Structure of volitional act in the works of domestic psychologists

The study of the problem of the will is devoted to the works of many foreign and domestic psychologists. Among the latter, such researchers as SL Rubinshtein, DN Uznadze, VA Ivannikov worked on this issue.

Types of human activities

To understand what the structure of the volitional act is, it is necessary to define the very concept of will. The will is the ability of a person to control his behavior, in spite of external and internal difficulties that oppose his control. The fact is that all actions performed by a person can be divided into two broad categories: arbitrary and involuntary. The latter group includes those that occur without the participation of control on the part of consciousness: for example, instincts inherent in nature, unconditioned reflexes, or actions performed in a state of intense emotional arousal (affect). Arbitrary actions are those that a person performs, relying on his own decisions: they are dictated by his will and realized with the participation of consciousness.

The algorithm of SL Rubinshtein

The structure of the volitional act, developed by the domestic scientist SL Rubinshtein, includes several stages. The initial stage is a direct motivation for the action, it includes the initial setting of the goal. The second stage is not present in every case. Its characteristic feature is the struggle of motives. A person subjectively evaluates possible losses, which may be fraught with different algorithms of action. The third stage is a turning point. This is the final decision. The last stage of SL Rubinstein is execution.

However, some researchers add a few more intermediate steps to this scheme. The structure of the volitional act will include overcoming difficulties in the process of achieving the goal, as well as positive reinforcement, after the goal has been achieved.

Another important component of volitional regulation

However, the structure of the volitional act in psychology is not only an algorithm of actions that describes the implementation of a particular behavior. In the presence of certain barriers to achieving the goal, the ability to control one's behavior largely depends on how much the person has certain personality traits. They include self-control, determination, will power, perseverance and courage. Therefore, some researchers pay special attention to other components that have the structure of the volitional act. For example, the cognitive component has a great influence on human behavior in various situations.

The experience of AV Zaporozhets

A very interesting study demonstrating the power of this effect was carried out by AV Zaporozhets. The subjects were given the task to lift heavy weights. The entire sample was divided into three groups.

The first included those subjects who were supposed to simply perform the task, without any additional instructions or explanations.

Participants of the second group were told that when lifting heavy weights, they should set their own personal record.

Finally, the third group consisted of those who were given an unusual explanation of this task. They were told that by raising weights, they thus generate electrical energy to supply the city.

So one more important addition was discovered, which has the structure of an act of volition in psychology. The example showed: for the implementation of an action, the meaning of this action is crucial. In other words, the researcher discovered the cognitive component of volitional regulation.

Applied nature of research of will

The structure of the volitional act in psychology is an applied field of research. The results obtained by scientists can be applied in a variety of life spheres. This is the psychology of work, sport, training, family psychology. The results obtained by scientists can be used both by professionals in counseling and by those who are interested in questions of will and motivation.

An interesting conclusion was made by the Russian researcher VA Ivannikov. In his works the scientist shows: the motivation for action includes not only the original deficit motive. Will regulation is also carried out with the formation of additional motivation, one that could not exist from the very beginning, when the subject just decided to take this or that action.

AI Lipkina's experience: volitional regulation and educational processes

In many respects, the revealing discovery was made by AI Lipkina. It is associated with the specifics of the learning process. In her studies, a special place was occupied by the structure of the volitional act in psychology. Briefly Lipkina's experience is as follows. Those students who had poor academic performance at school asked for some time to take patronage over even weaker students. Moving from one role to another, these students began to receive the best marks, demonstrate a greater desire to learn.

Negative volitional qualities

But besides positive character traits, negative will-power qualities also apply to the field of investigation of the will. These include stubbornness, compliance and impulsiveness. Stubbornness has very little to do with the processes of volitional regulation of behavior. It is associated with an inadequate perception of reality. Impulsivity is behavior, conditioned by emotions, which is always thoughtless and realized in a hurry. Flexibility is synonymous with conformality: a person who possesses this quality, easily changes his decision, yielding to the influence of someone else's opinion.