volitional manifestations with the nature of a person's awareness of reality and one's own activity are fixed in such volitional properties of a person as the criticality of the will, its adherence to principles, etc.

An analysis of behavioral acts that include emotions of heightened and sometimes extreme intensity, from the point of view of the correlation of the strength of emotions in them with the level of orientation and organization, can shed light on the nature of the striking difference between affects that disorganize activity and feelings that ensure its productivity with the highest mobilization of all resources. . A typical affect is, for example, panic. This state is characterized, firstly, by the experience of horror associated with a passive-defensive reaction, which paralyzes the ability to orientate. This, as a rule, is exacerbated by the disruption of communication channels, misinformation. Hence the complete disorganization of both the system of joint actions and the actions of each individual. Affects, which are an expression of active-defensive reactions, can also lead to disorganization of activity. It is important to emphasize that the disorganization of activity is not a direct consequence of an extreme emotion. The intermediate and connecting link here is always a violation of orientation. Anger, rage, like horror, cloud the mind. However, in cases where the strongest emotional stress corresponds to a clear orientation in the environment and high organization, a person is able to literally work miracles.

In an attempt to explain the mechanisms of human behavior within the framework of the problem of will, a direction arose that in 1883, with the light hand of the German sociologist F. Tennis, received the name "voluntarism" and recognizes the will as a special, supranatural force. According to voluntarism, volitional acts are not determined by anything, but they themselves determine the course of mental processes. Shaping this is essentially philosophical. direction in the study of will is associated with early work A. Schopenhauer, with the works of I. Kant. Thus, in its extreme expression, voluntarism opposed the volitional principle to the objective laws of nature and society, asserted the independence of the human will from the surrounding reality.

Will- this is a conscious regulation by a person of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome internal and external difficulties in the performance of purposeful actions and deeds.

Volitional actions- consciously controlled actions aimed at overcoming difficulties and obstacles in achieving the goals.

The key characteristic of volitional action is the struggle of motives.

characteristics of the will.

Conscious mediation.
Mediation by the inner intellectual plane.
Relationship with the motive "should".
Communication with other mental processes: attention, memory. thinking, emotions, etc.

Functions of volitional regulation.

Improving the efficiency of relevant activities.
Volitional reflation is necessary in order to keep in the field of consciousness the object that a person is thinking about for a long time, to maintain attention concentrated on it.
Regulation of basic mental functions: perception, memory, thinking, etc. The development of these cognitive processes from the lowest to the highest means the acquisition by a person of volitional control over them.

The intensity of volitional effort depends on the following qualities (factors):

worldview of the individual;
moral stability of the individual;
the degree of social significance of the goals set;
attitudes towards activities;
the level of self-management and self-organization of the individual.

Ways to activate the will.

Reassessment of the significance of the motive.
Attraction of additional motives.
Anticipation and experience of subsequent events/actions.
Actualization of the motive (through the imagination of the situation).
Through the motivational-semantic sphere.
Strong mindset and beliefs.

Volitional actions are divided into:

according to the degree of complexity - simple, complex;
according to the degree of awareness - arbitrary, involuntary.

Basic volitional qualities (on personal level):

strength of will;
energy;
persistence;
excerpt.

Will Functions

Choice of motives and goals.
Regulation of motives for action.
Organization of mental processes (into a system adequate to the activity performed).

Mobilization of physical and psychological possibilities. So, will is a generalized concept behind which many different psychological phenomena are hidden.

G. Münsterberg, noting, for example, the role of attention and representation in the formation of voluntary actions, writes that a child's weak will is his inability to keep his attention on a goal for a long time.

“Learning to want this or that is not important. The main thing is to learn to really do what is planned, and not be distracted by all sorts of random impressions.

A number of authors believe that the volitional properties of a person are formed in the process of activity. Therefore, for the development of “willpower” (volitional qualities), the path that seems most simple and logical is most often proposed: if “willpower” manifests itself in overcoming obstacles and difficulties, then the path of its development goes through the creation of situations that require such overcoming. However, practice shows that this does not always lead to success. Speaking about the development of “willpower” and volitional qualities, one should take into account their multi-component structure. One of the components of this structure is the moral component of the will, according to I.M. Sechenov, i.e. ideals, worldview, moral attitudes. - is formed in the process of education, others (for example, typological features of the properties of the nervous system), as genetically predetermined, do not depend on educational influences, and practically do not change in adults. Hence, the development of one or another volitional quality largely depends on the ratio in the structure of this quality of these components.

Of great importance for the formation of the volitional sphere of the child's personality is not only the presentation of requirements to him, verbalized in the words "must" and "impossible", but also control over the fulfillment of these requirements. If an adult says “no”, and the child continues to perform the forbidden action, if after the words “toys must be removed”, the child runs away and failure to comply with the requirements remains without consequences for him, the necessary stereotype of volitional behavior is not developed.

With age, the complexity of the demands placed on the child should increase. In this case, he himself is convinced that adults take into account his increased capabilities, i.e. recognize it as "big". However, it is necessary to take into account the degree of difficulties. which the child must overcome, and not turn the development of his volitional sphere into a boring and tedious task, in which the development of the will becomes an end in itself, and the whole life of the child turns, as S. L. Rubinshtein wrote, "into one continuous performance of different duties and tasks."

The younger the child, the more he needs help in overcoming difficulties in order for him to see the final result of his efforts.

Constant pulling, rude shouting, excessive fixation of the child's attention on his shortcomings and dangers of the upcoming activity, teasing, etc. lead to uncertainty, and through it to anxiety, indecision, fear.

In our manual, it is necessary to say about the role of taking into account gender characteristics. So, experiments were repeatedly carried out on self-education of will by high school students, in which differences were identified in the development of certain volitional manifestations depending on gender. The girls managed much faster than the boys to achieve success in correcting their shortcomings. Compared to boys, more girls learned to command themselves, developed independence, overcame stubbornness, developed determination, perseverance and perseverance. However, they lagged behind the young men in the development of courage, adherence to principles, and courage.

Self-education of the will

Self-education of the will is part of the self-improvement of the individual and, therefore, must be carried out in accordance with its rules and, above all, with the development of a program of self-education "willpower".

Many psychologists understand a volitional act as a complex functional system (Fig. 14).

So. also G.I. Chelpanov singled out three elements in the act of will: desire, aspiration and effort.

L.S. Vygotsky singled out two separate processes in volitional action: the first corresponds to a decision, the closing of a new brain connection, the creation of a special functional apparatus; the second, executive, consists in the work of the created apparatus, in the action according to the instructions, in the implementation of the decision.

The multicomponent and multifunctionality of the volitional act is also noted by V.I. Selivanov.

Based on the consideration of the will as an arbitrary control, the latter should include self-determination, self-initiation, self-control and self-stimulation.

Self-determination (motivation)

Determination is the conditionality of human and animal behavior by some reason. The involuntary behavior of animals, like the involuntary reactions of humans, are determined, i.e. due to some reason (most often - an external signal, stimulus). With arbitrary behavior, the ultimate cause of the action, the deed, is in the person himself. It is he who decides to react or not to this or that external or internal signal. However, decision-making (self-determination) in many cases is a complex mental process called motivation.

Rice. 14. Structure of a volitional act

Motivation - it is the process of forming and justifying the intention to do something or not to do something. The formed basis of one's act, action is called a motive. In order to understand a person's act, we often ask ourselves the question: what motive was the person guided by when performing this act?

Formation of a motive(the grounds for an action, deed) goes through a number of stages: the formation of a person's need, the choice of a means and method for satisfying a need, decision making and the formation of an intention to perform an action or deed.

Self-mobilization. This is the second function of the will. Self-initiation is concerned with starting an action to achieve a goal. The launch is carried out by means of a volitional impulse, i.e. command given to oneself with the help of inner speech - words or exclamations uttered to oneself.

self control

Due to the fact that the implementation of actions occurs most often in the presence of external and internal interference that can lead to a deviation from a given program of action and failure to achieve the goal, it is required to exercise conscious self-control over the received results. different stages results. For this control, an action program is used that is stored in short-term and operative memory, which serves as a standard for a person to compare with the resulting result. If in the mind of a person during such a comparison a deviation from set parameter(error), it makes a correction to the program, i.e. carries out its correction.

Self-control is carried out with the help of conscious and deliberate, i.e. voluntary attention.

Self-mobilization (manifestation of willpower)

Very often, the implementation of an action or activity, the commission of an act encounters difficulties, external or internal obstacles. Overcoming obstacles requires an intellectual and physical effort from a person, referred to as an effort of will. The use of volitional effort means that arbitrary control has changed into volitional regulation, aimed at the manifestation of the so-called willpower.

Volitional regulation is determined by the strength of the motive (therefore, will is often replaced by motives: if I want, then I do; however, this formula is not suitable for cases when a person really wants, but does not do, and when he really does not want, but still does). Undoubtedly, however, that in any case, the strength of the motive determines the degree of manifestation of volitional effort: if I really want to achieve the goal, then I will show more intense and longer volitional effort; it is the same with the prohibition, the manifestation of the inhibitory function of the will: the more one wants, the greater the volitional effort must be exerted in order to restrain one's desire aimed at satisfying the need.

Volitional qualities are features of volitional regulation that have become personality traits and are manifested in specific specific situations due to the nature of the difficulty being overcome.

It should be borne in mind that the manifestation of volitional qualities is determined not only by a person’s motives (for example, the motive for achievement, determined by two components: striving for success and avoiding failure), his moral attitudes, but also by innate individual, personality-differentiating features of the manifestation of the properties of the nervous system: strengths - weaknesses , mobility - inertia, balance - imbalance of nervous processes. For example, fear is more pronounced in individuals with weak nervous system, the mobility of inhibition and the predominance of inhibition over excitation. Therefore, it is more difficult for them to be brave than for persons with opposite typological features.

Consequently, a person can be timid, indecisive, impatient, not because he does not want to show willpower, but because, for its manifestation, he has less genetically determined opportunities (less innate inclinations).

This does not mean that efforts should not be made to develop the volitional sphere of the personality. However, it is necessary to avoid both excessive optimism and standard, especially voluntaristic, approaches in overcoming the weakness of the human volitional sphere. You need to know that on the path to developing willpower you can encounter significant difficulties, so patience, pedagogical wisdom, sensitivity and tact will be required.

It should be noted that in the same person, different volitional qualities manifest themselves differently: some are better, others are worse. This means that the will understood in this way (as a mechanism for overcoming obstacles and difficulties, i.e. as willpower) is heterogeneous and manifests itself differently in rough situations. Consequently, there is no single will (understood as willpower) for all cases, otherwise in any situation the will would manifest itself in a given person either equally successfully or equally badly.

The volitional function as an inhibitory, delaying function was first proposed by T. Ribot. It, in his opinion, manifests itself in conditions of insufficiently strong excitation (delay is impossible if strong excitation immediately leads to action), associations between two states (for example, horror causes numbness), the emergence of antagonistic states of consciousness (for example, anger is delayed by the idea of duty) . The essence of this function is to suppress competing motives in the mind in order to ensure the victory of one of them. In the modern interpretation of Smirnova E.O. The development of will and arbitrariness in early ontogenesis. - 1990 - No. 3. - With. 49-54 attention is drawn to the function of the will (general and for arbitrariness in general) of inhibiting spontaneous activity and overcoming established stereotypes.

Basov M.Ya. 5 functions of mental phenomena were identified: perceptual, reproductive, associative (intelligence), reactive (emotions), regulatory (will). Thus, a regulatory function was monopoly assigned to the will, the essence of which Basov saw in controlling the course of other mental processes (calling, accelerating, slowing down, strengthening, weakening, stopping, coordinating) and in their assessment by the individual. Man as a person is characterized by the presence and severity of the regulative function of the will. Basov called this function "will-function", the form of existence of which was declared to be volitional attention. In the form of attention, will regulates perception, memory, thinking, emotions. Thus, the regulatory function was assigned to the will, was considered as embodied in attention, and the actual regulation was interpreted as mainly carried out in the address of mental processes, and not in the address of the behavior of the individual as a whole.

The regulatory function of the will is now recognized by all authors. Researchers believe that volitional regulation is a conscious self-regulation or self-determination of human behavior and activity, which is carried out in relation to movements and their parameters, emotional behavior, actions and their parameters, motives, and various mental states. It warns, overcomes or softens the effect of an obstacle that has already arisen.

The function of organization of mental functions by the will and mobilization of mental resources is distinguished by Kalin V.K. . The cited author interprets the will as a system of mechanisms of consciousness that provide self-management of the organization of mental functions. "The procedural aspect of the will - volitional regulation - is the choice and implementation by the subject of activity of the most effective way(forms) of transformation of the original, actual organization of mental functions into the necessary, most adequate to the goals of activity.

The function of motives or initiation of actions has traditionally been attributed to the will by most researchers. Attention was drawn to the conditions for the actualization of the function of motivation: the presence of obstacles and competing motives, the absence of an actually experienced desire for the implementation of an action.

The reflective function of the will was discussed in Soviet psychology in connection with volitional actions. It was postulated that the objects of reflection are both the goal of the activity in relation to the actually performed activity, and the conditions and environment of actions, as well as such phenomena as the struggle of motives, decision making, purposefulness, the level of claims, volitional effort. The properties of the so-called volitional reflection included mediation, selectivity, an active-personal character and relation to higher regulation aimed at achieving the goal.

The function of "freedom from" and "freedom for", realized by the will, was singled out by V. Frankl, emphasizing the freedom of a person in realizing the meaning of life in conditions of restriction of this freedom by objective circumstances. A person is free in relation to his inclinations, heredity and factors and circumstances of the external environment. A person is free to take responsibility for his own destiny, listen to the voice of his conscience, make decisions about his own destiny and change himself.

The repressive function of the will manifests itself as a way of a person's struggle with the satisfaction of his own desires. When this function is emphasized, a repressive type of willpower arises, leading to impoverishment of imagination and aspirations, to the presence of depression, hostility, and self-rejection in a person.

The function of fighting the struggle of motives, identified by Vasilyuk F.E. , consists in preventing (by means of "value-based attention and special content-temporal transformations of motivation") stopping or deviating the activity of the subject due to the struggle of motives, which is characteristic of the model of an internally complex and externally difficult life world. Thanks to the will, there is a practical linking of the ideal-value and temporal-spatial perspectives of life into the unity of the concrete-situational actually carried out behavior of the individual, the embodiment of the ideas of the individual in specific practical activities.

The concept of will.

Will is a mental function, which consists in the ability of an individual to consciously control his psyche and actions in the decision-making process to achieve the goals.

Will is a conscious regulation by a person of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome internal and external difficulties in the performance of purposeful actions and deeds.

Any human activity is always accompanied by specific actions that can be divided into two large groups: involuntary (Involuntary action is a response, without a conscious goal. A conscious action is a set goal associated with an internal impulse, with a desire to perform it.)

Volitional actions, like all mental phenomena, are associated with the activity of the brain and, along with other aspects of the psyche, have a material basis in the form of nervous processes. The material basis of voluntary (conscious) movements is the activity of the so-called giant pyramidal cells located in one of the layers of the cerebral cortex in the region of the anterior central gyrus. Impulses to movement are born in these cells, and from here fibers originate, forming a massive bundle that goes into the depth brain, descends, passes inside spinal cord and eventually reaches the muscle opposite side body (pyramidal path).

Any volitional action is determined by motives that must be retained throughout the entire execution of the movement or action. If this condition is not met, then the movement (action) being performed will be interrupted or replaced by others.

Most often in a person’s life, the will manifests itself in the following typical situations when:

It is necessary to make a choice between two or more equally attractive, but requiring opposite actions, thoughts, goals, feelings, attitudes, incompatible with each other; in spite of everything, it is necessary to purposefully move along the path to the intended goal; should refrain from executing the decision taken due to changed circumstances.

Will is a mental process of conscious and purposeful regulation by a person of his activity and behavior in order to achieve the desired goal. So the will is one of essential conditions human activity The will of man was developed in the process of its socio-historical development, in labor activity Living and working, people gradually learned to set a definite goal for themselves and consciously achieve its implementation. In the struggle for existence, overcoming difficulties, straining his strength or mastering himself, a person has developed in himself various qualities will The more important were the tasks that people had to fulfill in life, and the more they understood them, the more actively they sought their solution. Volitional activity cannot be reduced to the activity of the organism and identified with it. Activity is also characteristic of animals. They, satisfying their biological needs, adapting to the conditions of life, have a long-term effect on the surrounding nature, but this happens without any intention to their bocca.

Will manifests itself in effort, in internal stress which a person overcomes, overcoming internal and external difficulties, striving to act or restraining himself

Will is a deterministic process, a deterministic understanding of freedom is confirmed by physiological studies by I. M. Sechenov and I. P. Pavlov. reflex Will - the active side of reason and moral feeling I. P. Pavlov noted that the entire mechanism of volitional movement is a conditional, associative process, subject to all the described laws of higher nervous activity He came to the conclusion that voluntary actions that arise as a result of internal effort, zoom are affected by the fact that the motor area of the cerebral cortex is simultaneously a sensory area, like the visual, auditory, and auditory areas.

Mechanisms and functions of the will. The stimulating function is provided by a person’s activity. Activity generates action due to the specifics of a person’s internal states that arise at the moment of the action itself (a person who needs support during his speech calls on like-minded people to speak out; being in deep sadness, a person complains about everyone around and etc.). Activity is characterized by transience and arbitrariness of the course of actions and behavior. If activity is a property of the will, then it is characterized by arbitrariness, i.e. predetermination of actions and behavior in relation to the goal. Such activity is not subject to actual impulses, it is characterized by the ability to rise above the level of the requirements of the situation (above situationality). One more feature of the stimulating function can be pointed out. If a person does not have an actual need to perform an action, but at the same time he is aware of the need to perform it, the will creates an auxiliary motivation, changing the meaning of the action (makes it more significant, causing experiences associated with the expected consequences of the action). The inhibitory function is manifested in the containment of unwanted manifestations of activity. This function most often acts in unity with the stimulating one. A person is able to inhibit the emergence of undesirable motives, the performance of actions, behavior that contradict ideas about the model, the standard, and the implementation of which may call into question or damage the authority of the individual. Volitional regulation of behavior would be impossible without the inhibitory function. Individual manifestations of human upbringing can be examples of inhibitory function. Yes, to take responsibility in a difficult case, knowing that an accomplice can “break down” in order to give him a chance to rise, withstand the condemnation of others, if the case that is being condemned will benefit in the future. Especially often the braking function is necessary in Everyday life. It may be a decision to hold back in a dispute of principle for a person; not give vent to aggression; bring an uninteresting but necessary task to an end; refrain from entertainment for the sake of classes, etc.

The will performs four functions.

1. Incentive and guiding to achieve the goal while overcoming difficulties. Volitional activity is characterized by over-situation, that is, going beyond the original goals, the requirements of the situation.

2. The inhibitory function of the will is manifested in the containment of unwanted activity, motives and actions that do not correspond to the worldview, ideals and beliefs of the individual.

3. Regulatory function is expressed in arbitrary, conscious regulation of actions, mental processes and behavior, in overcoming obstacles.

4. The developing function consists in the fact that volitional regulation is aimed at improving by the subject of his behavior, activities, at changing his own personality.

Volitional activity is connected with the balance of excitation and inhibition. With a weakening of the process of excitation, apathy occurs in a person, with a dulling of the process of inhibition, greater activity develops. The mechanism of volitional action functions on the basis of the first and second signal systems. On the basis of temporary connections between various centers of the cerebral cortex, a wide variety of associations and their systems are formed and fixed, which creates the conditions for purposeful behavior. The regulator of volitional activity is the frontal lobes of the cerebral cortex. They compare what has been achieved in each this moment result with a pre-programmed. The function of regulation is performed by special pyramidal cells of the brain. When these cells are damaged, paralysis or awkwardness of movements occurs, skills are lost.

Will arises when a person is capable of reflecting his own desires, can somehow relate to them. The will is inextricably linked with the available plan of action. Through volitional action, a person plans to achieve the goal facing him, subordinating his impulses to conscious control and changing the surrounding reality in accordance with his plan.

The problem of self-regulation.

The problem of conscious self-regulation of both mental processes and activities in domestic psychological science was identified in the 1980s-1990s. The studies of regulatory mental processes are devoted to the works of B.G. Ananiev, P.K. Anokhin, A.V. Zaporozhets, V.P. Zinchenko and others. They described the general and special features of regulation, their integrative essence. The conceptual model of self-regulation of voluntary human activity was created by such prominent researchers as O.A. Konopkin, V.I. Morosanova, V.I. Stepansky. O.A. Konopkin introduces the concept of "conscious self-regulation" in order to describe the patterns of the flow of regulatory processes within the subjective approach

On present stage development society needs to create such conditions for its mental development that would contribute to the comfortable life of every person. In this case, we are talking about the fact that due to the inability to control their own regulation of behavior and mental processes, many people turn out to be socially maladjusted, they do not know how to live in new conditions, which leads to emotional and mental breakdowns, as well as to suicide. This problem is especially acute for today's youth. Therefore, we can talk about the problem of self-regulation as a socially important problem.

The task of the will is to control our behavior, the conscious self-regulation of our activity, especially in cases where there are obstacles to a normal life.

At the personal level, will manifests itself in such properties as willpower, energy, perseverance, endurance, etc. They can be considered as primary, or basic, volitional qualities of a person. Such qualities determine behavior that is characterized by all or most of the properties described above. A strong-willed person is distinguished by decisiveness, courage, self-control, and self-confidence. Such qualities usually develop in ontogenesis somewhat later than the group of properties mentioned above. In life, they manifest themselves in unity with the character, so they can be considered not only as volitional, but also as characterological. Let's call these qualities secondary. Finally, there is a third group of qualities, which, reflecting the will of a person, are connected at the same time with his moral and value orientations. This is responsibility, discipline, adherence to principles, commitment. The same group, referred to as tertiary qualities, can include those in which the will of a person and his attitude to work simultaneously act: efficiency, initiative. Such personality traits are usually formed only by adolescence.

The will is involved in the regulation of almost all basic mental functions: sensations, perception, imagination, memory, thinking and speech. The development of these cognitive processes from the lowest to the highest means the acquisition by a person of volitional control over them. Another direction in the development of the will is manifested in the fact that a person consciously sets himself more and more difficult tasks and pursues more and more distant goals that require the application of significant volitional efforts for a sufficiently long time.

The development of will in children is closely correlated with the enrichment of their motivational and moral spheres. Therefore, to educate the will of the child in isolation from his general psychological development almost impossible. Otherwise, instead of will and perseverance as undoubtedly positive and valuable personal qualities, their antipodes may arise and gain a foothold: stubbornness and rigidity. Games play a special role in the development of will in children in all of the above areas.

Will - the ability to conscious self-regulation and self-organization of behavior, it is inherent only to man. The will consists in the ability to choose meaningful goals and direct physical and mental efforts to achieve them. The significance of the goals is determined by taking into account social factors, and the intensity and duration of the efforts made depend on the difficulty of achieving the goals. Will as highest level arbitrary regulation of activity provides overcoming difficulties in achieving the goal. Volitional action is connected with needs, but does not follow directly from them. It is mediated by awareness of motives for action as motives and its results as goals (S. L. Rubinshtein).

Functions - incentive and inhibitory.

Incentive the function of the will is provided by the activity of man. Unlike reactivity, when the action is determined by the previous situation (a person turns around to call), activity generates action due to the specifics of the subject’s internal states that are revealed at the moment of the action itself (a person who needs to receive the necessary information calls out to a friend).

brake function of the will, acting in unity with incentive function, is manifested in the containment of undesirable manifestations of activity. A person is able to slow down 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.

Fulfilling different kinds activity, while overcoming external and internal obstacles, a person develops in himself volitional qualities: purposefulness, determination, independence, initiative, perseverance, endurance, discipline, courage.

The most significant factors hindering the formation strong will, are the following: the spoiled nature of the child (all his desires are immediately unquestioningly fulfilled, and no volitional efforts are required); the suppression of the child by the hard will of adults, the requirements to strictly follow all their instructions. In this case, the child becomes unable to make decisions independently.

To educate volitional qualities in a child, it is necessary to follow a few simple rules. Not to do for the child what he needs to learn, but only to provide the conditions for the success of his activities. Constantly activate the independent activity of the child, encourage him to arouse in him a sense of joy from what has been achieved, increase his faith in the ability to overcome difficulties. Even little child it is useful to explain what is the expediency of those demands, orders, decisions that adults present to the child. Gradually, he learns to make reasonable decisions on his own. Nothing needs to be decided for the child school age. It is better to bring him to a rational decision and convince him of the need for the indispensable implementation of the decision made.

An important role in the implementation of volitional actions is played by frontal lobes of the brain, in which, as studies have shown, there is a comparison of the result achieved each time with the expected one.

Volitional action - this is an internal motivating force, formed not only by typological and biological inclinations, but also determined by everyday education, self-control, self-persuasion.

Distinctive features of volitional action - awareness And independence in decision making. It is characterized by the following features. First, it is an action that is necessary for external or internal reasons, i.e., there is always an objective reason for it. Secondly, a volitional action has an initial or manifested in its implementation deficit of motivation or inhibition. Thirdly, in the process of volitional action, this deficit is eliminated, which leads to the possibility of achieving the intended goal.

Volitional structure:

1) setting a target and the emergence of a desire to achieve it;

2) awareness of the ways to achieve the goal;

3) the emergence of motives that affirm or deny these possibilities;

4) the struggle of motives, the result of which is the choice of a solution;

5) accepting one of the possibilities as a solution;

6) implementation of the adopted decision.

Volitional action can have both simple and more complex forms.

Volitional action, simple in form, is an impulse that goes directly into action to achieve the goal. In this case, the action is practically not preceded by any complex and lengthy conscious process. In this case, the goal itself does not go beyond the immediate situation, its implementation is achieved by performing actions habitual for the subject, which are performed almost automatically as soon as a stimulus arises.

For a complex volitional action in its most pronounced specific form, it is primarily characteristic that a complex conscious process mediating this action is wedged between the stimulus and the action. The action is preceded by the calculation of its consequences and the awareness of its motives, the adoption of a decision, the emergence of the intention to carry it out, the drawing up of a plan for its implementation.

Will violations.

1. Abulia - the lack of motivation for activity, the inability to make decisions and execute them with full awareness of the need for this. Abulia occurs on the basis of brain pathology.

2. Apraxia is a complex violation of the purposefulness of actions. It is caused by tissue damage in the frontal lobes of the brain.

3. Hyperbulia - excessive volitional activity of a sick person. It can be observed during the manic stage of manic-depressive psychosis, is somewhat less pronounced with hyperthymia, and can also sometimes occur with some somatic diseases.

The main stages of the volitional process according to Rubinstein :

1) the emergence of motivation and preliminary goal setting;

2) motivation - goal - desire, objectified desire - confidence in achievement - desire;

3) the stage of discussion and struggle of motives.

4) Solution:

may not stand out in a special phase;
decision statement;
a sense of effort, sacrificing other motives.

5) Execution.

Volitional action includes :

relationship to the object, to the goal;
readiness;
intention;
action plan.

Volitional action - a conscious purposeful action, by means of which a person carries out the goal in front of him in a planned way, subordinating his impulses to conscious control.

Main: clear awareness of the goal and perseverance in achieving.

Volitional processes are emotional in nature and include intellectual processes.

Will mechanisms :