Structure of human activity. Purpose, motive of activity

Any human meaningful activity is expedient and motivated by internal or external causes. It transforms the surrounding reality, and therefore it is important to understand the goals and motivations of the individual through these criteria. What is it important for? To predict the cause-effect relationships and results of the individual's activities. Both the subject of activity and the society around him will use these criteria for their own purposes.

Activities

This is a conscious activity of a person, aimed at satisfying personal and social needs, having a definite purpose and motive. All the activities of people form the process of development of society. Activity is a form of realizing the goals of people in society. In its process, the external world is transformed as an object of conscious influence, and the person himself. This occurs as a result of improving knowledge about the world and its capabilities. Therefore, it is so important to know and take into account the motivating motives of activity and the direction of people's actions in society, because in the end they form a system of social life of society, and their effectiveness depends on the motivation.

Human activity is paid attention to different disciplines. Sociology considers it from the point of view of social significance. Philosophy - for the analysis of meanings and values in the actions of people, for psychology, the structure and types of human activity are important from the point of view of the psychic orientation of the individual, for management it serves as an instrument for motivating employees.

In the process of studying different areas of humanitarian knowledge, a single framework was identified that characterizes the process of activity. This structure and its elements constitute the principle of expedient activity, which is preserved in all its forms.

Structure of the phenomenon

Any activity has a common nature and direction. The structure of human activity looks rather succinctly, the scheme of which can be represented as follows: goal → motive → result. But this chain does not contain all the links. Moreover, it is characterized by a cyclic nature of the repetition of the process. And the beginning of such a chain has the basis of the result of previous activities. It is rather a spiral that rushes to the perfection of man and society.

Before setting a goal, a person must feel the need and the motive that arises on its basis to activity. And the result is not the completion of the chain, but serves as the basis for a new stage in the active development of the personality from setting the goal (task) on the basis of a certain motive and to the process of achieving the result with the help of selected methods and means of achieving it. This is the logical structure and its stages. These are links in one chain, and they act as a structure of human activity:

1. Need.
2. Motive.
3. Goal.
4. Process.
5. Method (method) of implementation.
6. Result.

Each of the elements performs a certain function, it is important for the whole process. Without the identified need, it is impossible to determine the authorship of the goal. This form of activity has no result, or it is alienated from the subject of activity, it does not belong and does not serve its purpose, since it takes away the whole process.

If the process supersedes the result, people lose interest in this sphere of activity. If the result does not meet expectations, the individual loses its meaning and can degrade because of the lack of the most important quality of human activity - the awareness of its purpose.

Analysis and synthesis

The forms of activity are studied by a complex of sciences of social and humanitarian orientation. One of their tasks is to reveal the nature of goal-setting in human activities in order to motivate each member of society to socially significant activity and to prevent antisocial motives and antisocial orientation in people's actions.

The analysis of all elements of the chain allows us to discover the causal patterns of the interaction of motives and results of activity, the goals and forms of the process, thereby helping to understand the driving forces of society.

The structure itself does not have a linear orientation. It repeats itself, intersects with other forms and ways of actions of the person and the group, is absorbed, it happens, and that is interrupted, not culminating in the achievement of the goal.

Analysis of the structure of the completed cycle provides an idea of the power of motivation, about the ways of applying energy to solve problems, about other socio-psychological factors of activity. It can serve as a qualitative tool for creating motivational programs and methods of organizing the labor process.

Knowledge of the reasons and conditions for the formation of motives can serve as an effective tool for creating incentive programs in the course of work and professional self-realization of people.

The purpose of the activity is the leading motivator

The level of a person's stated goal depends on his culture, capabilities, environment, social conditions. It is not always possible to formulate a goal precisely. More often there is a substitution of personal goals with external attributes of success and values characteristic of a certain moral environment of society. The ability to formulate a personal goal of activity is an indicator of a person's personal development.

The purpose of the activity is to comprehend its result. This idea is material, having a space-time localization. Goals can be internal, inherent (intrinsic) human nature and external, defining the activities of the individual. External and internal goals can coincide. This is the best option for the benefit of society and the individual, since it does not provoke a conflict of interest.

If the external goal does not correspond to the interests of the individual, then the activity can achieve the result, but it is permissible to speak about efficiency in the event that there is a strong motive for achieving the result. If the goal is to solve important personal tasks, it can itself become a powerful motivating factor. So, what is the motive of the activity? What role does he play?

Motivational needs

This concept is so important from the point of view of mental processes that there are numerous theories of human motivation. One of the most famous is Abraham Maslow's hierarchy of needs. According to this system, it is needs that are the internal motor of the individual, they induce him to creation and creativity, the structure of human activity is based on them. The scheme Maslow consists of several levels:

• The desire to satisfy the physiological need for food, home, warmth.
• Existential needs: safety of life, inviolability of housing, the existence of a predictable future.
• Social security: the need for love, the need for people, belonging to a social group.
• Spiritual needs in creativity.
• Cognitive needs.
• Aesthetic. This is the desire to harmonize the inner and outer world, to beauty.
• The need for self-actualization (a person wants to have status, recognition, and strives for full self-expression).

All needs that are aimed at the personal well-being of the individual are basic, primary. The level of a person's need for recognition by society, the desire for social life - all this is secondary. Such needs are formed when the basic requirements are met.

Motive

The motive forms the goal, as the structure of activity shows. The diagram clearly demonstrates the importance of this element. It should be added that all the needs are inherent in human nature. But the leading motivator will be one of them, which solves the most urgent tasks for achieving personal goals.

The motive, if to characterize it briefly, is the meaning of the activity of a person, his activity. In order to understand what is the motive of the activity, let us turn to the example.

If a person strives to become a leader, the goal is to acquire the status of a superior, the motive is to satisfy the need for recognition, the result is a high position. In real life, everything is not so schematic and primitive, of course. Motives are often multi-level, as well as goals.

Methods and methods of activity

The analysis of the structure of activity logically leads to a number of questions.

How is the goal and result interconnected, in what way do these moments affect each other? What is the motive of the activity? How does he manifest himself in the process of achieving the goal?

Indeed, if the motive is an internal engine, then the method or method of achieving the goal is an external form of realization of activity. And it must be adequate to the goal. The correspondence of methods and methods to the result obtained is a qualitative characteristic of the process. The mismatching of the forms and content of activities with the goal in view can have negative consequences for both the individual and the close environment.

If a person strives to become educated, and his inner motive is the need for cognition, then the purchase of a diploma will never become an adequate form of the realization of the goal. The characteristic of the structure of activity always gives an idea of the adequacy of the goal, the methods and results of the process.

A process is always action. The characteristic of the structure of activity of different variants gives an idea of possible ways of development of events. Actions can lead to a result, then they form an expedient process. Actions at the level of affects, habits, false beliefs, misconceptions about the goal are inappropriate and lead to unpredictable results.

Activities

Activities are diverse. The chosen path depends on different parameters - age, profession, status, scope of activity. Consider some species to see how the psychological structure of human activity changes.

This process does not begin with adulthood, when a person becomes able to make free and independent choices with all degree of responsibility. Activities are carried out from the very first days of life. Only the degree of her awareness and motivation changes.

The infant, like the formed personality, has a purpose, but it can not yet be called conscious. But it is motivated by a strong motive - the satisfaction of physiological needs. He is already active at the subconscious level of reflexes.

Further, gaming activities are added. In childhood she is leading. At this stage, the overall structure of activity already manifests itself. It reflects the entire hierarchy of Maslow's needs in a collapsed form.

The next logical stage is the educational activity of a person. Its purpose is to acquire new knowledge, skills, and skills. This is a very significant activity. It is present at all stages of a person's life. It can be said in another way: any kind of activity fulfills the educational function.

As a rule, in the process of labor, the expedient activity of the individual is fully realized. In the end, a product is produced that satisfies the current demands of society.

The result of the creative process is a work of art. The desire for self-expression contains the structure of activity. The diagram demonstrates the close relationship of this motive and purpose: the motive for self-expression ↔ the way ↔ the goal. But it does not necessarily exist only in a creative environment. The element of creating something new is present in all forms of human activity, but in varying degrees, of course.

Result

The final stage, for which any activity is carried out, is the planned result. If it does not meet expectations, a person can experience frustration - a mental state that characterizes internal devastation, disappointment. Naturally, this kind of phenomenon does not contribute to the success and further setting goals. Therefore, it is so important that the result brings joy. The latter must be distinguished from pleasure. A person experiences joy when investing in the process efforts to obtain a result. In this case, the result itself is a logical motivator for further activity, because people tend to strive for positive emotions.

The result is the end product of human activity. At the same time, he must meet the set goal. Structure of human activity Coincides in this phase. Having reached the goal and having obtained the result, the individual comes to a new level of the need, which must be satisfied.

The result often appears in the form of a product, but it does not always have a material shell. The result can be a goal that brings joy from the process of work. If the result of the activity corresponds to the goal, then the person has achieved a positive result. If not, negative experience is formed, which should also be taken into account when drawing up plans for the future.

Rational activity and personality

Particular attention deserves the human activity, the purpose of which is self-improvement. In the course of implementing this process, the structure of human activity has a personal potential as its subject and basis. Each of the people has such an opportunity. But not everyone is ready to work on themselves. Only a highly developed individual understands that he himself is the best subject of his own development. What are the features of this process?

• The ability to fully account for the results of its development.
• The ability to achieve success in the activities in which a person realizes himself completely.
• The goal has a deep vital meaning, as a rule, meaningful for society, which goes beyond the personal needs of the individual.
• High level of organization of personal space, subordination of the way of life of the goal.

It should be noted that any activity of a person whose purpose it satisfies is an element of self-improvement. The fact is that joy is always the discovery of one's own boundaries and possibilities. In addition, it also provides a positive attitude that encourages others to work together and helps increase the energy of this process.

Even Aristotle - the father of "Logic" - called expedient activities a great boon for society and man. All the true values of life over time gain even greater significance. The words of Aristotle are undoubtedly relevant to the present day.