Will (volitional processes). Volitional processes

Will is a person’s ability to consciously manage his emotions and feelings, control his behavior and direct his activities to achieve life goals. Service often puts a sailor in situations in which he is obliged to subordinate his actions to orders, discipline, and a sense of duty. The qualities of a person, his mental states and processes, expressed in mental activity to mobilize one’s own capabilities to overcome difficulties standing in the way of achieving a goal, are called volitional.

The scientific basis for understanding human volitional actions is determinism - the doctrine of universal causation. A person in his activities is always guided by some goals. Like all mental processes, decision-making is always determined by objective reasons, arises in the process of reflecting objective reality and has a material basis.

By it's nature volitional actions– reflex acts that occur in response to the actions of external stimuli. A person’s volitional actions become purposeful thanks to the regulatory function of the second signaling system. A person always formulates his goal in words that have already been associated with certain actions in the past. The actualization of these connections when setting a goal leads to the implementation or delay of an action. In all cases, words are triggering signals that guide and regulate volitional actions.

Words indicate the goals of an action and the need to carry them out or delay them, ways to achieve the goal, the results of each action and the attitude towards them, and new goals that arise in the course of the action. All volitional actions in all their links have as their material basis a second signaling system, which regulates (thanks to the already formed connections between word and action) the execution or delay of a given action.

Volitional actions are just as determined as all other phenomena of the surrounding reality. Of course, a person is free to make and carry out his decisions, but the causality of the material world does not mean the necessity of all phenomena. Necessary phenomena arise from the essential interrelations of processes occurring in the surrounding world and most fully reflect objective laws nature and society. Random ones are the result of insignificant connections between phenomena.

This also applies to human actions. Some of them are based on significant and important motives for a given person and are a true expression of his attitude towards society and the people around him. Others are random and appear in connection with short-term momentary moods caused by insignificant circumstances. The first, which a person himself recognizes as necessary (no matter how difficult they may sometimes be for him), are an expression of true freedom. The second, random, produced under the influence of a fleeting mood,

They indicate a lack of freedom, subordination to circumstances and mood. The direction of a person’s volitional actions depends on his worldview, interests and needs, the direction of mental activity, life experience, and on how much he can implement necessary actions without becoming a slave to random circumstances. A person is always responsible for his actions and the higher it is, the higher his development and the greater the opportunity to make decisions knowledgeably.

Volitional activity always consists of certain volitional actions, which contain all the signs and qualities of will (Fig. 35). The initial moment of volitional action is the formulation and awareness of the goal of the action, the thought of what will be achieved. Conscious goal

Determines the method and nature of a person’s actions to achieve it. If the goal is not realized by the person, then the action will lack purposefulness and will not be volitional: volitional action is always conscious.

Having a goal does not always mean deciding to act in that direction. Consciousness of a goal and acceptance of it for fulfillment are two different, sometimes spaced apart in time, acts of volition. This is due to the possibility of oscillation between agreeing with the goal and objecting to it. In addition, a person often faces several goals, often incompatible with each other, but requiring a mandatory choice of one of them. In such cases, a person has to “weigh” the degree of necessity, importance, and priority of each of them.

Oscillations may arise between pleasant goals and those that are indifferent or even unpleasant, but are dictated by necessity, social or military duty, awareness of their importance for society, the team, the ship, the performance of a combat mission, etc. In such cases, the true will of a person is revealed - the ability to subordinate one’s actions to the requirements of objective necessity. Selecting a target from several that have equivalent important, in itself requires a certain volitional effort.

The next stage of volitional action is the choice of the method and means of achieving the goal. In many cases, the way to achieve a goal is realized immediately after it is set. This usually happens when the goal has already been set in the past and the person has no doubt that the tried and tested method is the best. However, it is often necessary to choose the most appropriate course of action from several possible ones. In this case, a person analyzes possible methods, taking into account the advantages and disadvantages of each. And if he does not have sufficient knowledge and, especially, practical experience actions in such situations, he begins to hesitate, which indicates a complex internal struggle of motives. Sometimes oscillations occur between such methods, some of which are consistent with the desires of a person, while others do not correspond to them, but are dictated by necessity.

Evaluating incoming information, the struggle of motives, choosing the most appropriate course of action in specific conditions and, finally, making a decision - this is the essence of any activity, any action. But this is especially true for modern conditions when a person is part of a highly automated system in all areas of production and public life. It is clear that in military service in general and in a combat situation in particular, the price of this most complex analytical and synthetic internal activity of any specialist - from a private to the commander of a ship, unit, formation - becomes decisive. And when a decision needs to be made not even within seconds, but in a split second, then there is no time for hesitation. And yet, an experienced, well-trained specialist, even in these fractions of a second, does not act automatically, but consciously, obeying the only this moment necessary.

Thus, the choice of a course of action, like the choice of a goal, often involves a clash of personal interests and public duty. This often creates significant difficulties in choosing the right way which will lead to the chosen goal. Sometimes this requires a lot of effort.

Then comes the execution phase decision taken. A person does not always carry out the decision made, but without its implementation it is a volitional action; this stage is the most difficult. Various doubts arise, sometimes implementation is not completed. This happens because, along with volitional actions, the execution of which causes almost no emotions, there are many others, the execution of which is associated with negative emotions. Such actions are carried out only due to the awareness of their necessity.

The cause of negative emotions can be physical or mental stress, conflicting motivation of two necessary volitional actions. A significant role in the emergence of such contradictions is played by the lack of thoughtfulness of the decision made. Inexperienced person, bad knower of life and himself, often makes an erroneous or insufficiently thought-out decision and, after starting to implement it, finds himself in a difficult situation. Often, in the course of implementing a correctly made decision, new, sometimes even more significant difficulties arise than those caused by an imprudent decision.

Sometimes a situation arises when changes in the circumstances of an action or requirements make it necessary to abandon a decision or suspend its implementation. A strong-willed person must be able, if necessary, to refuse a decision or delay its implementation. Difficulties in choosing a goal and a way to achieve it, as well as in implementing or abandoning a decision, do not always boil down to hesitation, doubt or delay. All this may often be absent. A person can, without hesitation, but after carefully weighing everything, accept correct solution and achieve its implementation despite the difficulties that arise. It is this behavior that characterizes his strong will.

The main condition for successfully overcoming emerging difficulties is the presence of strong convictions and an established worldview. Having clear principles and a clear behavioral model, a person will not hesitate where a decision follows from his beliefs and principles. If the decision made corresponds to his worldview, he will vigorously pursue its implementation, overcoming difficulties. And, on the contrary, a person without strong convictions and an unclear line of behavior will most likely have various hesitations and doubts, he will have great difficulty making a decision and will more easily leave the intended path.

Human behavior is always characterized by a certain direction, so it is obvious that there are always people whose activities are guided by selfish interests, and those who are guided by high moral principles and public duty. Historically, the officers of the Russian fleet for the most part have always been people whose interests, first of all, are subordinated to the interests of defending their Fatherland, which has always helped them in overcoming the difficulties of military service.

Overcoming difficulties in volitional activity largely depends on goals and their meaning. The more significant the goal, the more difficulties will have to be overcome in achieving it. Small, insignificant goals do not encourage one to overcome difficulties, and a person more easily gives up on achieving them.

An important condition is a clear, clear awareness of the goal facing a person. This makes it easier to choose a solution and evaluate what has been achieved. And vice versa, if the goal is vaguely realized, in the very general view, planning actions to achieve it is significantly more difficult and it is easier to leave the intended path, being satisfied with any result.

If a goal is difficult to achieve, then intermediate ones are often outlined. Achieving the final, main goal occurs in stages. Along with a clear understanding of the goal, how to achieve it and its accessibility, an important role is also played by the desire to achieve the goal and a firm belief in the need to do this and not otherwise. The most important role is played by the moral consequences of fulfilling or not fulfilling the plan and public assessment - approval or censure. Formation of worldview, strong beliefs and moral principles– a necessary prerequisite and basis for the development of high volitional qualities.

When training and educating subordinates, an officer must remember that the volitional qualities of an individual are acquired and formed in the process of its development along with moral qualities. Formation of the emotional-volitional sphere is one of the ways to prepare a sailor for battle. It includes the education of volitional qualities of the individual (Table 2) and is associated with the possibility of temporary psychological mobilization of the professional abilities of a subordinate.

Volitional qualities, which represent a type of mental formation, express stable characteristics of the will. The first of these qualities - determination - is characterized by the ability to set important, difficult, but significant goals for society and for oneself, requiring long-term and hard work. Qualities such as persistence, activity, initiative, independence, determination, self-criticism, self-control, willingness to take risks, and responsibility characterize a person’s ability to act in difficult conditions. And perseverance, courage, courage determine his ability to subordinate his actions to the demands of necessity.

Study, development, accounting of volitional phenomena and their individual characteristics- an indispensable condition for the success of a naval officer.

table 2

Scheme of volitional personality traits

Any mental activity of a person can be either involuntary, unintentional, or purposeful, voluntary. Unintentional activity requires no effort or planning. Involuntary actions are impulsive and lack clear awareness. This could be, for example, a person’s behavior in a state of passion, trance, or other altered states of consciousness.

In situations where it is necessary to be active in order to achieve some consciously set goal, volitional processes are activated. Thus, we can say that will is a person’s ability to consciously and actively manage his activities, overcoming obstacles to achieve his goal and creating additional motivation for action when the existing motivation is not sufficient. The amount of effort that a person makes to overcome the obstacle that has arisen characterizes the degree of development of his volitional sphere.

So, the difference involuntary actions, i.e., actions performed without the participation of the volitional sphere of a person, is that they are the result of the emergence of unconscious or insufficiently clearly recognized motives (drives, attitudes, etc.), are impulsive in nature, and lack a clear plan.

Arbitrary actions, on the contrary, presuppose awareness of the goal, a preliminary representation of those operations that can ensure its achievement, and their order.

Voluntary processes are generally characterized by the following features:

1) a voluntary reaction is always felt or conscious;

2) a voluntary reaction occurs in response to the emergence of a vital need and is a means of satisfying it.

3) a voluntary reaction, as a rule, is not forced and can be replaced by a person’s own choice with another with the same vital meaning;

4) in a situation where a voluntary reaction is nevertheless forced, it can be consciously regulated in the course of its implementation.

Highlighting volitional processes into a special layer of mental phenomena, psychologists do not contrast them with cognitive and emotional processes, since the same process can be simultaneously cognitive, and to a certain extent emotional, and volitional (for example, voluntary attention).

The initial motivations of a person to action are needs, therefore, the rudiments of will are already contained in them. Unlike a need, a motive is a mental incentive to carry out an activity, being no longer only a stimulus, but a personal processing of a stimulus (need, need). If unambiguous motives prevail, they enhance the possibility of achieving the goal. The emergence of motives that contradict the achievement of the intended goal inhibits a person’s activity (in some situations this is a manifestation of lack of will).

Thus, the will has two oppositely directed, but interrelated functions: incentive and inhibitory.

The incentive function is provided by human activity, which generates action due to the specific internal states of the subject, revealed at the moment of the action itself.

The inhibitory function of the will does not always interfere with obtaining a positive result from an activity. Acting in unity with the incentive function, it is characterized by restraining unwanted manifestations of activity. For example, a person simultaneously has an urge to engage in two types of activities, but if he takes on both things at the same time, it will be to the detriment of both one and the other. There is a struggle of motives. The motive that a person evaluates as more significant at the moment generates the incentive function of the will, and the less significant one becomes the object of the inhibitory function. In addition, the inhibitory function also manifests itself in cases when a person’s impulses do not correspond to his ideas about the proper model of behavior. For example, if a person is very hungry, he may have the urge to steal a loaf of bread from the bakery. But for most people, such behavior is internally unacceptable, and it will be inhibited by volitional effort.

A person’s volitional manifestations are largely determined by those to whom he is inclined to attribute responsibility for the results of his own actions. If a person tends to blame external factors for his failures - circumstances, other people, it is much more difficult for him to exercise volitional efforts than for someone who takes full responsibility for the results of his activities. Let's consider an example close to students - preparing for an exam. Friends arriving at the wrong time, noise in the next room, rainy weather that makes you sleepy, an interesting movie on TV that you can’t miss - everyone is familiar with such distractions. But a person with a developed volitional sphere of the psyche and who is responsible for the results of his activities will, through volitional efforts, resist all factors that may have an impact. Negative influence to these results.

There are a number of personal qualities that are considered in psychology as volitional qualities:

1) determination is complete confidence in the feasibility of the decision;

2) self-control - a manifestation of the inhibitory function of the will, which consists in suppressing such human states that prevent the achievement of the goal;

3) courage - the manifestation of willpower to overcome obstacles dangerous to a person’s well-being and life;

4) persistence – the ability to perform repeated volitional actions over a long period of time to achieve a certain goal (it should not be confused with stubbornness – inadequate persistence without sufficient objective grounds);

5) diligence - the quality of will, manifested in the accurate, rigorous and systematic execution of decisions made;

6) patience and endurance are also strong-willed qualities necessary for the purposeful achievement of results;

7) discipline is evidence of the strong-willed qualities of an individual, since discipline teaches a person to overcome external and internal difficulties.

Each of the volitional qualities has its own antipode - a quality that indicates the underdevelopment of the volitional sphere, such as indecision, lack of initiative, pliability, etc.

Strong will, manifested in self-control, courage, perseverance, endurance and patience, is called courage.

Volitional action- this is an internal motivating force, formed not only by typological and biological inclinations, but also determined by everyday education, self-control, and self-persuasion. Therefore, psychologists believe that the will is educated.

However, it should be noted that the formation of strong-willed personality traits can be prevented by improper upbringing of a child. There are two extremes in education, which are very unfavorable for the development of the volitional sphere:

1) the child was spoiled, all his wishes and whims were unquestioningly fulfilled, therefore the inhibitory function of the will was not formed in him;

2) the child, on the contrary, was suppressed by the harsh will and instructions of adults, his initiative was suppressed, and therefore, having matured, he became incapable of making independent decisions.

Parents who want to see their child successful must take time to take care of the development of his will. To do this, it is necessary to avoid the above extremes and, in addition, always explain to a child, even a small one, what caused the demands, decisions, prohibitions that adults impose on him, and what their expediency is.

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

Structure of volitional action looks like a sequential implementation of the following stages:

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

2) awareness of the ways to achieve the goal;

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

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

5) accepting one of the possibilities as a solution;

6) implementation of the decision made.

Volitional action can have both simple and more complex forms.

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

A complex volitional action in its most pronounced specific form is characterized, first of all, by the fact that between the stimulus and the action there is a complex conscious process that mediates the action. An action is preceded by a calculation of its consequences and awareness of its motives, decision-making, the emergence of an intention to carry it out, and drawing up a plan for its implementation.

Thus, volitional action becomes complex process, including a whole chain of different stages and a sequence of different stages or phases, whereas in a simple volitional action all these moments and phases do not necessarily have to be presented in expanded form.

Complex volitional action can be divided into 9 stages, carried out in stages:

1) the emergence of an impulse;

2) preliminary setting of a goal and the emergence of a desire to achieve it;

3) awareness of a number of possibilities for achieving the goal;

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

5) stage of discussion and struggle of motives;

6) accepting one of the possibilities as a solution;

7) decision making;

8) implementation of the decision made;

9) overcoming external obstacles in implementing the decision and achieving the goal. It should be noted that a complex volitional action does not in all cases cause a struggle of motives. This only happens when the goal is subjective and arises spontaneously. If it is conditioned by external factors and its achievement is necessary for the subject, he only needs to recognize it by forming a certain image of the future result of the action. The emergence of a struggle of motives is associated with the presence of several equivalent goals at the same time (for example, a housewife simultaneously wants to cook something special for dinner and watch her favorite TV series).

When making a decision, the subject understands that the further course of events depends on him. The idea of the consequences of one’s action gives rise to a sense of responsibility specific to a conscious act of will.

The decision-making process itself can take various forms.

1. Sometimes the decision is not differentiated in consciousness as a special stage. Volitional action proceeds without any special, consciously allocated in it special solution. This occurs in those situations when the impulse that has arisen in the subject at the moment is not contradicted by any other internal aspects of mental activity (for example, insufficient mental activity), and the very implementation of the goal corresponding to this impulse does not encounter any external obstacles.

In this case, it is enough for the subject to imagine the goal and realize its necessity for action to follow. (For example, a person wants to have a snack, he gets up from the cozy sofa in front of the TV and heads to the refrigerator - no matter how trivial, but this is a manifestation of volitional effort.)

2. In some cases, the decision comes as if by itself, since it is a complete resolution of the conflict that caused the struggle of motives, i.e. the decision is made not because the subject considers it optimal, but because in the given circumstances no other decision is no longer possible. (For example, in the event of a fire, a person jumps from the third floor not because he likes this solution, but because he has no other chance to save his life.)

3. And, finally, sometimes it happens that until the very end and even when the decision is made, each of the opposing motives still retains its strength, not a single possibility has disappeared by itself, and the decision in favor of one motive is made not because the effective the strength of the rest is exhausted, not because other motives have lost their attractiveness, but because the necessity or expediency of sacrificing opposing motives is realized. (For example, a sleepless night is over, you really want to sleep, but you have to go to the lecture by 8:00, otherwise there will be problems with getting a test.)

Now a few words about the decision-making plan. It can be schematic or more detailed and conscious - it depends both on the personal volitional qualities of the person and on the situation requiring decision-making.

Some people, when executing a decision, try to foresee all possible factors influencing the result, plan each step clearly and in detail, and consistently and accurately adhere to the plan. Others limit themselves to general scheme, in which only the main stages and key points of activity are indicated. If we consider the dependence of planning on the situation, we can note that usually a plan for immediate actions is developed in more detail, while actions delayed in time are outlined more schematically or even vaguely.

As for the relationship between action planning and the volitional qualities of an individual, the patterns here are as follows. The tendency to follow a plan in detail, which dominates the will, deprives it of flexibility. The plan strictly determines the will, which in turn strictly determines human behavior. As a result, the lack of flexibility of will leads to a lack of flexibility of behavior, and this does not make it possible to respond timely and adequately to changing circumstances.

If the subject’s volitional sphere is not only strong, but also has sufficient flexibility, then, in order to achieve the final result, he will be able to adjust the initial plan of action and introduce into it all those changes that, due to newly discovered circumstances, will be necessary for optimal achievement of the goal.

At the end of the conversation about the volitional sphere, a few words about violations of the will. There are three types of such violations.

1. Abulia– lack of motivation to act, inability to make decisions and implement them with full awareness of the need for this. Abulia occurs due to brain pathology. A person suffering from abulia is characterized by so-called field behavior. He does not perform actions purposefully, but only accidentally falling into the stimulus field. For example, moving aimlessly around the room, a person “stumbles” with his gaze on some object and takes it - not because he needs this object for some reason, but simply because he came across it.

2. Apraxia– complex violation of purposefulness of actions. It is caused by tissue damage in the frontal lobes of the brain. Apraxia manifests itself in violation voluntary regulation movements and actions that do not obey a given program and make it impossible to carry out an act of will.

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

Violations of the will, caused by severe mental disorders and occurring relatively rarely, should not be confused with ordinary weakness of will - the result of the conditions of upbringing described above. In the latter case, it is possible to correct weakness of will, to educate the will against the background of a change in the social situation of personality development and with the person’s ability for self-reflection and critical thinking.

To summarize what has been said, it should be noted that the will plays vital role in overcoming life difficulties, resolving major and minor problems, achieving life success. One of the main differences between humans and representatives of the animal world is, in addition to abstract thinking and intelligence, the presence of a volitional sphere, without which any abilities would remain useless and unactualized.

Lecture No. 13. Consciousness

The fundamental difference between man as a species and other animals is his ability to think abstractly, plan his activities, reflect on his past and evaluate it, make plans for the future, developing and implementing a program for the implementation of these plans. All of these listed qualities of a person are associated with the sphere of his consciousness.

Ideas about consciousness were formed on the basis of a variety of approaches, from the point of view of both materialistic and idealistic philosophy. Neither one nor the other position gave a final answer and did not come to a single definition of what consciousness is. Therefore, in psychology the topic of consciousness is one of the most complex. Many major psychologists from both foreign and domestic schools have addressed this topic.

The difficulty in studying consciousness is that it can only be studied using introspection data; therefore, it is impossible to create objective methods for its study. In addition, all mental phenomena appear to a person only to the extent to which they are realized. Many of them may not reach the threshold of awareness. Therefore, self-observation data may be distorted and inaccurate. And, finally, the third factor that complicates the study of consciousness is the impossibility of isolating in it separate time intervals, separate units of study, since consciousness, when it works (i.e. a person is not sleeping, is not fainting, etc.) , is a continuous flow and represents the parallel flow of many mental processes.

As a result of many years of studying the problem of consciousness, psychologists of various schools have formed their own ideas about it. But regardless of what positions the researchers adhered to, they invariably associated with the concept of consciousness the presence of a person’s reflexive ability, that is, the ability of consciousness to cognize other mental phenomena and itself. It is the presence of such an ability in a person that determines the existence and development of psychology as a science, since without the possibility of reflection, the entire layer of mental phenomena would be inaccessible to knowledge and study. Simply put, without reflection, a person, like any other animal, would not even know that he has a psyche.

IN domestic psychology It is customary to define consciousness as the highest form of generalized reflection of the objective stable properties and patterns of the surrounding world, inherent only to man as a socio-historical subject. It contributes to the formation of a person’s internal model of the external world, which is a necessary condition for human cognitive activity and his activities to transform the surrounding reality.

Consciousness is not given to a person automatically at birth; it develops in the course of his interaction with other people, in the course of assimilating social experience.

Thus, it is legitimate to assert that it is born in being, reflects being and creates being.

In addition, it should be noted that individual consciousness can be formed and developed only in inextricable connection with social consciousness. A person cannot fully exist outside the life of society and outside the system social relations. Therefore, he masters consciousness as an ideal form of reflection only in the process of inclusion in real life and activities. Without mastering this form, a person cannot develop as a person. At the same time, the process of internalization (i.e. transition external activities into the internal) is not its transition to a pre-existing plane of consciousness. This interior plan not given to man a priori. The process of internalization creates this blueprint.

From the above it follows that in the phylogenetic and ontogenetic process of the development of consciousness, human activity plays a crucial role.

The concept of “activity” in the strict sense is applicable only in relation to humans; in relation to animals it is conditional and implies “life activity”. Human labor activity and consciousness in phylogenesis mutually influence each other. Cooperative activity people was the work of creating specific production products - first elementary, then more and more complex. This process required conscious anticipation of the results of activities. Necessary for labor, it was formed in labor. The mutual development of consciousness and activity begins from the moment when a person creates the first tool. This is where the characteristic labor activity human purposefulness of action, based on anticipation of the result and performed in accordance with the goal. This is the most significant manifestation of human consciousness, which fundamentally distinguishes his activity from the unconscious, inherently instinctive behavior of animals.

An important difference between a person and an animal lies in his ability not only to create, but also to preserve tools, while an animal can use a tool only in a specific visually effective situation. This is evidenced by numerous experiments with monkeys. The monkey can use a long stick to reach an object of interest (say, a banana) or to knock it out of the flow of the cage. But, having used the stick, the monkey immediately ceases to perceive it as a tool, may throw it away or break it, and another time in a similar situation it will again act by trial and error. The need to preserve the tool of labor is fixed in a person’s consciousness. Then, if it is lost, he will create one similar to it. Then he will improve the tool in relation to the goal of the action, exchange acquired skills with other people, etc. This description is schematic, but it gives an idea of how, in the course of objective work, a person develops memory, a motivational sphere, as well as visual and effective thinking begins to form visual-figurative and abstract thinking, i.e. the most important mental processes from the sphere of consciousness.

One more important factor in the development of consciousness is the formation and development of language. It was thanks to language that a radical change in human reflective abilities occurred. It becomes possible to reflect reality in the human brain not only in the form of images, but also in verbal form. This allows you to plan your actions, because operating only with images, this is extremely difficult. Thanks to language, a person gets the opportunity to exchange experience and knowledge with other people. New generations can receive the experience of previous ones in a concentrated form. A person gains the opportunity to gain knowledge about phenomena that he has never personally encountered.

Summarizing the above-described interaction of human consciousness, his activity and language, we can distinguish the stages of development of consciousness.

1. The initial stage, when consciousness exists only in the form of a mental image that reveals the world around it to the subject.

2. At the next stage of development, activity also becomes the object of consciousness. A person begins to consciously relate to the actions of other people and to his own actions. This is closely related to the process of language formation, which gives designations to objects and actions.

3. Awareness of objective actions leads to the internalization of external actions and operations, their transition to the plane of consciousness in a verbal-logical form. Instead of disparate images, a person develops a holistic internal model a reality in which one can mentally act and plan activities.

In the structure of consciousness, domestic psychologists, following A.V. Petrovsky, consider four main characteristics.

1. Consciousness is the totality of knowledge about the world around us. In addition, it allows this knowledge to be shared among all people. The very word “consciousness” implies this: consciousness is a joint, cumulative knowledge, i.e. individual consciousness cannot develop separately from social consciousness and language, which is the basis of abstract thinking - highest form consciousness. Thus, the structure of consciousness includes all cognitive processes - sensation, perception, memory, thinking, imagination, with the help of which a person continuously expands his knowledge about the world and about himself. A violation of any of the cognitive processes automatically becomes a violation of consciousness as a whole.

2. A clear distinction between subject and object, between “I” and “not I” is recorded in consciousness. Man is the only creature that is capable of distinguishing itself from the rest of the world and opposing itself to it. At the initial stage of its development, human consciousness is directed outward. A person, endowed with sense organs from birth on the basis of data delivered by analyzers, recognizes the world as something separate from him, and no longer identifies himself with his tribe, with natural phenomena, etc.

In addition, only a person is capable of turning his mental activity towards himself. This means that the structure of consciousness includes self-awareness and self-knowledge - the ability to make a conscious assessment of one’s behavior, one’s individual qualities, one’s role and place in social relations. The identification of oneself as a subject and the development of self-awareness occurred in phylogenesis and occurs in the process of ontogenesis of each person.

3. Consciousness ensures the implementation of human goal-setting activity. At the end of the labor process, a real result is achieved, which in an ideal form was already formed in the mind before the labor process began. A person imagined in advance the final goal and product of his activity, thereby forming motivation. He planned actions in accordance with this idea, subordinated his volitional efforts to it, and adjusted activities already at the stage of its implementation so that the final result would maximally correspond to the original idea of it. Violation in the implementation of goal-setting activity, its coordination and direction is one of the types of disorders of consciousness.

4. The structure of consciousness also includes the emotional sphere of a person. It is responsible for the formation of emotional assessments in interpersonal relationships and self-esteem, emotional reactions to phenomena in the surrounding world, to internal phenomena. If a person’s emotional assessments and reactions are adequate, this helps regulate his mental processes and behavior, and correct relationships with other people. In some mental illnesses, a disturbance of consciousness is expressed by a disorder specifically in the sphere of feelings and relationships.

In addition to the listed characteristics, in the structure of consciousness a number of researchers (V.P. Zinchenko and his followers) distinguish two layers - existential and reflexive. Existential is “consciousness for being,” and reflective is “consciousness for consciousness.”

The existential layer includes:

1) sensory images;

2) biodynamic characteristics of movements;

3) experience of actions and skills.

Through existential consciousness, complex problems of human behavior and activity are solved. This is due to the fact that in each specific behavioral situation, for maximum efficiency of the behavioral reaction, the sensory image and the necessary motor program that are necessary at the given moment must be updated. For example, while crossing the road, a person notices a car turning around the corner. He recognizes a given object by comparing it with an image in his mind; in accordance with sensory experience, he estimates the speed of the car, the distance to it, and depending on this assessment, he updates the optimal movement program - he speeds up the pace or stops and lets the car pass. It would seem like such an elementary task. But it is complex and complex, since it contains so many constituent operations of existential consciousness, and its solution occurs in an extremely short period of time.

The world of objective and production activity, and the world of ideas, imaginations, and cultural symbols and signs correlate with existential consciousness. The world of ideas, concepts, everyday and scientific knowledge refers to reflective consciousness.

Reflective consciousness includes meanings and meanings. It can be considered that the existential layer of consciousness is the basis of the reflexive, contains its origins, since meanings and meanings arise in the existential layer.

Meaning is the objective content of social consciousness, assimilated by a person. Meanings are expressed in words and can contain abstract images (as opposed to sensory images of existential consciousness), everyday and scientific concepts, operational and objective meanings, images of objective actions. After all, words and language are not only a means of communication. These are carriers of an abstract (verbal-logical) form of thinking. It is this form that is responsible for creating meanings and meanings.

Meaning is a person's subjective interpretation of objective meanings. Meanings are associated with the process of people understanding each other and the process of assimilation of new information. Misunderstanding can be caused by significant differences in the interpretation of meanings, i.e. when the same meaning for different people has different meanings. As an example, we can cite the misunderstanding between representatives of the generation of parents and children, and especially grandfathers and grandchildren, due to a significant change in the meanings of each new generation - take, for example, youth jargon or the specific language of the “computer” generation. The greatest identity of meanings exists at the level of scientific concepts, but here, too, discrepancies are possible not only in different areas of scientific knowledge, but also between representatives of different positions in the same science (this can be seen in the example of psychology). The processes of mutual transformation of meanings and meanings (understanding meanings and signifying meanings) are a means of increasing the constructiveness of dialogue and the level of mutual understanding.

The functions of consciousness include the following.

1. Reflection function.

2. Goal-setting function.

3. Creative function (creativity is the path and means of self-knowledge and development of human consciousness through the perception of his own creations).

4. The function of assessing and regulating behavior and activity.

5. The function of building attitudes towards the world, other people, and oneself.

6. Spiritual function – determining the formation of individuality and the development of spirituality.

7. Reflexive function, which is the main function characterizing consciousness.

The objects of reflection are the reflection of the world, thinking about the world or worldview, methods of self-regulation, self-awareness, and the processes of reflection themselves.

When talking about the mechanisms of consciousness, one should not have in mind exclusively the brain activity of a particular individual. The brain is the biological basis of the psyche and consciousness. But consciousness is a product of the interaction of many systems. This is both the individual himself and social groups, in which he is formed as an individual, and society in a specific historical situation, and the entire path of cultural historical development humanity. An important property of these systems is the possibility of creating new formations in consciousness that cannot be reduced to certain components of the original system. Consciousness acts as an important functional organ of interaction between these systems. The properties of consciousness as a functional organ are:

1) reactivity (ability to respond);

2) sensitivity (the ability to feel and sympathize);

3) dialogism (the ability to perceive others like oneself, as well as self-awareness as the ability to conduct an internal dialogue with oneself);

4) polyphony (multiplicity of mental processes occurring simultaneously);

5) spontaneity of development (the consciousness of each person is unique, its development in ontogenesis cannot be strictly determined either by individual qualities or by the influence of the social environment - something intervenes that cannot be controlled and classified, and this is what constitutes the mystery of man, which psychologists and philosophers struggle with, theologians and anthropologists).

Biological and socio-demographic foundations of health. Lecture 3 The influence of environmental factors on human health (2 hours)

Biological and socio-demographic foundations of health. Lecture 4 Medical and demographic aspects of public health (2 hours)

Will is a person’s mental activity that determines his purposeful actions and actions related to overcoming difficulties and obstacles. Difficulties and obstacles can be external (independent of a person, objective obstacles. External interference, opposition from other people, natural obstacles) and internal (depending on the person himself, this is not the desire to do what is needed, the presence of opposing impulses, the person’s passivity, Bad mood, habit of acting thoughtlessly, laziness, feeling of fear, etc.). A person’s will is expressed in how much he is able to overcome obstacles and difficulties on the way to a goal, how much he can manage his behavior, and subordinate his activities to certain tasks. Overcoming obstacles and difficulties requires the so-called volitional effort - a special state of neuropsychic tension that mobilizes a person’s physical, intellectual and moral strength. Will manifests itself not only in the ability to achieve a goal, but also in the ability to abstain from something. Will manifests itself in all types of human activity. The main function of the will is to regulate actions and behavior, guide the needs, desires, and motives of a person. Actions related to overcoming difficulties encountered along the path of life are called volitional actions. Volitional action is carried out according to a person’s own decision; it is conscious and intentional. A person makes this personal decision based on external or internal necessity. Volitional actions have the following stages: First stage- preparatory - goal setting, i.e. expected and intended result of an action. A goal is set to satisfy needs; to set a goal, it is necessary to understand the motives (motivation) that prompted a person to act. Those. Every human action is performed for something (goal) and for some reason (motive). Motives come at different levels - lower (selfish motives) and higher (motives of social order, sense of duty). The preparatory stage of volitional action ends with the adoption of a definite decision. Second phase- executive - the most important stage volitional action - execution of a decision. Execution can take two forms: the form of external action (external volitional act) and the form of abstaining from external action (internal volitional act). The result of volitional action is the achievement of a goal. The volitional action ends with self-esteem: a person evaluates the chosen methods of achieving the goal, the efforts expended and draws appropriate conclusions for the future. Analysis of a person’s volitional behavior allows us to identify a number of volitional qualities, each of which characterizes individual volitional manifestations. Volitional qualities include: 1. purposefulness is a person’s subordination of his behavior to a sustainable life goal, the readiness and determination to devote all his strength and abilities to achieve it, and its systematic, steady implementation. 2. independence - subordination of behavior to one’s own views and beliefs. An independent person does not give in to attempts to persuade him to take actions that are not consistent with his beliefs. A negative quality of will is negativism - when every other person's opinion is rejected just because it is someone else's, there is unreasonable opposition to everything that comes from other people and suggestibility - when a person easily succumbs to the influence of others, he does not know how to be critical of other people's advice. 3. decisiveness is the ability to make informed and sustainable decisions in a timely manner and proceed to their implementation without unnecessary delays. Determination is especially evident in difficult situations, where there is a choice of one option out of several, and where action is associated with some risk. 4. perseverance is the ability to follow through on decisions made, achieve goals, overcoming all sorts of obstacles and difficulties on the way to it. A negative quality of will that is different from persistence is stubbornness. 5. self-control (self-control) - the ability to constantly control one’s behavior. This quality presupposes the ability to refrain from actions that are perceived as unnecessary or harmful under given conditions. The opposite negative quality is impulsiveness - the tendency to act on the first impulse, hastily, without thinking about one’s actions. 6. Courage and boldness is a person’s readiness to achieve a goal, despite the danger to life or personal well-being, overcoming adversity, suffering, and deprivation. Moreover, courage is a more complex concept; it presupposes the presence of not only courage, but also perseverance, endurance, and composure. The opposite negative quality is cowardice - when fear for oneself, for one’s life, guides a person’s actions. 7. discipline is the conscious submission of one’s behavior social rules. Locus of control is a personal characteristic that reflects the predisposition and tendency of an individual to attribute responsibility for the successes and failures of his activity either to external circumstances, conditions and forces, or to himself, his efforts, his shortcomings, to consider them as his own achievements or the results of his own miscalculations, and also simply a lack of appropriate abilities or shortcomings. At the same time, this individual psychological characteristic is quite stable and weakly amenable to change. personal quality, despite the fact that it is finally formed in the process of socialization. Thus, will is the conscious regulation of human behavior and activity, which manifests itself in relation to oneself and is aimed at achieving goals and overcoming difficulties.

Private educational institution
"College of Business and Law"
Brest branch

Homework
In the discipline "Psychologists and ethics of business relations"
Option No. 7

Completed by student
Part-time education
Specialties "Economics and Production Organization"
3rd year group E-203.
Mikhaevich Anatoly Vasilievich

G. Brest
2012
Content

Will is a person’s conscious regulation of his actions and actions, which require overcoming internal and external difficulties. Manifests itself in achieving consciously set goals. Positive qualities of will and manifestations of its strength contribute to the success of activities. Strong-willed qualities often include courage, perseverance, determination, independence, patience, self-control and others. This definition allows us to clearly separate the concept of will from the concept of desire, the concept of motivation. In this definition, there is a separation from the momentary situation in the form of an attitude towards the goal, its awareness. It is necessary to maintain the subject’s activity, or to suppress it. Will is one of the most important qualities of a person’s personality. There is hardly anyone who would not strive to cultivate this quality in themselves or in their loved ones. It is this quality that makes a person a free and conscious subject of his own life. It is the will that allows you to set goals and achieve your goals. We can say that the formation of will is the main line of development of the child’s personality.
The study of will in the historical aspect can be divided into several stages.

The above approaches to understanding the essence of will reflect its various aspects, reflect its various functions and do not contradict each other at all. In fact, will, on the one hand, is associated with a person’s conscious purposefulness, with the objectivity of his actions and actions, i.e. with motivation. On the other hand, the most striking manifestation of will is observed when overcoming difficulties, hence the opinion that will is needed only for these cases. In reality, volitional (or, in other words, voluntary) control includes both.
A person with a strong will knows how to overcome any difficulties encountered on his way to achieving his goal, while revealing such strong-willed qualities as determination, perseverance, endurance and self-control, independence, dedication, discipline, courage and courage.
Decisiveness is expressed in a person’s ability to make thoughtful decisions in a timely manner and without hesitation and implement them. Hasty decisions that do not take into account the circumstances of the case, or, on the contrary, constant delay in making and executing a decision do not serve as a manifestation of decisiveness, but indicate weakness of will and its underdevelopment.
Persistence is a strong-willed personality trait that is characterized by the ability to achieve a goal through overcoming all difficulties on the way to achieving it.
Strong-willed personality traits also include endurance and self-control. These qualities are associated with a person’s ability to control himself, his actions, deeds and moods in any situation and at any moment.
Modern psychiatry views will as a mental process consisting of the ability to engage in active, systematic activity aimed at satisfying human needs. Activities are considered as arbitrary and purposeful when they are carried out in accordance with ideas about the final results and are controlled at each stage.
The volitional process is associated with the motivational sphere, motives, desires, which become conscious goals of behavior.
Thus, volitional processes, like other processes of higher nervous activity that make up the human psyche, can be disrupted as a result of the occurrence of a mental disorder. It is also possible that a mental disorder will be represented exclusively by phenomena reflecting a violation of volitional processes.
Special meaning acquires a statement and diagnostic assessment volitional disorders in forensic psychiatric practice. International legal practice considers the basis, a prerequisite for sanity, and as a consequence, the ability to bear responsibility for one’s actions, “evil will”, the intent aimed at committing an act.
It is possible to understand what will is only if it is possible to bring together extreme points of view, each of which absolutizes one of the mentioned sides of will: motivation, taken for will, in one case, or volitional effort aimed at overcoming difficulties, to which it is reduced will, in another case. The above approaches to understanding the essence of will reflect its various aspects, reflect its various functions and do not contradict each other at all. In fact, will, on the one hand, is associated with a person’s conscious purposefulness, with the objectivity of his actions and actions, i.e. with motivation. On the other hand, the most striking manifestation of will is observed when overcoming difficulties, hence the opinion that will is needed only for these cases. In reality, volitional (or, in other words, voluntary) control includes both.
Therefore, understanding the phenomenon of will is possible only on the basis of a synthesis of various theories, taking into account the multifunctionality of will as a psychological mechanism that allows a person to consciously control his behavior.
In psychology, the following types of feelings are distinguished:

Moral feeling is the emotional attitude of a person to the behavior of people and his own. In the sphere of higher feelings, moral feelings have a special place.
Moral, or moral, feelings arise and develop in the process of joint activity of people and are influenced by the moral norms that actually prevail in a given society. They arise under the influence of the behavior and actions of other people and their own. These experiences are a kind of result of evaluating actions, their compliance or non-compliance with moral standards that a person considers obligatory for himself and others. Positive assessments of actions cause a person to feel satisfied, negative ones – internal protest.
Moral feelings include feelings of sympathy and antipathy, affection and alienation, respect and contempt, gratitude and ingratitude, love and hatred. Among moral feelings, the sense of camaraderie and friendship, patriotism and collectivism, a sense of duty and conscience should be particularly highlighted. These feelings are determined by a person’s worldview – a person’s system of views and beliefs.
Moral feelings are generated by the system of human relations and the ethical standards governing these relations.
The first feature of moral feelings is their social character, social significance. The second feature is the complexity and versatility of their manifestations.
Experiences arising in the process of mental activity are called intellectual feelings.
The cognitive activity carried out causes a whole range of deep experiences. Finding the essential signs of a phenomenon and the causes that give rise to it, establishing the patterns of the occurrence of this phenomenon is always associated with a special feeling of joy of discovery, sometimes developing into a feeling of deepest satisfaction. The experience of success in cognitive activity encourages further efforts of thought. Failures in solving cognitive problems cause no less acute feelings. The joys and pains of scientific knowledge are an emotional characteristic of cognitive activity.
Aesthetic feelings arise and develop when a person perceives and creates beauty. The beautiful attracts to itself, and the more deeply a person penetrates into this beauty, the more fully he understands it. Aesthetic feelings arise not only from the perception of beauty. The morally beautiful also evokes aesthetic feelings.

Temperament types:

Choleric temperament. Representatives of this type are characterized by increased excitability, and as a result, unbalanced behavior. The choleric person is quick-tempered, aggressive, straightforward in relationships, and energetic in activity. Cholerics are characterized by cyclical work patterns. They are able to devote themselves to their work with all passion and get carried away by it. At this time, they are ready to overcome and actually overcome difficulties and obstacles on the way to the goal. But their strength is exhausted, their faith in their abilities has dropped, a depressed mood has set in, and they do nothing. Such cyclicality is one of the consequences of the imbalance of their nervous activity.
Sanguine temperament. A representative of this type of temperament is characterized as an ardent, very productive worker, but only when he has an interesting job, that is, constant excitement. When there is no such thing, he becomes boring and lethargic. For a sanguine person, great mobility and easy adaptability to changing living conditions are common. He quickly finds contact with people, is sociable, and does not feel constrained in a new environment. In a team, a sanguine person is cheerful, cheerful, eagerly gets down to business, and is capable of passion. However, while developing vigorous activity, he can cool down just as quickly as he can quickly get carried away if the matter ceases to interest him, if it requires painstakingness and patience, if it is of an everyday nature.
Phlegmatic temperament. A phlegmatic person is a calm, balanced, always even, persistent and persistent worker of life. Balance and some inertia of nervous processes allow a phlegmatic person to easily remain calm in any conditions. In the presence of strong inhibition, balancing the process of excitation, it is not difficult for him to restrain his impulses, impulses, strictly follow the developed routine of life, the system at work, and not be distracted by insignificant reasons.
Melancholic temperament. Representatives of this type are distinguished by high emotional sensitivity, and as a result, increased vulnerability. Melancholic people are somewhat withdrawn, indecisive in difficult circumstances, and experience great fear in dangerous situations. The weakness of the processes of excitation and inhibition when they are unbalanced (inhibition predominates) leads to the fact that any strong influence inhibits the activity of the melancholic person and he experiences extreme inhibition. Mild irritation also has a specific effect on a melancholic person; subjectively, it is experienced by him as a strong impact, and therefore the melancholic person is inclined to give in to worries about an insignificant reason.
A person’s behavior within the framework of temperament can be determined by a person’s relationships, which temporarily mask or modify natural, or, more precisely, characteristic manifestations of a given temperament.
With a positive attitude towards work, the pace and rhythm of work accelerate, a person works with more energy, and does not get tired for a long time. Conversely, with a negative attitude, a slow pace of work is observed, a feeling of fatigue quickly sets in, and the tone of activity decreases. The dependence of the dynamics and tone of emotional life on the individual’s relationship to various life events is especially clearly revealed.
When analyzing human behavior, it is necessary to take into account not only temporary states, but also stable relationships and the character of the individual as a whole. Only other things being equal can one evaluate the strength or weakness, balance or mobility of the people being compared.
Temperament and culture of behavior. The manifestation of temperament depends on the general culture of a person.
Culture consists in the fact that a person builds his behavior in accordance with the morality accepted in society. A person must take into account other people, their condition, treat others with care, and avoid in every possible way such influences that can injure them. To do this you need to be restrained.
An excited choleric person pulls himself together and does not allow rude attacks against others. He diverts his attention to another object or removes himself from an irritating situation. A melancholic person can force himself not to succumb to fear or panic.
A culture of behavior is determined not only by knowledge of morals, principles and norms of behavior, but also by moral education in general, in particular by the presence of stable habits and manners of behavior. People may have different temperaments, but high culture determines the evenness of their behavior and the delicacy and dignity of their personality. In addition to moral qualities, will is of great importance in regulating behavior, in particular temperament.
Temperament and will. Volitional activity, formed on the basis of one or another temperament, reflects its characteristics. Thus, on the basis of a phlegmatic temperament, a methodical, intellectual form of will can rather be formed; based on choleric – emotional and impetuous will. On the other hand, the resulting volitional qualities of character, in turn, make it possible to master the properties of temperament and regulate its manifestation in the process of activity.
A strong will allows a person to restrain and even “remove” impulsiveness and master his emotions.

Bibliography:

The necessity of nature is primary, and the will and consciousness of man is secondary, i.e. our actions are determined (determined) by events and phenomena occurring in the external world. Free will is understood as an opportunity, the ability to make a decision with knowledge of the matter and meaningfully manage one’s actions, anticipating their consequences.

These provisions find scientific justification in the works of I.M. Sechenov and I.P. Pavlov on the reflective (reflex) function of the brain, on the indirect perception and comprehension of objects of reality.

Will is a mental process consisting of conscious, purposeful, motivated, active mental activity, which is associated with overcoming external and internal obstacles and is aimed at satisfying human needs.

An act of will consists of stages of sequential, planned actions.

The motivational sphere of a person is of utmost importance in the formation of an act of will. It is a set of desires, motivations that acquire the character of motives for actions, actions and forms of activity. The characteristics of this area determine the orientation of the individual.

The beginning of the formation of will is attraction. Drives arise on the basis of instincts - food, defensive, sexual, etc. When the drive is sufficiently formalized in the mind, the ways and means of satisfying it are clarified, then it is called “desire”. These mental impulses belong to older phylogenetic formations. In the process of historical development of the human personality, will emerged as a quality of the psyche, consciously aimed at overcoming obstacles.

Immediate impulses to activity lead to actions on an involuntary impulse (instant reaction to the received influence) or in the form of delayed reactions (deliberate action, arising on the basis of an accurate representation of the result of the action).

All actions are divided into voluntary and involuntary. Involuntary actions are committed as a result of the emergence of unconscious or insufficiently clearly conscious impulses. Voluntary actions presuppose a person’s awareness of a goal and a preliminary representation of those operations that can ensure its implementation.

Volitional actions are a type of voluntary action that requires overcoming obstacles that stand in the way of achieving goals.

Physiological foundations of will. Will, like other mental processes, is a function of the brain. Despite the significant complexity of the physiological mechanisms of volitional actions, science has proven that volitional actions are of a conditioned reflex nature. I. P. Pavlov said that “... the mechanism of volitional movement is a conditioned association process that obeys all the described laws of higher nervous activity.”

All voluntary movements are movements acquired and learned in the process of life and upbringing.

No person can voluntarily perform an action that he does not know or cannot perform. Let's say, no matter how much an illiterate person wants to write a letter, he will not do it, because he does not know how to write. The situation is true for even the most simple voluntary actions. We learn these actions gradually and imperceptibly in the process of life.

Physiological analysis shows that all volitional movements become such only when they are memorized, and the more memorized a movement is, the easier it can be performed as voluntary. This emphasizes the huge role of motor skills acquired throughout life in volitional actions.

In the mechanism of the volitional act, the most important role is played by the motor analyzer, the cortical cells of which (kinesthetic cells) have a two-way connection with the motor area of the cortex and with the cortical parts of all other analyzers: visual, auditory, etc. I. P. Pavlov characterizes this connection as follows: “. ..kinesthetic cells of the cortex can be connected, and indeed are connected, with all the cells of the cortex, representatives of both all external influences and all kinds of internal processes of the body. This is the physiological basis for the so-called arbitrariness of movements, i.e., their dependence on the total activity of the cortex.”

The conditionality of volitional actions by the overall functioning of the brain means that human actions can be caused not only by direct stimuli, but also by their traces, that is, as a result of the revitalization of nerve connections previously formed in the cortex. This means that the idea of an action, the thought of it, can cause this action without visible external causes. Therefore, people sometimes think that voluntary actions are without cause. Thus, I.P. Pavlov, in the general mechanism of volitional action, especially emphasized the importance of the already formed system of temporary nerve connections (associations) between the cortical ends of all analyzers, i.e., what determines the overall nature of the response.

Volitional action, being purposeful, means the presence in the cerebral cortex of a persistent focus of optimal excitability at the level of the second signaling system. This ensures long-term retention of the goal of the action, planning of the upcoming action in accordance with the given goal and conditions, the ability to revive exactly those temporary nerve connections that are needed to realize the goal, etc.

The stability of the focus of optimal excitability depends both on the action of present stimuli and on the system of past influences on it stored by the brain.

Cortical inhibition plays a major role in the mechanisms of volitional action. An act of will is expressed not only in the ability to do something, but also in the ability to refrain from doing something that should not be done. Central inhibition was discovered by I.M. Sechenov and experimentally studied by I.P. Pavlov and his colleagues.

As a rule, the main volitional qualities of a person include: 1) determination, independence, perseverance, self-control; 2) indecisiveness, suggestibility, stubbornness, instability of will.

The first stage is the emergence of an impulse, a desire to achieve a certain goal. Then the consciousness of a number of possibilities for achieving this goal (stage 2) appears, and immediately after this there are motives (stage 3) that reinforce or refute these possibilities. Then the struggle of motives begins (stage 4). Having considered all the pros and cons, weighing various motives, taking into account the specific situation, a person makes a decision (stage 5). The volitional action ends with the implementation of the decision made (stage 6).

The duration of each of the listed stages is different and depends on the characteristics of the individual and objective reasons implementation of the decision made. In order for the impulse to turn into action, determination is required, that is, the ability to make a final choice. However, it can be difficult to overcome the stage of struggle of motives and implement the decision made. Therefore, initiative is especially important when... implementation of the decision made. Among other qualities necessary at the time of unexpected complications, one should note independence in decisions and actions, endurance, self-control and a certain self-criticism.

The development of will and the ability to perform volitional activity is a long process. From early childhood, parents initially form in their child the simplest skills (neatness, self-care, etc.) and skills that become more complex as the individual develops.

Skills are automated components of conscious activity that are developed through frequent repetition of certain actions.

The formation of skills is characterized by the elimination of unnecessary movements and tension, the combination of a number of individual actions into one holistic action. Skills are formed through exercise, that is, through purposeful, repeated action with the aim of improving it. Against the background of already acquired skills, actions become more and more conscious. These are already volitional actions. In adolescence and adulthood, as knowledge accumulates and new interests and needs emerge, volitional actions become more complex and improved.

At the very beginning of a volitional act, the simultaneous emergence of several motives of activity takes place, entering into competition with each other. This leads to a “struggle of motives.” Next, one of the motives is selected - a decision is made, the goal of subsequent activity is determined. After making a decision, relief comes, even with negative content for the individual.

Suggestibility is a property of the volitional sphere, in the presence of which a person easily succumbs to the influences of others, and the motives of his actions are determined by the latter.

Indecision is a consequence of a delay in the act of will at the stage of the struggle of motives or the implementation of the decision made.

Stubbornness is a feature of behavior, and in stable forms, an individual’s character trait is considered as a defect in the volitional sphere of the individual, expressed in the desire to do one’s own thing at all costs, contrary to reasonable arguments, requests, advice, and instructions of other people. Stubbornness is the inability, despite reasonable justification, to abandon a previously made poorly thought-out decision and plan of action.

Volitional instability is the inability to restrain manifestations of feelings disapproved by the person himself in the form of irritation, anger, fear, rage, despair.

All complex volitional acts first pass through the path of simple acts. They have an element of automation, that is, an action learned through life experience.

The final stage of any volitional process is muscle movement. This movement can be very diverse: performing a complex part on lathe, creating an artistic picture, a sarcastic smile in response to an undeserved insult and many other types human activity and, behavior.

In any activity, a person’s interest in the work being performed plays an important role. When performing uninteresting, boring work that does not meet a person’s inclinations, interest in doing it decreases and rapid fatigue develops. Positive emotions significantly delay the period when fatigue appears. This is explained by the stimulation of subcortical formations, which in turn tone the cortex.

An act of will includes a struggle between multidirectional motivational tendencies. If immediate motives, including moral ones, prevail in this struggle, activity is carried out in addition to its volitional regulation.

Will (volitional processes). Volitional processes

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