Will, as a characteristic of consciousness and activity, arose along with the emergence of society, labor activity. Will is an important component of the human psyche, inextricably linked with cognitive motives and emotional processes.

Volitional actions are simple and complex. To simple volitional actions include those in which a person without hesitation goes to the intended goal, it is clear to him what and in what way he will achieve, i.e. the urge to act passes into the action itself almost automatically.

For complex volitional action are characteristic the following steps:

1. awareness of the goal and the desire to achieve it;

2. awareness of a number of opportunities to achieve the goal;

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

4. struggle of motives and choice;

5. accepting one of the possibilities as a solution;

6. implementation of the adopted decision;

7. overcoming external obstacles, objective difficulties of the case itself, possible obstacles until the decision made and the goal set are achieved and realized.

Will is needed when choosing a goal, making a decision, when carrying out an action, when overcoming obstacles. Overcoming obstacles requires volitional effort- a special state of neuropsychic tension, mobilizing the physical, intellectual and moral forces of a person. Will manifests itself as a person's confidence in his abilities, as the determination to perform the act that the person himself is expedient and necessary in a particular situation. "Free will means the ability to make informed decisions."

The need for a strong will increases with:

1. difficult situations of the "difficult world";

2. complex, contradictory inner world in the person himself.

Performing various types of activities, while overcoming external and internal obstacles, a person develops in himself volitional qualities:

* purposefulness

* decisiveness

* independence,

* initiative,

* persistence,

* excerpt,

* discipline,

* courage.

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Mood is a general emotional state that colors all human behavior for a considerable time.
Typically, the mood is characterized by lack of accountability and mild severity, a person does not notice them. But, sometimes, the mood acquires considerable intensity and leaves its mark on the mind.

To create an optimal emotional state, you need: 1. Correct assessment of the significance of the event. 2. Sufficient awareness (diversified) on this issue

The complex inner world of man
The dynamics of the will depending on the difficulty of the external world and the complexity of the inner world of a person: 1 - Will is not required (a person's desires are simple, unambiguous, any desire is

The concept of will
| Will - a person's conscious regulation of his behavior (Activities and communication), associated with overcoming internal and external obstacles. This is the ability of a person, which manifests itself in self-determination and self-regulation of his behavior and mental phenomena.
The main features of an act of will:
a) the application of efforts to perform an act of will;
b) the presence of a well-thought-out plan for the implementation of a behavioral act;
c) increased attention to such a behavioral act and the lack of direct pleasure received in the process and as a result of its execution;
d) often the efforts of the will are directed not only to victory over circumstances, but to overcoming oneself.
At present, there is no unified theory of will in psychological science, although many scientists are making attempts to develop a holistic doctrine of will with its terminological certainty and unambiguity. Apparently, this situation with the study of the will is connected with the struggle between the reactive and active concepts of human behavior that has been going on since the beginning of the 20th century. For the first conception, the concept of will is practically not needed, because its supporters represent all human behavior as a person's reactions to external and internal stimuli. Supporters of the active concept of human behavior, which has recently become the leading one, understand human behavior as initially active, and the person himself is endowed with the ability to consciously choose forms of behavior.
Volitional regulation of behavior Volitional regulation of behavior is characterized by the state of optimal mobilization of the individual, the required mode of activity, and the concentration of this activity in the required direction.
The main psychological function of the will is to increase motivation and improve the regulation of actions on this basis. In this, volitional actions differ from impulsive ones, that is, actions performed involuntarily and insufficiently controlled by consciousness.
At the level of the individual, the manifestation of will finds expression in such properties as willpower (the degree of necessary volitional effort to achieve a goal), perseverance (a person’s ability to mobilize his capabilities for a long overcoming of difficulties), endurance (the ability to slow down actions, feelings, thoughts that interfere with the implementation of the accepted decisions), vigor, etc. These are the primary (basic) volitional personal qualities that determine most behavioral acts.
There are also secondary, developing in ontogenesis later than the primary, volitional qualities: decisiveness (the ability to make and implement quick, reasonable and firm decisions), courage (the ability to overcome fear and take justified risks in order to achieve a goal, despite the dangers for personal well-being), self-control (the ability to control the sensual side of one’s psyche and subordinate one’s behavior to the solution of consciously set tasks), self-confidence. These qualities should be considered not only as volitional, but also as characterological.
The tertiary ones include volitional qualities that are closely related to moral ones: responsibility (a quality that characterizes a person from the point of view of fulfilling moral requirements), discipline (conscious submission of one’s behavior to generally accepted norms, established order), integrity (loyalty to a certain idea in convictions and consistent carrying out this idea in behavior), commitment (the ability to voluntarily assume duties and fulfill them). This group also includes the qualities of the will associated with a person’s attitude to work: efficiency, initiative (the ability to work creatively, taking actions on one’s own initiative), organization (reasonable planning and streamlining of one’s work), diligence (diligence, fulfillment of assignments and one’s own tasks on time). duties), etc. The tertiary qualities of the will are usually formed only by adolescence, i.e., the moment when there is already experience of volitional actions.
Volitional actions can be divided into simple and complex. In a simple volitional act, the impulse to action (motive) passes into the action itself almost automatically. In a complex volitional act, an action is preceded by taking into account its consequences, awareness of motives, decision-making, the emergence of an intention to carry it out, drawing up a plan for its implementation, etc. 1. The development of a person’s will is associated with:
a) with the transformation of involuntary mental processes into arbitrary ones;
b) with the acquisition by a person of a control over his behavior;
c) with the development of volitional qualities of the individual;
d) with the fact that a person consciously sets himself more and more difficult tasks and pursues more and more distant goals that require significant volitional efforts for a long time.
The formation of volitional qualities of a personality can be viewed as a movement from primary to secondary and further to tertiary qualities.
Free Will and Personal Responsibility Consideration of the psychological interpretation of the personality presupposes an interpretation of the phenomenon of its spiritual freedom. Personal freedom in psychological terms is, first of all, free will. It is determined in relation to two quantities: to the vital drives and the social conditions of human life. Inclinations (biological impulses) are transformed in him under the influence of his self-awareness, the spiritual and moral coordinates of his personality. Moreover, man is the only living being who at any moment can say “no” to his inclinations, and who does not always have to say “yes” to them (M. Scheler).
Man is not free from social conditions. But he is free to take a stand in relation to them, since these conditions do not fully condition him. It depends on him, within his limits, whether he will surrender, whether he will give in to the conditions (V. Frankl). In this regard, freedom is when a person himself must decide whether to choose good or yield to evil (F. M. Dostoevsky).
However, freedom is only one side of a holistic phenomenon, the positive aspect of which is to be responsible. Personal freedom can turn into simple arbitrariness if it is not experienced from the point of view of responsibility (V. Frankl). A person is doomed to freedom and, at the same time, cannot escape responsibility. It’s another matter that for many people, peace is more expensive than a free choice between good and evil, and therefore they readily “write off” their sins (ignorant deeds, meanness, betrayal) on “objective conditions” - non-perfection of society, bad educators, dysfunction families in which they grew up, etc. The Marxist thesis about the fundamental dependence of good and evil in a person on external (social) conditions has always been a pretext for avoiding personal responsibility.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE
What are the concepts and main signs of will?
Show the importance of will in the organization of activities and communication.
What is volitional regulation of behavior?
What are the primary, secondary and tertiary volitional qualities of a person?
Do you consider yourself a strong-willed person?
Psychology of personality General and individual in the human psyche 97
4 Psychology and pedagogy
6. Try using the questionnaire to determine the degree of development of your willpower.
When answering the questions, mark in the table with a “+” one of the three answers chosen by you: “yes”, “I don’t know (sometimes)”, “no”:
Are you able to complete the work you have started that is of no interest to you, regardless of the fact that time and circumstances allow you to break away and then return to it again?
Do you overcome internal resistance without much effort when you need to do something unpleasant to you (for example, go on duty on a day off)?
When you find yourself in a conflict situation - at work (study) or at home - are you able to pull yourself together enough to look at the situation soberly with maximum objectivity?
If you're on a diet, can you overcome culinary temptations?
Will you find the strength to get up earlier than usual in the morning, as planned in the evening?
Will you stay at the scene to testify?
Are you quick to respond to emails?
If you are afraid of an upcoming flight on an airplane or a visit to the dentist's office, can you easily overcome this feeling and not change your mind at the last moment?
Will you take a very unpleasant drug that your doctor strongly recommends to you?
Will you rashly keep this word, even if its implementation will bring you a lot of Trouble, in other words - are you a man of your word?
Do you hesitate to go on a business trip (business trip) to an unfamiliar city?
Do you strictly adhere to the daily routine: the time of waking up, eating, studying, cleaning and other things?
Do you disapprove of library debtors?
The most interesting TV show won't make you put off urgent work. Is it so?
Can you interrupt the quarrel and shut up, no matter how offensive the words “of the opposite side” seem to you? Options Answer number Total 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 Yes No Don't know, sometimes
response
Key to the questionnaire
Summarize the answers received according to the point system: “yes” - 2 points; "no" - 0 points; “I don’t know” - 1 point.
0-12 points. With willpower, things are not very good for you. You just do what is easier and more interesting, even if it can harm you in some way. You often treat your duties carelessly, which happens
cause all sorts of trouble for you. Your position is expressed by the well-known dictum “what do I need most of all?” You perceive any request, any duty almost as physical pain. The point here is not only a weak will, but also selfishness. Try to look at yourself taking into account such an assessment, maybe this will help you change your attitude towards others and “remake” something in your character. If you succeed, you will only gain from this.
13-21 points. Your willpower is average. If you encounter an obstacle, you take action to overcome it. But if you see a workaround, you will immediately use it. Do not overdo it, but also keep your word. You will try to do unpleasant work, although you will grumble. You can't take on extra responsibilities of your own free will. This sometimes negatively affects the attitude of leaders towards you, and it does not characterize you from the best side in the eyes of the people around you. If you want to achieve more in life, train your will.
22-30 points. Your will power is fine. You can rely on - you will not let you down. You are not afraid of new assignments, or long trips, or those things that scare others. But sometimes your firm and uncompromising position on unprincipled issues annoys others. Willpower is very good, but you also need to have such qualities as flexibility, condescension, kindness.
LITERATURE
Vygotsky L. S. Sobr. op. In 6 vols. T. 3. - M., 1983. - S. 454-465.
Vysotsky A.I. Volitional activity of schoolchildren and methods of its study. - Chelyabinsk, 1979. - P 67.
GomesoM. V., D omashenko I. A. Atlas of Psychology.-S. 194,204-213.
Kotyplo V. K. Difference in volitional behavior in preschoolers.
Kyiv, 1971 -S. 11-51.
Nemov R.S. Psychologist. sq. 1. - S. 357-366.
General psychology - M., 1986.-S. 385-400.
Psychological dictionary. - S. 53.54.
Psychology. Vocabulary. - S. 62.63
Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. T. 2. - S. 182-211.
A collection of tests for the selection of candidates for employment (US Method) - pp. 20-22
Experimental studies of volitional activity.
Ryazan, 1986. - S. 3-23

Chapter 15

Summary

General characteristics of volitional actions. Will as a process of conscious regulation of behavior. Voluntary and involuntary movements. Features of arbitrary movements and actions. Characteristics of volitional actions. The connection between will and feelings.

Basic psychological theories of will. The problem of will in the works of ancient philosophers, the problem of will in the Middle Ages. The concept of "free will" in the Renaissance, Existentialism - "philosophy of existence?. IP Pavlov's approach to considering the problem of will. Interpretation of the will from the standpoint of behaviorism. The concept of vili in the works of N. A. Bernshtein. Psychoanalytic concepts of the will.

Physiological and motivational aspects of volitional actions. Physiological basis of will. Apraxia and abulia. The role of the second signaling system in the formation of volitional actions. The main and secondary motives of volitional actions. The role of needs, emotions, interests and worldview in the formation of volitional actions.

Structure strong-willed actions. Volitional components. The role of attraction and desires in the formation of motives and goals of activity. Content, goals and nature of volitional action. Decisiveness and the decision-making process. Types of decisiveness according to James. The struggle of motives and the implementation of the decision.

Volitional human qualities and them development. The main qualities of the will. Self-control and self-esteem. The main stages and patterns of formation of volitional actions in a child. The role of conscious discipline in the formation of the will.

15.1. General characteristics of volitional actions

Any human activity is always accompanied by specific actions that can be divided into two large groups: voluntary and involuntary. The main difference between voluntary actions is that they are carried out under the control of consciousness and require certain efforts on the part of a person aimed at achieving a consciously set song. For example, imagine a sick person who hardly takes a glass of water in his hand, brings it to his mouth, tilts it, makes a movement with his mouth, that is, performs a number of actions united by one goal - to quench his thirst. All individual actions, thanks to the efforts of consciousness aimed at regulating behavior, merge into one whole, and a person drinks water. These efforts are often called volitional regulation, or will.

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. The main function of the will is the conscious regulation of activity in difficult conditions of life. This regulation is based on the interaction of the processes of excitation and inhibition of the nervous system. In accordance with this, it is customary to single out two others as a specification of the above general 4 "function - an activating and an inhibitory one.

374 Part II. mental processes

Arbitrary or volitional actions develop on the basis of involuntary movements and actions. The simplest of the involuntary movements are reflex ones: constriction and expansion of the pupil, blinking, swallowing, sneezing, etc. The same class of movements includes the withdrawal of a hand when touching a hot object, an involuntary turn of the head in the direction of a sound, etc. Involuntary character Our expressive movements are also usually worn: when angry, we involuntarily clench our teeth; in surprise, we raise our eyebrows or open our mouths; when we are happy about something, we begin to smile, etc.

Behavior, like actions, can be involuntary or arbitrary. The involuntary type of behavior mainly includes impulsive actions and unconscious reactions that are not subordinate to a common goal, for example, to noise behind a window, to an object that can satisfy a need, etc. Involuntary behavior also includes human behavioral reactions observed in situations of affect, when a person is under the influence of an emotional state uncontrolled by consciousness.

In contrast to involuntary actions, conscious actions, which are more characteristic of human behavior, are aimed at achieving a set goal. Consciousness of actions characterizes volitional behavior. However, volitional actions may include, as separate links, such movements that, in the course of the formation of a habit, were automated and lost their originally conscious character.

Volitional actions differ from each other primarily in the level of their complexity. There are very complex volitional actions that include a number of simpler ones. Thus, the above example, when a person wants to quench his thirst, gets up, pours water into a glass, etc., is an example of complex volitional behavior, which includes separate less complex volitional actions. But there are even more complex volitional actions. For example, climbers who decide to conquer a mountain peak begin their preparation long before the ascent. This includes training, inspecting equipment, adjusting bindings, choosing a route, etc. But the main difficulties lie ahead of them when they begin their ascent.

The basis for the complication of actions is the fact that not every goal that we set can be achieved immediately. Most often, the achievement of the goal requires the implementation of a series of intermediate actions that bring us closer to the goal.

Another most important sign of volitional behavior is its connection with overcoming obstacles, regardless of what type these obstacles are - internal or external. Internal, or subjective, obstacles are the motives of a person aimed at not performing a given action or at performing actions that are opposite to it. For example, a student wants to play with toys, but at the same time he needs to do his homework. Fatigue, a desire to have fun, inertia, laziness, etc. can serve as internal obstacles. An example of external obstacles can be, for example, the lack of the necessary tool for work or the opposition of other people who do not want the goal to be achieved.

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It should be noted that not every action aimed at overcoming an obstacle is volitional. For example, a person running away from a dog can overcome very difficult obstacles and even climb a tall tree, but these actions are not volitional, since they are caused primarily by external causes, and not by the person’s internal attitudes. Thus, the most important feature of volitional actions aimed at overcoming obstacles is the consciousness of the significance of the goal set for which one must fight, the consciousness of the need to achieve it. The more significant the goal for a person, the more obstacles he overcomes. Therefore, volitional actions can differ not only in the degree of their complexity, but also in the degree awareness.

Usually we are more or less clearly aware of what we are doing certain actions for, we know the goal we are striving to achieve. There are also cases when a person is aware of what he is doing, but cannot explain why he is doing it. Most often this happens when a person is seized by some strong feelings, experiences emotional arousal. Such actions are called impulsive. The degree of awareness of such actions is greatly reduced. Having made rash actions, a person often repents of what he did. But the will lies precisely in the fact that a person is able to restrain himself from committing rash acts during affective outbursts. Therefore, the will is connected with mental activity and feelings.

Will implies the presence of a person's purposefulness, which requires certain thought processes. The manifestation of thinking is expressed in a conscious choice goals and selection funds to achieve it. Thinking is also necessary in the course of carrying out a planned action. In carrying out the intended action, we encounter many difficulties. For example, the conditions for performing an action may change, or it may be necessary to change the means to achieve the goal. Therefore, in order to achieve the set goal, a person must constantly compare the goals of the action, the conditions and means of its implementation and make the necessary adjustments in a timely manner. Without the participation of thinking, volitional actions would be devoid of consciousness, that is, they would cease to be volitional actions.

The connection between will and feelings is expressed in the fact that, as a rule, we pay attention to objects and phenomena that cause certain feelings in us. The desire to achieve or achieve something, just like avoiding something unpleasant, is related to our feelings. What is indifferent to us, does not cause any emotions, as a rule, does not act as the goal of actions. However, it is a mistake to believe that only feelings are the sources of volitional actions. Often we are faced with a situation where feelings, on the contrary, act as an obstacle to achieving the goal. Therefore, we have to make strong-willed efforts to resist the negative impact of emotions. Convincing evidence that feelings are not the only source of our actions are pathological cases of loss of the ability to experience feelings while maintaining the ability to act consciously. Thus, the sources of volitional actions are very diverse. Before proceeding to consider them, we need to get acquainted with the main and most famous theories of will and how they reveal the causes of volitional actions in humans.

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15.2. Basic psychological theories of will

The understanding of will as a real factor in behavior has its own history. At the same time, two aspects can be distinguished in the views on the nature of this mental phenomenon: philosophical and ethical and natural science. They are closely intertwined and can only be considered in interaction with each other.

In antiquity and the Middle Ages, the problem of the will was not considered from the positions characteristic of its modern understanding. Ancient philosophers considered purposeful or conscious human behavior only from the standpoint of its compliance with generally accepted norms. In the ancient world, first of all, the ideal of the sage was recognized, therefore, ancient philosophers believed that the rules of human behavior should correspond to the rational principles of nature and life, the rules of logic. Thus, according to Aristotle, the nature of the will is expressed in the formation of a logical conclusion. For example, in his Nicomachean Ethics, the premise “everything that is sweet must be eaten” and the condition “these are apples are sweet” do not entail the prescription “this apple must be eaten”, but rather the conclusion about the need for a specific action - eating an apple. Therefore, the source of our conscious actions lies in the human mind.

It should be noted that such views on the nature of the will are quite justified and therefore continue to exist even now. For example, Sh. N. Chkhartishvili opposes the special nature of the will, believing that the concepts goal and awareness are categories of intellectual behavior, and there is no need to introduce new terms, in his opinion. This point of view is justified by the fact that thought processes are an integral component of volitional actions.

In fact, the problem of the will did not exist as an independent problem even during the Middle Ages. Man was considered by medieval philosophers as an exclusively passive principle, as a "field" on which external forces meet. Moreover, very often in the Middle Ages, the will was endowed with an independent existence and even personified in specific forces, turning into good or evil beings. However, in this interpretation, the will acted as a manifestation of a certain mind that sets itself certain goals. The knowledge of these forces - good or evil, according to medieval philosophers, opens the way to the knowledge of the "true" reasons for the actions of a particular person.

Consequently, the concept of will in the Middle Ages was more associated with some higher powers. Such an understanding of the will in the Middle Ages was due to the fact that society denied the possibility of independent, i.e., independent of traditions and established order, the behavior of a particular member of society. A person was considered as the simplest element of society, and the set of characteristics that modern scientists put into the concept of “personality” acted as a program according to which ancestors lived and according to which a person should live. The right to deviate from these norms was recognized only for some members of the community, for example, for a blacksmith - a person who is subject to the power of fire and metal, or a robber - a criminal who opposed myself given society, etc.

Chapter 15

It is quite probable that the independent problem of the will arose simultaneously with the formulation of the problem of personality. This happened in the Renaissance, when people began to recognize the right to creativity and even to make a mistake. The opinion began to dominate that only by deviating from the norm, standing out from the general mass of people, a person could become a person. At the same time, the main value of the individual was considered to be free will.

In terms of historical facts, we should note that the emergence of the problem of free will was not accidental. The first Christians proceeded from the fact that a person has free will, that is, he can act in accordance with his conscience, he can make a choice in how he lives, acts and what standards to follow. In the Renaissance, however, free will generally began to be elevated to the rank of an absolute.

In the future, the absolutization of free will led to the emergence of a worldview existentialism -"philosophy of existence". Existentialism (M. Heidegger, K. Jaspers, J. P. Sartre, A. Camus and others) considers freedom as absolutely free will. unconditioned by any external social circumstances. The starting point of this concept is an abstract person, taken outside social ties and relations, outside the socio-cultural environment. A person, according to representatives of this trend, cannot be connected with society in any way, and even more so, he cannot be bound by any moral obligations or responsibility. A person is free and cannot be responsible for anything. Any norm acts for him as a suppression of his free will. According to J.P. Sartre, only a spontaneous, unmotivated protest against any “sociality” can be truly human, and not in any way ordered, not bound by any framework of organizations, programs, parties, etc. .

Such an interpretation of the will is contrary to modern ideas about man. As we noted in the first chapters, the main difference between man as a representative of the species Noto 5ar1ep5 from the animal world lies in its social nature. A human being, developing outside of human society, has only an outward resemblance to a person, and in its psychic essence has nothing in common with people.

The absolutization of free will led representatives of existentialism to an erroneous interpretation of human nature. Their mistake was in not understanding that a person who commits a certain act aimed at rejecting any existing social norms and values ​​will certainly affirm other norms and values. Indeed, in order to reject something, it is necessary to have a certain alternative, otherwise such a denial turns into nonsense at best, and madness at worst.

One of the first natural scientific interpretations of the will belongs to I. P. Pavlov, who considered it as an "instinct of freedom", as a manifestation of the activity of a living organism when it encounters obstacles that limit this activity. According to I.P. Pavlov, the will as an “instinct of freedom” acts as no less a stimulus for behavior than the instincts of hunger and danger. “If it weren’t for him,” he wrote, “every slightest obstacle that an animal would encounter on its way would completely interrupt the course of its life” (Pavlov I.P.,

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Kornilov Konstantin Nikolaevich(1879-1957) - domestic psychologist. He began his scientific activity as an employee of G. I. Chelpanov. For several years he worked at the Institute of Psychology, created by Chelpanov. In 1921 he wrote the book The Teaching on Human Reactions. In 1923-1924. began active work on the creation of a materialistic psychology. The central place in his views was occupied by the position of the psyche as a special property of highly organized matter. This work ended with the creation of the concept of reactology, which, as a Marxist psychology, Kornilov tried to oppose, on the one hand, to Bekhterev's reflexology, and on the other, to introspective psychology. The main provision of this concept was the provision on the "reaction", which was considered as the primary element of life, similar to the reflex and at the same time differing from it in the presence of the "mental side". As a result of the so-called "reactological discussion" held in 1931, Kornilov abandoned his views. Subsequently, he studied the problems of will and character. Headed the Moscow Institute of Psychology.

1952). For a human act, such an obstacle can be not only an external obstacle that limits motor activity, but also the content of his own consciousness, his interests, etc. Thus, the will in the interpretation of I. P. Pavlov is reflex in nature, i.e. It manifests itself in the form of a response to an influencing stimulus. Therefore, it is no coincidence that this interpretation has found the widest distribution among representatives of behaviorism and has received support in reactology (K. N. Kornilov) and reflexology (V. M. Bekhterev). Meanwhile, if we accept this interpretation of the will as true, then we must conclude that the will of a person depends on external conditions, and therefore, a volitional act does not fully depend on a person.

In recent decades, another concept is gaining strength and finding an increasing number of supporters, according to which human behavior is understood as initially active, and the person himself is regarded as endowed with the ability to consciously choose a form of behavior. This point of view is successfully supported by research in the field of physiology conducted by N. A. Bernshtein and P. K. Anokhin. According to the concept formed on the basis of these studies, will is understood as a person's conscious regulation of his behavior. This regulation is expressed in the ability to see and overcome internal and external obstacles.

In addition to these points of view, there are other concepts of will. Thus, within the framework of the psychoanalytic concept, at all stages of its evolution from 3. Freud to E. Fromm, attempts were repeatedly made to concretize the idea of ​​\u200b\u200bthe will as a kind of energy of human actions. For representatives of this trend, the source of people's actions is a certain biological energy of a living organism converted into a mental form. Freud himself believed that this is the psychosexual energy of sexual desire.

The evolution of these ideas in the concepts of Freud's students and followers is very interesting. For example, K. Lorentz sees the energy of will in the original

Chapter 15

human aggressiveness. If this aggressiveness is not realized in the forms of activity permitted and sanctioned by society, then it becomes socially dangerous, since it can result in unmotivated criminal acts. A. Adler, K. G. Jung, K. Horney, E. Fromm associate the manifestation of will with social factors. For Jung, these are universal archetypes of behavior and thinking inherent in every culture, for Adler, the desire for power and social domination, and for Horney and Fromm, the desire of the individual for self-realization in culture.

By In fact, the various concepts of psychoanalysis represent the absolutization of individual, albeit essential, needs as sources of human action. The objections are not so much the exaggerations themselves, how many a general interpretation of the driving forces directed, according to the adherents of psychoanalysis, to self-preservation and maintaining the integrity of the human individual. In practice, very often the manifestation of will is associated with the ability to resist the need for self-preservation and maintaining the integrity of the human body. This confirms the heroic behavior of people in extreme conditions with a real threat to life.

In reality, the motives of volitional actions are formed and arise as a result of the active interaction of a person with the outside world, and primarily with society. Free will does not mean the denial of the universal laws of nature and society, but implies the knowledge of them and the choice of adequate behavior.

15.3. Physiological and motivational aspects of volitional actions

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 for the line of nervous processes.

The material basis of voluntary 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 and many times larger in size than the surrounding nerve cells. These cells are very often called "Betz cells" after the professor of anatomy of Kyiv University V. A. Betz, who first described them in 1874. Impulses for movement are born in them, and from here fibers originate, forming a massive bundle that goes into the depth brain, descends, passes inside the spinal cord and eventually reaches the muscles of the opposite side of the body (pyramid path).

All pyramidal cells conditionally, depending on their location and functions, can be divided into three groups (Fig. 15.1). So, in the upper sections of the anterior central gyrus there are cells that send impulses to the lower extremities, in the middle sections there are cells that send impulses to the hand, and in the lower sections there are cells that activate the muscles of the tongue,

380 Part II. mental processes

Rice. 15.1. Motor centers of the cerebral cortex in humans (according to Greenstein)

lips, throat. All these cells and nerve pathways are the motor apparatus of the cerebral cortex. In case of defeat of certain pyramidal cells in a person, paralysis of the organs of movement corresponding to them occurs.

Voluntary movements are not performed in isolation from each other, but in a complex system of purposeful action. This is due to a certain organization of the interaction of individual parts of the brain. An important role here is played by areas of the brain, which, although they are not motor departments, provide the organization of motor (or kinesthetic) sensitivity necessary for the regulation of movements. These areas are located behind the anterior central gyrus. In the event of their defeat, a person ceases to feel his own movements and therefore is not able to perform even relatively simple actions, for example, take any object that is near him. The difficulties that arise in these cases are characterized by the fact that a person selects the wrong movements that he needs.

By itself, the selection of movements is not yet sufficient for the action to be performed skillfully. It is necessary to ensure the continuity of the individual phases of the movement. Such smoothness of movements is provided by the activity premotor area cortex, which lies anterior to the anterior central gyrus. With the defeat of this part of the cortex, the patient does not experience any paralysis (as with the defeat of the anterior central gyrus) and there are no difficulties in the selection of movements (as with the defeat of the areas of the cortex located behind the anterior central gyrus), but significant awkwardness is noted. A person ceases to own movements as he owned them before. Moreover, he ceases to own the acquired skill, and the development of complex motor skills in these cases turns out to be impossible.

In some cases, when the lesion of this part of the cortex is widespread deep into the medulla, the following phenomenon is observed: after performing a movement, a person cannot stop it in any way and continues for some

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From the history of psychology The pathology of the will is most often expressed in violation of the regulation of human behavior. This can manifest itself either in a violation of criticality, or in spontaneity of behavior. As an illustration, we give several descriptions of such patients from the book by B.V. Zeigarnik "Pathopsychology". “... The behavior of these patients revealed pathological features. The adequacy of their behavior was apparent. So, they helped the sisters, orderlies, if they asked them, but they were equally willing to fulfill any request, even if it went against the accepted norms of behavior. So, sick K. took cigarettes and money from another patient without permission, as someone "asked him to do this"; another patient, Ch., who strictly obeyed the regimen of the hospital, "wanted to bathe in a cold lake on the eve of the operation, because someone said that the water was warm." In other words, their behavior and actions could equally turn out to be adequate and inadequate, because they were dictated not by internal needs, but by purely situational factors. In the same way, their absence of complaints was due not to restraint, not to the desire to disguise their defect, but to the fact that they were not aware of either their experiences or somatic sensations. These patients did not make any plans for the future: they equally readily agreed both with the fact that they were not able to work in their former profession, and with the fact that they could successfully continue their former activities. Patients rarely wrote letters to their relatives, friends, did not get upset, did not worry when they did not receive letters. The absence of a feeling of sadness or joy often appeared in the case histories when describing the mental status of such patients. The feeling of caring for the family, the possibility of planning their actions were alien to them. They did their work conscientiously, but with such same could have been successful her any minute. After discharge from the hospital, such a patient could equally well go home or to a friend who accidentally called him. The actions of the patients were not dictated by either internal motives or their needs. The attitude of patients to the environment was profoundly changed. This changed attitude is especially pronounced if we analyze not the individual actions of the patient, but his behavior in a working situation. Labor activity is aimed at achieving the product of activity and is determined by the attitude of a person to this activity and her product. Consequently, the presence of such an attitude to the final result forces a person to provide for certain particulars, details, compare individual links of his work, and make corrections. Labor activity includes task planning, control of one's actions; it is, first of all, purposeful and conscious. Therefore, the disintegration of the action of aspontaneous patients, deprived of precisely this attitude, is most easily manifested in the labor situation of training. ...WITH. Ya. Rubinshtein notes that [such] patients, having started doing something, rarely stopped work on their own initiative: this happened only with any

time to do it many times in a row. Thus, going to write the number "2" and making the movement necessary to write the top circle of the number, a person with a similar lesion continues the same movement and, instead of completing the writing of the number, writes a large number of circles.

In addition to these areas of the brain, it is worth noting the structures that guide and support the purposefulness of volitional action. Any volitional action is determined by certain 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. The areas of the brain located in the frontal lobes play an important role in keeping the goal of actions. These are the so-called prefrontal cortex, which were the last to form during brain evolution. When they are defeated, apraxia, manifested in violation of voluntary regulation

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From the history of psychology external causes, for example, when a tool breaks, personnel are banned, etc. It was noteworthy that they almost did not regulate their efforts, but worked with the maximum available intensity and pace, contrary to expediency. So, for example, sick A. was instructed to plan a board. He whittled it quickly, exerting excessive pressure on the planer, did not notice how he whittled it all down, and continued whittling the workbench. Patient K. was taught to overcast buttonholes, but he so hastily, fussily stretched out the needle and thread, without checking the correctness of the puncture made, that the loops turned out to be ugly, incorrect. He could not work slower, no matter how much he was asked to do so. Meanwhile, if the instructor sat down next to the patient and literally at every stitch "shouted" at the patient; "Take your time! Check it out!" - the patient could make the loop beautiful and even, he understood how to do it, but he could not help but rush. Performing the simplest task, patients always made a lot of unnecessary fussy movements. They usually worked by trial and error. If the instructor asked what they were supposed to do, very often he was able to get the right answer. Being, however, left to themselves, the patients rarely used their thought as an instrument of foresight. This indifferent attitude to one's activities was revealed in the process of experimental training. Within 14 days, systematic training was carried out with these patients: memorizing a poem, folding mosaics according to the proposed pattern and sorting of buttons. A group of patients with massive lesions of the left frontal lobe was identified, in which the clinic and psychological examination revealed a gross spontaneity syndrome. The patients were able to memorize the poem mechanically, they could easily lay out the figures from the mosaic, but they could not plan rational methods or modify those proposed to them from the outside in order to consolidate or speed up the work. So, laying out a mosaic without a plan, they did not assimilate and did not transfer the methods proposed to them from outside, and the next day they repeated the same mistakes; they could not master the system of education that planned their activities. They were not interested in acquiring new learning skills, they were completely indifferent to it, they were indifferent to the final results. Therefore, they could not develop new skills: they possessed old skills, but it was difficult for them to master new ones. Passive, aspontaneous behavior was often replaced in these patients by increased responsiveness to random stimuli. Despite the fact that this kind of patient lies without any movement, without being interested in others, he extremely quickly answers the doctor's question; for all his passivity, he often reacts when the doctor talks with a roommate, interferes in the conversations of others, becomes annoying. In reality, however, this "activity" is not caused by internal impulses. Such behavior should be treated as situational.” By: Zeigarnik B.V. Pathopsychology. - M.: Publishing House of Moscow State University, 1986

movements and actions. A person with such brain damage, having started to perform any action, immediately stops or changes it as a result of some random influence, which makes it impossible to carry out an act of will. In clinical practice, a case was described when such a patient, passing by an open cabinet, entered it and began to look around him helplessly, not knowing what to do next: one kind of open cabinet doors was enough for him to change his original intention and enter closet. The behavior of such patients turns into uncontrollable, broken actions.

On the basis of brain pathology, there may also be abulia, manifested in the absence of incentives for activity, in the inability to make a decision and carry out the necessary action, although the need for it is recognized. Abulia is caused by pathological inhibition of the cortex, as a result of which the intensity of impulses for action is significantly below the optimal level. According to

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T. Ribot’s childhood, one patient after recovery spoke of his condition in the following way: “The reason for the lack of activity was that all my sensations were unusually weak, so that they could not have any effect on my will.”

It should be noted that the second signaling system, which carries out the entire conscious regulation of human behavior, is of particular importance in the performance of a volitional action. The second signal system activates not only the motor part of human behavior, it is a trigger for thinking, imagination, memory; it also regulates attention, evokes feelings and thus influences the formation motives for volitional action.

Since we have come to consider the motives of volitional actions, it is necessary to distinguish between motives and the volitional action itself. Under motives for volitional action refers to the reasons that motivate a person to act. All motives of volitional actions can be divided into two main groups: main and side effects. Moreover, speaking of two groups of motives, we cannot list the motives included in the first or second group, because in different conditions of activity or for different people, the same motive (motivator) can be the main one in one case, and in another - side. For example, for one person, the desire for knowledge is the main motive for writing a dissertation, and the achievement of a certain social position is a secondary one. At the same time, for another person, on the contrary, the achievement of a certain social status is the main motive, and knowledge is a secondary one.

The motives of volitional actions are based on needs, emotions and feelings, interests and inclinations, and especially our worldview, our views, beliefs and ideals, which are formed in the process of educating a person.

15.4. Volitional structure

Where does volitional action begin? Of course, with awareness of the purpose of the action and the motive associated with it. With a clear awareness of the goal and the motive that causes it, the desire for the goal is usually called desire(Fig. 15.2).

But not every striving for a goal is sufficiently conscious. Depending on the degree of awareness of needs, they are divided into attraction c desires. If the desire is conscious, then the attraction is always vague, unclear: a person realizes that he wants something, something is missing, or he needs something, but he does not understand what exactly. Usually people experience attraction as a specific painful state in the form of longing or uncertainty. Because of its indeterminacy, attraction cannot develop into purposeful activity. Therefore, attraction is often viewed as a transitional state. The need presented in it, as a rule, either fades away, or is realized and turns into a specific desire.

It should be noted that not every desire leads to action. Desire alone will not contain the active element. Before a desire turns into a direct motive and then into a goal, it is evaluated by a person, i.e.

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Rice. 15.2. The psychological structure of a volitional act

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"filtered" through the system of human values, gets a certain emotional coloring. Everything that is connected with the realization of the goal, in the emotional sphere, is painted in positive tones, just like everything that is an obstacle to achieving the goal, causes negative emotions.

Having a motivating force, desire sharpens the awareness of the goal of future action and the construction of its plan. In turn, in the formation of the goal, a special role is played by its content, character and meaning. The greater the goal, the more powerful aspiration can be evoked by it.

Desires do not always come true immediately. A person sometimes has several inconsistent and even contradictory desires at once, and he finds himself in a very difficult position, not knowing which one to realize. The mental state, which is characterized by a collision of several desires or several different impulses for activity, is commonly called struggle of motives. The struggle of motives includes an assessment by a person of those reasons that speak for and against the need to act in a certain direction, considering how to act. The final moment of the struggle of motives is decision-making, consisting in the choice of purpose and method of action. When making a decision, a person shows determination; at the same time, he, as a rule, feels responsible for the further course of events. Considering the decision-making process, U. Jame identified several types of decisiveness.

1. Reasonable determination is manifested when the opposing motives begin to gradually fade away, leaving room for an alternative that is perceived quite calmly. The transition from doubt to certainty is experienced passively. It seems to a person that the grounds for action are formed by themselves in accordance with the conditions of activity.

2. In cases where hesitation and indecision have been too long, there may come a moment when a person is more ready to make a wrong decision than not to make any. In this case, often some random circumstance upsets the balance, giving one of the prospects an advantage over the others, and the person, as it were, submits to fate.

3. In the absence of motivating reasons, wanting to avoid an unpleasant feeling of indecision, a person begins to act as if automatically, simply striving to move forward. What happens next is of no concern to him at the moment. As a rule, this type of decisiveness is characteristic of persons with an ebullient desire for activity.

4. The next type of decisiveness includes cases of moral rebirth, awakening of conscience, etc. In this case, the cessation of internal oscillation occurs due to a change in the scale of values. A person seems to have an internal fracture, and immediately there is a determination to act in a specific direction.

5. In some cases, a person, having no rational grounds, considers a certain course of action to be preferable. With the help of the will, he strengthens a motive that by itself could not subdue the rest. In contrast to the first case, the functions of the mind are performed here by the will.

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Should note that in psychological science is actively disputes over decision making problem. On the one hand, the struggle of motives and the subsequent decision-making are considered as the main link, the core of an act of will. On the other hand, there is a tendency to turn off from the volitional act the inner work of consciousness associated with choice, reflection and evaluation.

There is another point of view, characteristic of those psychologists who, without rejecting the significance of the struggle of motives and the inner workings of consciousness, see the essence of will in implementation of the decision because the struggle of motives and the subsequent decision-making do not go beyond subjective states. It is the execution of the decision that constitutes the main point of human volitional activity.

The executive stage of volitional action has a complex structure. First of all, the execution of the adopted decision is connected with one time or another, that is, with a certain period. If the execution of the decision is delayed for a long time, then in this case it is customary to talk about intention implement the decision. We usually talk about intention when faced with complex activities: for example, to enter a university, to get a certain specialty. The simplest volitional actions, such as quenching thirst or hunger, changing the direction of one's movement so as not to collide with a person walking towards, are usually performed immediately. Intention, in its essence, is an internal preparation for a delayed action and is a direction fixed by a decision towards the achievement of a goal. However, intention alone is not enough. As in any other volitional action, if there is an intention, one can single out the stage of planning ways to achieve the goal. The plan can be detailed to varying degrees. Some people are characterized by the desire to foresee everything, to plan every step. At the same time, others are content with only the general scheme. In this case, the planned action is not implemented immediately. For its implementation, it is necessary to consciously volitional effort. Volitional effort is understood as a special state of internal tension, or activity, which causes the mobilization of a person’s internal resources necessary to perform the intended action. Therefore, volitional efforts are always associated with a significant expenditure of energy.

This final stage of volitional action can be expressed in two ways: in some cases it manifests itself in an external action, in other cases, on the contrary, it consists in refraining from any external action (such a manifestation is usually called internal will).

Volitional effort is qualitatively different from muscle tension. In an effort of will, external movements can be represented minimally, and internal tension can be very significant. At the same time, in any volitional effort, to one degree or another, there is also muscle tension. For example, when considering or remembering something, we strain the muscles of the forehead, eyes, etc., but this does not give grounds to identify muscular and volitional efforts.

Under various concrete conditions, the efforts of will we manifest will differ in intensity. This is due to the fact that the intensity of volitional efforts primarily depends on both external and internal obstacles that the performance of volitional action encounters. However, in addition to situational

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Jame William(1842-1910) - American psychologist and philosopher, one of the founders of modern American functionalism. He proposed one of the first in psychology theory of personality. In the "empirical I", or personality, he singled out: 1. physical personality, which includes one's own bodily organization, home, family, state, etc. 2. Social personality as a form of recognition of personality in us by other people. 3. Spiritual personality as a unity of all spiritual properties and states of the personality - thinking, emotions, desires, etc., with the center in the feeling of activity of the "I".

Jeme considered consciousness, understood as a stream of consciousness, in the context of its adaptive functions. At the same time, special importance was attached to the activity and selectivity of consciousness.

James is also the author of the theory of emotions known as the James-Lange theory. According to this theory, the emotional states experienced by the subject (fear, joy, etc.) are the effect of physiological changes in the muscular and vascular systems. He had a significant impact on the research of many psychologists at the beginning of the 20th century.

There are also relatively stable factors that determine the intensity of volitional efforts. These include the following: the worldview of the individual, manifested in relation to certain phenomena of the surrounding world; moral stability, which determines the ability to follow the intended path; the level of self-government and self-organization of the individual, etc. All these factors are formed in the process of human development, its formation as a personality and characterize the level of development of the volitional sphere.

15.5. Volitional qualities of a person and their development

The human will is characterized by certain qualities. First of all, it is customary to distinguish willpower as a generalized ability to overcome significant difficulties that arise on the way to achieving the goal. The more serious the obstacle that you have overcome on the way to your goal, the stronger your will. It is the obstacles overcome with the help of willpower that are an objective indicator of the manifestation of willpower.

Among the various manifestations of willpower, it is customary to single out such personality traits as excerpt and self-control, which are expressed in the ability to restrain one's feelings when required, in preventing impulsive and thoughtless actions, in the ability to control oneself and force oneself to perform the intended action, and also to refrain from doing what one wants to do, but which seems unreasonable or wrong.

Another characteristic of the will is purposefulness. By purposefulness it is customary to understand the conscious and active orientation of the individual to achieve a certain result of activity. Very often when

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talk about purposefulness, use such a concept as persistence. This concept is almost identical to the concept of purposefulness and characterizes the desire of a person to achieve the goal, even in the most difficult conditions. Usually, a distinction is made between strategic purposefulness, that is, the ability to be guided in all one's life by certain principles and ideals, and operational purposefulness, which consists in the ability to set clear goals for individual actions and not deviate from them in the process of achieving them.

It is customary to distinguish stubbornness from perseverance. Stubbornness most often acts as a negative quality of a person. A stubborn person always tries to insist on his own, despite the inappropriateness of this action. As a rule, a stubborn person in his activities is guided not by the arguments of reason, but by personal desires, despite their failure. In fact, a stubborn person does not control his will, because he does not know how to control himself and his desires.

An important characteristic of the will is initiative. Initiative lies in the ability to make attempts to implement the ideas that have arisen in a person. For many people, overcoming their own inertia is the most difficult moment of the act of will. Only an independent person can take the first conscious step towards the implementation of a new idea. Independence - it is a characteristic of the will, which is directly related to initiative. Independence is manifested in the ability to consciously make decisions and in the ability not to succumb to the influence of various factors that impede the achievement of the goal. An independent person is able, critically evaluating the advice and suggestions of other people, to act on the basis of his views and beliefs and at the same time make adjustments to his actions based on the advice received.

Negativity should be distinguished from independence. Negativism is manifested in an unmotivated, unreasonable tendency to act contrary to other people, to contradict them, although reasonable considerations do not give grounds for such actions. Negativism is regarded by most psychologists as a weakness of the will, expressed in the inability to subordinate one's actions to the arguments of reason, conscious motives of behavior, in the inability to resist one's desires, leading to idleness, etc. Very often, idleness is associated with laziness. It is laziness that is a comprehensive characteristic of qualities that are opposite in meaning to the positive qualities of the will.

It should be noted that the initiative shown by a person, in addition to independence, is always associated with one more quality of will - decisiveness. Decisiveness lies in the absence of unnecessary hesitation and doubt in the struggle of motives, in timely and quick decision-making. First of all, decisiveness is manifested in the choice of the dominant motive, as well as in the choice of adequate means to achieve the goal. Decisiveness is also manifested in the implementation of the decision. Decisive people are characterized by a quick and energetic transition from the choice of actions and means to the very implementation of the action.

From decisiveness, as a positive volitional quality, it is necessary to distinguish impulsiveness, which is characterized by haste in making decisions,

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thoughtless actions. An impulsive person does not think before starting to act, does not take into account the consequences of what he does, therefore he often regrets what he has done. The haste in making a decision by such a person, as a rule, is explained by his indecision, by the fact that making a decision for him is an extremely difficult and painful process, so he seeks to get rid of it as soon as possible.

An extremely important volitional quality of a person is subsequence human actions. The sequence of actions characterizes the fact that all actions performed by a person follow from a single guiding principle, to which a person subordinates everything secondary and secondary. The sequence of actions, in turn, is most closely related to self-control and self-esteem.

Accepted actions will only be executed when the person controls his activity. Otherwise, the actions performed and the goal to which the person aspires diverge. In the process of achieving the goal, self-control ensures the dominance of leading motives over secondary ones. The quality of self-control, its adequacy largely depend on the self-assessment of the individual. So, low self-esteem can lead to the fact that a person loses self-confidence. In this case, the desire of a person to achieve the goal may gradually fade away and what was planned will never be fulfilled. Sometimes, on the contrary, a person overestimates himself and his abilities. In this case, it is customary to talk about overestimated self-esteem, which does not allow adequately coordinating and adjusting one's actions on the way to achieving the goal. As a result, the ability to achieve what was planned becomes much more difficult and, most often, what was previously planned is not fully implemented in practice.

Will, like most other higher mental processes, is formed in the course of a person's age development. So, in a newborn child, reflex movements predominate, as well as some instinctive actions. Volitional, conscious actions begin to take shape much later. Moreover, the first desires of the child are characterized by great instability. Desires quickly replace each other and are very often vague. Only in the fourth year of life do desires acquire a more or less stable character.

At the same age, the emergence of a struggle of motives is first noted in children. For example, children of two years of age, after some hesitation, may choose between several possible actions. However, the choice made depending on the motives of the moral order becomes possible for children not earlier than the end of the third year of life. This happens only when the child can already control his behavior. This requires, on the one hand, a sufficiently high level of development, and, on the other hand, some formation of moral attitudes. Both are formed under the influence of training and education, in the process of constant interaction with adults. The nature of the emerging moral attitudes largely depends on the moral attitudes of the adult, since in the first years of life the child seeks to imitate the actions of adults, and gradually, in the process of mental development, he begins to analyze the actions of an adult and draw appropriate conclusions.

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Like all mental processes, the will does not develop on its own, but in connection with the general development of a person's personality. Sometimes you can find a high development of the will at an early age. Moreover, a sufficiently high level of will development is most often observed in children of a creative type who are passionate about some kind of occupation, for example, in children with artistic or musical inclinations, who are able to do their favorite thing for hours on their own. This is because, gradually, enthusiasm for some activity, accompanied by systematic work (drawing, modeling, music or sports), contributes to the formation of volitional characteristics that manifest themselves in other areas of life.

What are the main ways of forming the will? First of all, the success of this process depends on the parents. Studies show that parents who strive to give their child an all-round development and at the same time make rather high demands on him can count on the fact that the child will not have serious problems with volitional regulation of activity. Such shortcomings in the willful behavior of children, such as whims and stubbornness, observed in early childhood, are due to mistakes made by parents in educating the will of the child. If parents strive to please the child in everything, satisfy his every desire, do not present him with requirements that must be unconditionally fulfilled by him, do not teach him to restrain himself, then most likely, later the child will experience a lack of volitional development.

A necessary condition for raising a child in a family is the formation of conscious discipline. The development of volitional qualities by parents in a child is a prerequisite for the formation of discipline in him, which not only helps to understand the need to comply with certain rules of behavior, but also provides him with internal discipline, expressed in the ability to regulate and compare his desires with the conditions of real activity.

The school plays an important role in the education of volitional qualities. The school imposes a number of requirements on the child, without which schooling itself cannot be carried out normally, but at the same time, a certain level of discipline is also formed. For example, a schoolchild must sit at a desk for a certain time, he cannot get up without the teacher's permission, talk with his comrades, he must prepare the lessons assigned to him at home, etc. All this requires him to have a rather high development of volitional qualities and at the same time time develops in him the qualities of will necessary for the fulfillment of these rules. Therefore, the personality of the teacher and the school staff are of great importance for educating the will of schoolchildren.

The teacher with whom the child communicates at school has a direct influence on the formation of certain personal characteristics in him and, having a bright personality, leaves an indelible mark on the child's life. Often this causes the child to strive to imitate the behavior of the teacher, and if the latter has well-developed volitional qualities, then there is a high probability that the same qualities will be successfully developed in his students.

A similar picture is observed in relation to the school collective. If the child's activity takes place in a team where there is an atmosphere of high

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exactingness, then the child can form the corresponding personality characteristics.

Equally important is the physical education of the child, as well as familiarizing him with artistic values. Moreover, the formation of volitional characteristics does not stop even at an older age, when a young person begins independent labor activity, during which volitional qualities reach their highest development. Thus, the whole process of raising a child determines the success of the formation of volitional qualities of a person. Therefore, it is no coincidence that will is very often considered as one of the central and most informative characteristics of a person.

test questions

1. Describe the will as a process of conscious regulation of behavior.

2. Describe volitional actions.

3. What is the relationship between will and consciousness?

4. What theories of will do you know?

5. Expand the views of ancient and medieval philosophers on the problem of will.

6. Tell us how the problem of will is considered in the works of N. A. Bernshtein.

7. What is the physiological basis of the will?

8. What do you know about violations of the will?

9. Expand the content of the structural components of volitional actions.

10. What is willpower and determination?

11. What refers to the volitional qualities of a person?

12. Tell us about the main stages in the development of the will in a child.

13. Expand the role of conscious discipline in the formation of the will.

1. Bassin F.V. The problem of the "unconscious". (On unconscious forms of higher nervous activity). - M.: Medicine, 1968.

2. Vygotsky L. S. Collected Works: In 6 vols. Vol. 2: Issues of General Psychology / Ch. ed. A. V. Zaporozhets. - M.: Pedagogy, 1982.

3. Zimin P.P. Will and its upbringing in adolescents. - Tashkent, 1985.

4. Ivannikov V. A. Psychological mechanisms of volitional regulation. - M., 1998.

5. Ilyin E.P. Psychology of will. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 2000.

6. Pavlov I. II. Full composition of writings. T. 3. Book. 2. - M.: Ed. Academy of Sciences of the USSR, 1952.

7. Rubinstein S. L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. - St. Petersburg: Peter, 1999.

8. Chkhartishvili Sh. N. The problem of will in psychology // Questions of psychology. - 1967. - No. 4.

5.
Will

The concept of will

Will- conscious regulation by a person of his behavior (activity and communication), associated with overcoming internal and external obstacles. This is the ability of a person, which manifests itself in self-determination and self-regulation of his behavior and mental phenomena.

The main features of an act of will:

• a) the application of efforts to perform an act of will;
• b) the presence of a well-thought-out plan for the implementation of a behavioral act;
• c) increased attention to such a behavioral act and the lack of direct pleasure received in the process and as a result of its execution;
• d) often the efforts of the will are directed not only to victory over circumstances, but to overcoming oneself.

At present, there is no unified theory of will in psychological science, although many scientists are making attempts to develop a holistic doctrine of will with its terminological certainty and unambiguity. Apparently, this situation with the study of the will is connected with the struggle between the reactive

and active concepts of human behavior. For the first concept, the concept of will is practically not needed, because its supporters represent all human behavior as a person's reactions to external and internal stimuli. Supporters of the active concept of human behavior, which has recently become the leading one, understand human behavior as initially active, and the person himself is endowed with the ability to consciously choose forms of behavior.

Volitional regulation of behavior

Volitional regulation of behavior is characterized by the state of optimal mobilization of the individual, the required mode of activity, and the concentration of this activity in the required direction.

The main psychological function of the will is to increase motivation and improve the regulation of actions on this basis. In this, volitional actions differ from impulsive ones, i.e. actions performed involuntarily and insufficiently controlled by consciousness.

At the level of personality, the manifestation of will finds its expression in such properties as strength of will(the degree of necessary willpower to achieve the goal), persistence(the ability of a person to mobilize their capabilities for a long overcoming of difficulties), excerpt(the ability to slow down actions, feelings, thoughts that interfere with the implementation of the decision), energy and others. These are the primary (basic) volitional personal qualities that determine the majority of behavioral acts.

There are also secondary, developing in ontogenesis later than the primary, volitional qualities: determination(the ability to make and implement quick, informed and firm decisions), courage(the ability to overcome fear and take justified risks in order to achieve the goal, despite the dangers to personal well-being), composure(the ability to control the sensual side of one’s psyche and subordinate one’s behavior to the solution of consciously set tasks), self-confidence. These qualities should be considered not only as volitional, but also as characterological.

The tertiary ones include volitional qualities that are closely related to moral ones: responsibility(a quality that characterizes a person in terms of fulfilling her moral requirements), discipline(conscious submission of one's behavior to generally accepted norms, established order), adherence to principles(fidelity to a certain idea in beliefs and consistent implementation of this idea in behavior), obligation(the ability to voluntarily assume duties and fulfill them). This group also includes the qualities of the will associated with the attitude of a person to work: efficiency, initiative(the ability to work creatively, taking actions on one’s own initiative), organization(reasonable planning and ordering of their work), diligence(diligence, deadlines)

assignments and their duties), etc. The tertiary qualities of the will are usually formed only by adolescence, i.e. the moment when there is already experience of volitional actions.

Volitional actions can be divided into simple and complex. In a simple volitional act, the impulse to action (motive) passes into the action itself almost automatically. In a complex volitional act, an action is preceded by taking into account its consequences, awareness of motives, decision-making, the emergence of an intention to carry it out, drawing up a plan for its implementation, etc.

The development of the will in a person is connected with:

• a) with the transformation of involuntary mental processes into arbitrary ones;
• b) with the acquisition by a person of control over his behavior;
• c) with the development of volitional qualities of the individual;
• d) with the fact that a person consciously sets himself more and more difficult tasks and pursues more and more distant goals that require significant volitional efforts for a long time.

The formation of volitional qualities of a personality can be viewed as a movement from primary to secondary and further to tertiary qualities.

Free will and personal responsibility

Consideration of the psychological interpretation of personality involves the interpretation of the phenomenon of its spiritual freedom. Personal freedom in psychological terms is, first of all, free will. It is determined in relation to two quantities: to the vital drives and the social conditions of human life. Inclinations (biological impulses) are transformed in him under the influence of his self-awareness, the spiritual and moral coordinates of his personality. Moreover, man is the only living being who at any moment can say "no" to his inclinations, and who does not always have to say "yes" to them (M. Scheler).

Man is not free from social conditions. But he is free to take a stand in relation to them, since these conditions do not fully condition him. It depends on him - within his limits - whether he will surrender, whether he will give in to the conditions (V. Frankl). In this regard, freedom is when a person himself must decide whether to choose good or yield to evil (F.M. Dostoevsky).

However, freedom is only one side of a holistic phenomenon, the positive aspect of which is to be responsible. Personal freedom can turn into simple arbitrariness if it is not experienced from the point of view of responsibility (V. Frankl). A person is doomed to freedom and, at the same time, cannot escape responsibility. It is another matter that for many people, peace is more expensive than a free choice between good and evil, and therefore they readily "write off" their sins (ignorant deeds, meanness, betrayal) on "objective conditions" - the imperfection of society, bad educators, dysfunctional families, in

which they grew up, and so on. The Marxist thesis about the fundamental dependence of good and evil in man on external (social) conditions has always been a pretext for avoiding personal responsibility.

TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE

• 1. What are the concepts and main signs of will?
• 2. Show the importance of will in the organization of activities and communication.
• 3. What is the volitional regulation of behavior?
• 4. What are the primary, secondary and tertiary volitional qualities of a person?
• 5. Do you consider yourself a strong-willed person?
• 6. Try using the questionnaire to determine the degree of development of your willpower. When answering the questions, mark in the table with a "+" one of the three answers chosen by you: "yes", "don't know (sometimes)", "no":
• 1. Are you able to complete the work you have started that is not interesting to you, regardless of the fact that time and circumstances allow you to break away and then return to it again?
• 2. Do you overcome internal resistance without much effort when you need to do something unpleasant to you (for example, go on duty on a day off)?
• 3. When you find yourself in a conflict situation - at work (study) or at home - are you able to pull yourself together enough to look at the situation soberly with maximum objectivity?
• 4. If you are on a diet, can you overcome culinary temptations?
• 5. Will you find the strength to get up earlier than usual in the morning, as planned in the evening?
• 6. Will you stay at the scene to testify?
• 7. Do you respond quickly to emails?
• 8. If you are afraid of an upcoming flight on an airplane or a visit to the dentist's office, can you easily overcome this feeling and not change your mind at the last moment?
• 9. Will you take a very unpleasant drug that your doctor strongly recommends to you?
• 10. Will you rashly keep this word, even if its implementation will bring you a lot of trouble, in other words - are you a man of your word?
• 11. Do you hesitate to go on a business trip (business trip) to an unfamiliar city?
• 12. Do you strictly adhere to the daily routine: the time of waking up, eating, studying, cleaning and other things?
• 13. Do you disapprove of library debtors?
• 14. The most interesting TV show will not make you put off urgent work. Is it so?
• 15. Will you be able to interrupt the quarrel and shut up, no matter how offensive the words "of the opposite side" seem to you?

Answer options	Answer number															Total
	1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12	13	14	15
Yes
Not
I don't know sometimes

Key to the questionnaire

Summarize the answers received according to the point system: "yes" - 2 points; "no" - 0 points; "I don't know" - 1 point.

• 0 - 12 points. With willpower, things are not going well with you. You just do what is easier and more interesting, even if it might hurt you in some way. You often treat your duties carelessly, which can cause various troubles for you. Your position is expressed by the well-known dictum "what do I need most of all?.." You perceive any request, any duty almost as physical pain. The point here is not only a weak will, but also selfishness. Try to look at yourself taking into account such an assessment, maybe this will help you change your attitude towards others and “remake” something in your character. If you succeed, you will only benefit from this.
• 13 - 21 points. Your willpower is average. If you encounter an obstacle, you take action to overcome it. But if you see a workaround, you will immediately use it. Don't overdo it, but keep your word. You will try to do unpleasant work, although you will grumble. You will not take on extra responsibilities of your own free will. This sometimes negatively affects the attitude of leaders towards you, and it does not characterize you from the best side in the eyes of the people around you. If you want to achieve more in life, train your will.
• 22 - 30 points. Your will power is fine. You can rely on - you will not let you down. You are not afraid of new assignments, or long trips, or those things that scare others. But sometimes your firm and uncompromising position on unprincipled issues annoys others. Willpower is very good, but you also need to have such qualities as flexibility, condescension, kindness.

LITERATURE

1. Vygotsky L.S. Sobr. op. In 6 vols. T. 3. - M., 1983. - S. 454 - 465.
2. Vysotsky A.I. Volitional activity of schoolchildren and methods of its study. - Chelyabinsk, 1979. - S. 67.
3. Gomezo M.V., Domashenko I.A. Atlas of psychology. - S. 194, 204 - 213.
4. Kotyplo V.K. The development of volitional behavior in preschoolers. - Kyiv, 1971. - S. 11 - 51.
5. Nemov R.S. Psychology. Book. 1. - S. 357 - 366.
6. General psychology. - M., 1986. - S. 385 - 400.
7. Psychological dictionary. - S. 53, 54.
8. Psychology. Vocabulary. - S. 62, 63.
9. Rubinshtein S.L. Fundamentals of General Psychology. T. 2. - S. 182 - 211.
10. Compilation of tests for the selection of candidates for employment (Methodology of the USA). - S. 20 - 22.
11. Experimental studies of volitional activity. - Ryazan, 1986. - S. 3 - 23.

Information block. Will is a person's conscious regulation of his behavior and activities, expressed in the ability to overcome internal and external difficulties in committing

Will- 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. The main function of the will is: conscious self-regulation of all forms of human activity in the difficult conditions of his life. There are two associated other functions of the will: activating (motivating, stimulating) and inhibitory.

A specific feature of volitional motivation is the experience of the state: "I - must", instead of: "I - want."

The characteristic features of volitional motivation are:

1. Conscious purposefulness of actions. It manifests itself in the fact that a person deliberately slows down or activates his activity to perform any activity that has a conscious goal.

2. The relationship of volitional behavior with the need to overcome obstacles, both internal and external.

Internal subjective obstacles due to human behavior, his personal characteristics. They are can be called:

fatigue,

fear,

shame

false self-love

The desire to act according to a template, etc.

External obstacles - these are various objectively existing objects and conditions of human life.

Volitional actions vary in their complexity:

1. simple,

2. complex.

In the case when the goal is clearly visible in the motivation, directly turning into action and not going beyond the existing situation, one speaks of simple act of will.

Complicated volitional action presupposes the presence between the stimulating impulse and the direct action of additional links.

The volitional process proceeds in several stages:

1. The emergence of motivation and goal setting.

2. Discussion and struggle of motives. Discussion can take place both in communication with other people, and at the level of self-consciousness in the form of a mental dialogue with oneself.

3. Making a decision. Here the choice of the goal is carried out, in accordance with the leading motive.

4. Execution.

Motives are divided into:

1. Attractions,

2. Desires.

attraction always vaguely and unclearly, a person realizes that he is missing something, or needs something, but what exactly he does not understand. Because of its indeterminacy, attraction cannot develop into activity.

Wish- conscious knowledge of what a person needs, what there is a need for. Desire acts as a conscious urge to action, while realizing the possible ways and means to achieve the goal. The executive stage is always associated with one time or another, i.e. the period within which the decision must be implemented. If the execution of the decision is postponed for a long time, then they speak of intentions to do something. For a decision to be translated into action, a person must consciously make an effort to implement it. After the action is taken to implement the decision, an assessment of the achieved result is made. It is accompanied by special emotional experiences of satisfaction or dissatisfaction.

Will is characterized by:

1. By the force of manifestation of willpower,

2. Purposefulness.

Strength of will manifests itself at all stages of the act of will. Its value depends on what obstacles are overcome with the help of volitional action and what results are obtained.

purposefulness- conscious and active orientation of the individual to a certain result of activity.