The meaning of actions is a psychological phenomenon-motivational phenomena. "struggle of motives" in psychology

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What does "struggle of motives" mean?

The question of the "struggle of motives" has been discussed in the psychological literature since the end of the last century. W. Wundt (1897) associated the struggle of motives with the process of choice, and W. Stern (W. Stern, 1900) - with the manifestation of a person's determination. A.F. Lazursky (1906) wrote that the causative agent of the struggle of motives can be considered such a combination of circumstances in which a person, along with some kind of desire or drive, which is distinguished by considerable strength and tends to turn into action, has other desires that are opposite to the first, making it difficult to implement (for example, a clash between a sense of duty and love for loved ones, between the desire to achieve a goal and fear of danger, etc.).

A.F. Lazursky considered the struggle of motives as one of the manifestations of mental delay. He emphasized that internal struggle is a process in which all the most important requests and needs of a person often appear with extreme brightness. Obviously, this was of fundamental importance for him, since he writes: Often one has to meet with an insufficient distinction between the struggle of motives and the deliberateness of actions, or even with a complete identification of these two sides of the volitional process. Actions and decisions that are preceded by a choice are sometimes explicitly referred to as deliberate actions. Such an identification ... cannot be considered quite correct. True, there is undoubtedly a close relationship between them, since an intensified struggle of motives may favor a more complete discussion of them; but still there are cases when these two qualities do not go hand in hand. Sometimes the intense struggle of striving fills the entire consciousness of a person to such an extent, concentrates all his mental energy on itself to such an extent that he positively has no time to ponder or think about anything. On the other hand, there are many such people who discuss and weigh all the details of the action ahead of them in the highest degree and prudently, and when the time comes to choose and act, they act as they have to, completely forgetting all their previous considerations, and are able to do big nonsense. Thus, if the struggle of motives can in many cases contribute to more detailed discussions of actions, then the opposite conclusion is by no means always true (p. 194).

This remark by A.F. Lazursky is true, and it should be taken into account when it comes to complex motivation. But, on the other hand, he himself allows, in our opinion, a certain simplification, bringing the struggle of motives and decision making too close. An alternative choice does not always mean a struggle of motives, motivators, needs. In this regard, his references to the work of V. Stern on the definition of differential thresholds seem to be incorrect: the decisiveness-indecision of a person when making judgments is not a direct indicator of the struggle of motives.

Often the struggle of motives is reduced to a struggle between thinking (reason) and feeling; the person, as it were, splits in two: "The mind says one thing, and the heart (feeling) - another." If the mind wins, then negative emotions can arise.

As N. D. Levitov notes, the phrase “struggle of motives” has become a tradition, which cannot be considered successful; if it is kept, then as a conditional term. Calling the internal struggle that occurs before making a difficult decision the “struggle of motives,” we thereby emphasize the impersonal nature of this state, writes N. D. Levitov.

In fact, the matter is presented as if in the consciousness of a person there are motives independent of the personality and consciousness itself, which have a certain force; these motives collide, one displaces the other, and as a result of these collisions a solution is obtained. In fact, what is usually called the "struggle of motives" is always an internal struggle, or a conflict of personality. It is not motives that fight, but a person who thinks intensely, comparing different motives, he fights with himself. This internal struggle always reflects external, objectively given contradictions, conflicts. The term "struggle of motives" is also unsatisfactory, - continues N. D. Levitov, - and because it impoverishes the content of those mental states that arise when decisions are difficult to make. The point is not only to give preference to some motive, although this is of very significant importance, but also to ensure that at the right moment all the necessary motives are in the mind, and not only motives, but also ends and means to achieve the goal. between which a choice must be made. And is there always a choice? Doesn't it often happen that a decision is made without any choice, and to justify this decision after the fact it is rationalized (p, 172-173).

It is impossible not to recognize the validity of these words of N. D. Levitov, although it would be better to talk about comparing, when thinking, not motives, but motivators.

L.P. Kichatinov also believes that the term “struggle of motives”, which has become established in our literature, does not accurately reflect the essence of the phenomenon. He uses this term in the meaning of mutual transitions of motives as a result of rethinking the personal meaning of activity. Thus, for him, the struggle of motives turned into a change of motives, which also does not reflect the essence of the phenomenon: after all, a change of motives can occur without any struggle.

There are other views on the struggle of motives. A. A. Faizullaev (1989) prefers to talk about blocking the acceptance of a motive by a person, M. V. Demin (1977) - about the struggle of various drives and tendencies in a motive (which, from my point of view, is closest to the truth), V. K. Viliunas (1990) - about competing impulses. All this testifies that various arguments, attitudes, desires, drives, i.e., various components of the motive, and not motives as a whole, are “fighting” in a person. The struggle goes on in the process of motivation, when the motive has not yet been formed. When it is formed, then there is no need to fight, it must be implemented, put into action. "Defeated" motivators (reasons, arguments, attitudes) leave the field of consciousness, are forced out as unnecessary in this situation. If they cannot be forced out, then the person, realizing the intention, continues to doubt the correctness of his actions and, if circumstances arise that strengthen the doubt, he can interrupt the fulfillment of the plan.

The foregoing gives reason to say that you can consciously act contrary to some kind of attraction, desire (need), if the arguments in favor of another necessity turned out to be stronger, but you cannot act contrary to the motive, as V. S. Merlin claims, otherwise this action becomes unmotivated .

True, there are cases when it seems that one can speak of a struggle of motives as a whole, when intentions begin to compete. So, a situation may arise when intentions that have been postponed for a long time are concentrated in one time period. In this case, the person usually declares: “I don’t know what to do, and this must be done, and this.” But if you look at it, then, firstly, motivational attitudes (unrealized or delayed motives) compete with each other, and secondly, as a result of this struggle, “competitors” are not “destroyed”, but a certain sequence of intention fulfillment is built: one motivational attitude again turns into a motive, into an impulse to action, while others remain settings for a while. This is how we understand the hierarchy of motives, about which A. N. Leontiev wrote; motivators are hierarchized, but not motives in general, and motivational attitudes, but not stable motives. In this process, the main role is played by a person's value attitudes: what seems to him more significant, the main thing, not so much at the moment as in life in general.

Obviously, a true struggle of motives is possible only when the intentions of two or more people are opposed, which, for example, occurs in sports, in scientific teams (where the solution to the same problem is proposed by different scientists from different positions, in different ways. the question of the formation of "collective motivation").

It should be noted that the "struggle of motives" can take place both on a conscious and unconscious level. The latter is especially characteristic of organic needs (it is revealed which of the needs will break through to the level of consciousness if they arise simultaneously). Obviously, the struggle between them is carried out according to the dominant mechanism: a stronger focus of excitation inhibits a weaker one.

During the “struggle of motives”, a person can solve different problems: to act or not to act, to be or not to be, to promise or not to promise, etc., that is, to say “yes” or “no” to himself or others. This corresponds to an internal motivational conflict of the “desire-avoidance” type (“both wants and injects”). Another situation - it is necessary to act, but the question arises - how. At the same time, in one case, all ways of satisfying the need are clear, known, but equivalent. This is an internal motivational conflict "aspiration - aspiration". And if in the first type of conflict the chosen action usually seems more attractive than the rejected one, then in the second type it is less attractive. The choice is especially difficult when a person understands that “it’s both so bad and so bad,” and he has to choose the lesser of several evils. This is an avoidance-avoidance conflict: In this case, an external influence helps to make a choice, but this depends on the degree of reference (authority) of the one who influences.

When the choice is nevertheless made, a state of cognitive dissonance immediately arises, the desire to justify one's choice. The usual way of such justification is the reassessment of the choice alternative: emphasizing the positive features of the selected object (or method) of satisfying the need and the negative features of the rejected one, and vice versa, downplaying the negative features of the first and the positive of the second (D. Bram).

In some cases, the prospects and ways to achieve the goal are not entirely clear, and the person bears a great responsibility (an erroneous decision can lead to the punishment of the subject or the death of other people). In this case, the struggle of motivators in the formation of a motive can lead to a significant mental stress of a person and does not always inspire confidence in the correctness of the decision made. Various methods can be used to relieve this tension: postponing the final decision about the goal, conditionally accepting the goal, using lots, asking other people for advice, referring to the fact that “everyone does it”, “I will do it once and I won’t do it again” etc. Much depends on the determination of a person as his personality trait. For indecisive ones, the struggle of arguments in favor of making a particular decision takes longer and is more painful. Equally strong arguments or needs lead to a temporary or final rejection of choice and, as it were, paralyze the will.

For the latter case, a person often uses lots. L. S. Vygotsky (1983) dwells in detail on the role of the lot as an auxiliary means of overcoming the impasse created by the fact that all alternatives that influence the decision-making are equal or there are so many of them that a person is not able to properly evaluate each one. Referring to the example given by Spinoza of a donkey experiencing both hunger and thirst and being at the same distance from food and water, L. S. Vygotsky notes that if in the place of this donkey we imagine a person who must die from hunger and thirst because of the impossibility of doing choice, then such a person should not be considered a thinking being, but a most shameful ass. The behavior of a person in the situation of Buridan's donkey just shows the difference between a person and an animal. A person thinks, that is, he cognizes the created situation and looks for a way that would lead him out of it. One of these methods is the draw.

The Austrian philosopher and sociologist O. Neurath, as L. S. Vygotsky notes, developed the position on the use of auxiliary means in the doctrine of the so-called auxiliary motives (the simplest form of which is the lot), the role of which is to influence one’s own decision (choice ) with the help of neutral stimuli, which acquire the significance and strength of motives from this (in the concept I am developing, motivators that are of decisive importance). A person, for example, in advance, for himself, stipulates a condition: if a black die falls out, then he will do something planned, if a white one, then he will not do it. Or as in the example of K. Levin with a person who is in the dark about whether and when the person with whom he dealt will return to the room. Protracted waiting and lack of information lead a person to the idea that they forgot about him and need to leave. However, he hesitates and overcomes the indecision in deciding whether to stay or leave - he is helped by a glance at the clock. The person decides to leave the room when the arrow reaches a certain number. Consequently, the position of the clock hand becomes, as it were, an auxiliary motivator. Lot options - a lot; we can say that turning to it is a transfer of responsibility for the decision made from oneself to an external circumstance.

However, it is impossible not to notice that a number of examples given by L. S. Vygotsky and allegedly showing the role of “auxiliary motives” (external circumstances, additional incentives) do not quite correspond to the decision “what to do” described above. So, he cites W. James' description of a person getting out of bed in the morning. A person after waking up knows that he needs to get up, but he is drawn to lie down a little more. There is, according to the mentioned authors, a struggle of motives. Both motives alternate in consciousness and replace each other. The decision to stand on the count of "three" helps.

motive fight psychology

At first glance, there really is a struggle between understanding the need to get up and the desire to lie still (that is, it seems that a person also decides what to do). However, the phrase “after waking up, a person knows that he needs to get up” indicates that he already has the intention to get up (i.e., he knows what to do), and it is only about when to get up, in what segment time, i.e. when to start the implementation of the intention. Therefore, it is possible and should speak in this example not about the formation of the intention (urge) to get up, but about the initiation of the action of getting up. The count of "three" gives a person greater determination, increases the impulse of initiation, the manifestation of a strong-willed effort aimed at overcoming the desire to lie down. The same role is played by the position of the clock hands in K. Levin's example.

Thus, the internal struggle is associated with the decision not only about what to do, but also when to do it, at what moment to start the action in the presence of the opposite desire, which hinders the initiation (launch) of the desired action. In the above example, we are talking in general about the same as in the case of a person on a tower: he knows that he needs to jump into the water, he intends to do it, but he does not dare to carry out his intention and delays the moment of starting the action because of his fear.

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Will and regulation of activity.

It is traditionally believed that the main thing for the emergence of volitional regulation is the presence of barriers, obstacles in achieving the goal.L. M. Wecker believes that volitional regulation begins where there is at least a two-level hierarchy of activity programs, where it is necessary to correlate the levels of these programs and choose among them the level that meets the criteria of intellectual, emotional, moral and general social value.

Approximately the same meaning was put into the concept of will by I.M. Sechenov when he wrote that the will is the active side of the mind and moral feelings.

Volitional regulation includes the following components:

cognitive
emotional
behavioral (active)

The structure of the act of will includes the following components:

motivation and awareness of the goal;
struggle of motives;
the act of making a decision;
execution.

Volitional action is connected with needs, but does not follow directly from them. It is mediated by awareness of motives for action as motives and its result as goals (S. L. Rubinshtein).

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

The main characteristics of the will. Volitional regulation of behavior. The concept of will is one of the most ancient, Aristotle tried to study it. Descartes. It was introduced as an explanatory concept. According to Aristotle, the concept of will was necessary to explain the generation of an action based not on the desires of a person, but on a reasonable decision about his existence. Realizing that knowledge in itself does not have motivation, but constantly confronted with the reality of human ethical actions, when the action is carried out not because one wants to, but because it is necessary, Aristotle was forced to look for a force capable of initiating such behavior.

The problem of the will, according to Aristotle, is the problem of giving the subject of action a motive power and thereby providing an incentive to action (or inhibiting, if necessary, a decrease in the motive force of the subject of action).

Previously, the will was seen as a supernatural force that takes precedence over other mental processes. There is no absolute will. We can speak of will when the impulse arises:

Volition phase: desire + aspiration + motive.
Choice phase: struggle of motives, decision making.
The phase of implementation by action, the decision turns into a bodily action. Our decision, behavior is determined by a strong motive. In the concept of Aristotle, the will determined not only the initiation of arbitrary actions, but also their choice and their regulation during implementation. Moreover, the will itself could be understood both as an independent force (formation) of the soul, and as a person's ability to a certain activity coming from himself.

Thus, the first paradigm within which the problem of will was posed was the generation of a person's action coming from himself. Consideration of the will in the context of the generation of action presupposes, first of all, the incentive function of the will, and such an approach can be conditionally designated as motivational, it is the most powerful in the study of the will.

It is characterized by the fact that the will is analyzed as the ability to initiate actions, or to strengthen the impulse to action when it is deficient, due to external or internal obstacles, the absence of an actually experienced desire for action, the presence of motives competing with the action being performed. Depending on the ideas about the mechanisms of this ability, the will is understood as:

or as an independent mental education,
either as an independent force of a non-psychological nature,
either as a motivational or emotional formation (desire, affects, needs),
or reduced to the state of the brain as a regulatory mechanism.

Later, a second approach to the study of the will was formulated, the Free Choice approach. Within the framework of this approach, the will is endowed with the function of choosing motives, goals and actions. One of the trends in the development of this approach is the transfer of studies of choice and, more broadly, decision-making into areas of research that are not directly related to the problem of will and have their own conceptual apparatus. Therefore, the actual tasks of the "free choice" approach are to isolate the volitional aspects of the problem of choice and the development of adequate methods for their experimental study.

Within the framework of this approach, two variants of ideas about the will can be distinguished:

Will is considered as an independent force (voluntaristic type of theory);
The will is reduced to the functioning of cognitive processes (intellectualistic theories).

Thus, in modern psychology, the problem of will is presented in two versions: as a problem of self-determination (motivational approach and “free choice” approach) and as a problem of self-regulation (regulatory approach).

When a person voluntarily accepts moral norms, the highest moral law and is guided by it in his actions, we can say that a person is morally free. To be free means to obey reason, not passions (Leibniz, Spinoza).

In psychology, freedom of choice is understood when a person, as a result of a struggle of motives, chooses the one that is stronger. Modern researchers of the will are Selivanova, Ivannikov, Platonov, the Will is defined by them as a conscious regulation by a person of his behavior as a result of overcoming internal and external obstacles to the path and goal. Will Structure: Purpose; Claim level; Volitional effort; Fighting motives; Decision-making; Performance.

Volitional effort can be at any stage of volitional action associated with overcoming obstacles. Volitional effort is a form of emotional stress that mobilizes all the internal resources of a person, creating additional motives for action and experienced mental states of significant stress (Ivannikov). The psychological mechanism of volitional effort is to attract a new motive, thereby changing the meaning of the action in order to strengthen the primary motivation.

Will functions.

Incentive;
Brake (restrains unwanted actions)

In Western psychology:

initiation of action (formation of intention);
maintaining the primary intention in an active state until the goal is achieved.
overcoming an obstacle.

Volitional regulation of behavior.

Volitional regulation is a particular type of voluntary control and is characterized by the use of significant volitional efforts aimed at overcoming obstacles and difficulties, i.e. is a mechanism of self-mobilization.

Volitional regulation is necessary in order to keep in the field of consciousness the object that a person is thinking about for a long time, to maintain attention concentrated on it.

The will is involved in the regulation of almost all basic mental functions: sensations, perception, imagination, memory, thinking and speech.

The development of these cognitive processes from the lowest to the highest means the acquisition by a person of volitional control over them.

Often a judgment about the presence or absence of volitional regulation (volitional behavior) is made on the basis of the results achieved by a person. However, you can try to overcome the difficulty, but not overcome it.

In everyday use, the concept of “volitional regulation” is identified with the idea of “willpower”. In this regard, it is customary to divide people into strong-willed and weak-willed.

The specific content of volitional regulation is understood by psychologists in different ways.

"Willpower" as the power of motive. The volitional activity of a person is determined by the strength of the motive (need), because the latter affects the degree of manifestation of volitional effort: if I really want to achieve the goal, then I will show more intense and longer volitional effort. Therefore, willpower is often replaced by the power of motive: if I want, then I do it. Yu.Yu. Palaima believes that “willpower” is, in essence, the strength of a motive, and that a person with a strong will is, first of all, a person with a strong motivation for behavior. Therefore, it is the mechanism of volitional regulation that a person has that determines the greater or lesser possibilities for the realization of desire.

"Willpower" as a struggle of motives. Often, willpower is reduced only to the "struggle of motives", which is one of the internal obstacles to activity. There are many situations when the choice of one or another alternative solution is not required, but volitional regulation is necessary, because. On the way to achieving the goal, there are various obstacles and difficulties. In such situations, the need remains, but the accompanying energy is not enough to overcome the difficulties that have arisen and achieve the goal, and the inclusion of a volitional mechanism is required to enhance the energy of action.

Inclusion in the regulation of emotions. Some psychologists believe that mobilization (additional energization) is carried out due to the emotion that arises in the presence of an obstacle as a reaction to the mismatch "I must-I can't", "I don't want to - but I must." However, at the same time, volitional effort should not be replaced by such an emotional reaction. In addition, volitional efforts are also applied against the background of negative emotions, which contribute not to the mobilization, but to the demobilization of a person's capabilities. Therefore, volitional effort is considered to be the main mechanism of energy mobilization.

"Willpower" as an independent volitional quality. The moral component of the will (for example, a sense of duty) is non-specific in relation to different volitional qualities; there is no “willpower” that is manifested equally in all situations. One and the same person, as practice and experiments show, when meeting with various difficulties behaves differently: in some situations he shows great "willpower", in others - insignificant.

Therefore, the position of A. Puni is true that the manifestations of the will are always specific and conditioned by the difficulties that a person overcomes. On the other hand, attempts to define “willpower” as some kind of abstract indicator are also incorrect, as well as distinguishing people with high, medium and low levels of willpower. “Willpower” as a general personality construct is either a product of a correlation analysis of self-assessments of various volitional manifestations, between which in most cases connections are found, or any one volitional manifestation taken for “willpower”, most often purposefulness and perseverance. It is more correct to speak about various manifestations of “willpower” (volitional regulation), called volitional qualities.

The struggle of motives is a collision of multidirectional motivational tendencies, one of the varieties intrapersonal conflict.

When the struggle of motives receives the title of "Intrapersonal conflict", this is understood as a contradiction that is difficult to resolve, caused by a collision between approximately equal in strength, but oppositely directed interests , needs , instincts etc. Look intrapersonal conflict

The struggle of motives and volitional behavior

If in the struggle of differently directed motivational tendencies direct motives (including those of a moral order) take over, this is not volitional behavior. A consciously set goal - a strong-willed one - wins.

So that your consciously set goal, and not seductive random impulses, wins more often,

remember why you set this goal, connect it with your higher goals and objectives - maybe your mission. This will increase her personal meaning. Look Mission
make it as bright as possible, attracting attention. You can draw it, make reminders... Look Motivators
think over the positive consequences of achieving your goal and the negative consequences if you follow your immediate desire.
create positive emotions, emotional and bodily state I want, associated with the goal (will help suggestion, a representation of an attractive future when I have already done everything).

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alcoholic struggles with a strong desire to drink

4) struggle of motives and choice;

Fight of motives

Struggle of motives is a clinical term for a psychological state when alcoholic struggles with a strong desire to drink. This concept in psychology refers to the field of volitional activity. Volitional activity always consists of certain volitional actions, which contain all the signs and qualities of the will. Volitional actions are simple and complex.

The simple ones are 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. For a simple volitional action, it is characteristic that the choice of a goal, the decision to perform an action in a certain way, is carried out without a struggle of motives.

In a complex volitional action, the following stages are distinguished:

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.

The stage of “awareness of the goal and the desire to achieve it” is not always accompanied by a struggle of motives in a complex action. If the goal is set from the outside and its achievement is obligatory for the performer, then it remains only to cognize it, having formed in oneself a certain image of the future result of the action. The struggle of motives arises at this stage when a person has the opportunity to choose goals, at least the order in which they are achieved. The struggle of motives that arises when goals are realized is not a structural component of volitional action, but rather a certain stage of volitional activity, of which action is a part. Each of the motives, before becoming a goal, goes through the stage of desire (in the case when the goal is chosen independently). Desire is the content of the need that exists ideally (in the human head). To wish for something is, first of all, to know the content of the stimulus.

Since a person at any moment has various significant desires, the simultaneous satisfaction of which is objectively excluded (the desire to drink and the desire to recover from alcoholism, for example), there is a clash of opposing, mismatched motives, between which a choice has to be made. This situation is called the struggle of motives. At the stage of realizing the goal and striving to achieve it, the struggle of motives is resolved by choosing the goal of the action, after which the tension caused by the struggle of motives at this stage weakens.

The stage “realization of a number of possibilities for achieving the goal” is actually a mental action, which is part of a volitional action, the result of which is the establishment of cause-and-effect relationships between the ways of performing a volitional action under existing conditions and possible results.

At the next stage, possible ways and means of achieving the goal are correlated with the person's system of values, including beliefs, feelings, norms of behavior, leading needs. Here, each of the possible paths is discussed in terms of the correspondence of a particular path to the value system of a given person.

The stage of the struggle between motives and choice turns out to be central in a complex volitional action. Here, as at the stage of choosing a goal, a conflict situation is possible, connected with the fact that a person accepts the possibility of an easy way to achieve the goal (this understanding is one of the results of the second stage), but at the same time, due to his moral feelings or principles, he cannot accept it. Other ways are less economical (and this is also understood by a person), but following them is more in line with a person's value system.

The result of resolving this situation is the next stage - the adoption of one of the possibilities as a solution. It is characterized by a drop in tension as the internal conflict is resolved. Here, the means, methods, sequences of their use are specified, i.e., refined planning is carried out. After that, the implementation of the decision planned at the implementation stage begins.

The stage of implementation of the decision, however, does not relieve a person from the need to make strong-willed efforts, and sometimes no less significant than when choosing the goal of an action or methods for its implementation, since the practical implementation of the intended goal is again associated with overcoming obstacles.

The results of any volitional action have two consequences for a person: the first is the achievement of a specific goal; the second is connected with the fact that a person evaluates his actions and draws appropriate lessons for the future regarding the ways to achieve the goal, the efforts expended.

There is a lot of controversy in psychology about the problem of decision making. 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.

The traditional interpretation of the will in psychology made the subject of psychological analysis only what happens in the subject before the onset of volitional action as such. She focused on internal experiences - the struggle of motives and decisions that precede the action, and the action itself seemed to be excluded from analysis within the framework of the psychology of the will.

In cases where the problem of action did not fall out of the field of view of psychologists, action could only externally be associated with the psyche or consciousness, as is the case in James's theory of the ideomotor act (every idea, representation tends to turn into action), considered in section above.
On the problem of decision-making, Rubinstein considered three cases that differed from each other in the extent to which the decision stands out in the volitional process as a special act. “In the first of the cases we have listed, the decision is directly merged with the adoption of the goal; in the second, it has not yet separated from the struggle of motives, being only its natural end, and in the third, it has stood out from this latter and opposes it as a special act endowed with the maximum degree of activity and awareness. So, decision making can proceed in different ways.
In the first case, the decision is not at all singled out in consciousness as a special phase: the volitional act is performed without a special, consciously singled out special decision in it. This happens in those cases when the impulse that has arisen in a person does not encounter any internal opposition, and the very realization of the goal corresponding to this impulse does not encounter any external difficulties. Under such conditions, it is enough to imagine the goal and realize it, so that action follows.
In those volitional acts in which the emergence of an impulse to action is followed by some sort of complex struggle of motives, or discussion and action are postponed, the decision stands out as a special moment (the second and third cases).
In the second case, the solution, as it were, comes by itself, being a complete resolution of the conflict that caused the struggle of motives. Some kind of internal work has taken place, something has shifted, much has moved - and everything appears in a new light. Man, therefore, came to a decision not because he considered it necessary to make this particular decision, but because no other was already possible.
And the last, third, case of making a decision is that until the very end of the decision, each of the motives still retains its strength. Thus, a decision in favor of one motive is made not because the strength of the other motives has been exhausted and that other motives and desires have lost their attractiveness, but because the necessity or expediency of sacrificing one of the options is realized. In such a case, when the conflict, concluded in the struggle of motives, has not received a resolution that would exhaust it, the solution is especially recognized and singled out as a special act that subordinates everything else to one accepted goal.

There is another point of view on the influence of the struggle of motives and decision-making in the structure of an act of will. This point of view is characteristic of those psychologists who, without rejecting the significance of the struggle of motives and the inner work of consciousness, see the essence of the will in the execution of the decision, since 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.

Need is a state of need in objective conditions, objects, objects, without which the development and existence of living organisms, their vital activity is impossible. The need is considered as a special mental state of the individual, felt or realized by him "tension", "dissatisfaction", "discomfort", as a reflection in the human psyche of the discrepancy between the internal and external conditions of activity. Needs are the sources of human activity.

The starting point of their formation is the social conditionality of a person's position in the environment. The most elementary human needs are drives, which are closest to instincts. According to the source of formation, origin, all needs are divided into biological (for food, housing, etc.) and social - the needs of the physical and social existence of people. However, the biological needs of a person are transformed by his life in society and have a social character, they manifest and develop differently than in animals. Biological needs are enduring, often cyclical. K. Levin in his work "Intention, Will and Need" (1926) singled out quasi-needs, by which he understood derivative and intermediate needs that are more transient and often expressed in intentions.

In the course of the development of human society, not only the range of biological needs expands and qualitatively changes, but specifically human - social needs constantly arise. The essential features of human needs are the objectivity of origin, their historical nature, dependence on practical activity, and social conditioning. Human needs are diverse: the preservation of the species and the need for activity; the need for the meaning of life and the need for freedom, work, knowledge, communication.

For classification, various criteria are used: by the sphere of life and implementation (material and spiritual), by origin (biogenic, sociogenic), by the possibility of satisfaction (ideal, real, unreal), by life cycles (daily, weekly, etc.). The well-known classification of needs by A. Maslow, which he proposed in the book "Motivation and Personality" (1954). He substantiated the hierarchical structure of human needs, highlighting 5 levels: 1) physiological needs(hunger, thirst, sexuality, etc.); 2) needs in security(protection from suffering, pain, disorder); 3) social connection needs(the need for belonging, social inclusion, love, tenderness, trust); 4) self-esteem needs(in recognition, approval, achievement, in satisfying self-esteem); 5) self-actualization needs(the need to understand and comprehend one's own path, to realize one's capabilities and abilities). He calls the last group of needs development needs, emphasizing that high-level needs arise when the lower ones are satisfied. A. Maslow notes that the highest needs are genetically later, therefore they are less important for survival, are perceived by a person as less urgent and can be pushed back to a later date in life-unfavorable conditions. Satisfying the highest needs for self-respect and self-realization usually brings happiness, joy, enriches the inner world and results not only in the fulfillment of desires, but, more importantly, in the development of the personality and its personal growth. People who have reached the level of self-actualization, who have fully realized their abilities and capabilities, appear as mature individuals and are distinguished by the following features: orientation towards objective reality and freedom from illusions, humor, spontaneity, tolerance, democratic principles and relationships, identification with all of humanity, nonconformity (independence in opinions and actions), intuitive and clear distinction between good and evil, creativity. Each type of spiritual needs is realized in transformative, communicative and value-oriented activities. The process of satisfying needs has an extremely complex structure, consists of several stages, the main of which are motivation and implementation of activities. In this complex process, there may be paradoxical moments when, after too long a wait and a lot of stress, a person avoids an object that can satisfy his need. Such phenomena are also observed in animals. Failure to meet important needs and the inability to find substitute ways and objects can lead to deep personality disorders.

Dissatisfaction of a person's vital needs hinders the emergence and development of other needs and sometimes reduces a person's activity or changes the direction of this activity. A hungry person is less creative; one who does not get satisfaction from his work and cannot satisfy his needs for creativity, finds a substitute activity in eating, has various hobbies that are compensatory in nature. Prolonged dissatisfaction of vital human needs leads to a state of frustration. frustration(lat. - vain expectation, deceit) - a mental state filled with anxiety, annoyance, frustration, internal discomfort, general tension, which occurs if the events that a person expected do not occur, hopes are not fulfilled, obstacles arise on the way to the goal. Frustration occurs when a person can neither achieve a goal nor abandon it. A related concept is a threat or danger. However, in a situation of danger, trouble still threatens, but in frustration it already exists. Therefore, danger causes a mobilizing mental state oriented towards the future, while frustration causes a state oriented towards the present and the past.

A person can assess the reasons for frustration as external (difficult, unresolved task, unfavorable conditions, bad assistants and employees) and internal (poorly prepared for the task, weak-willed, etc.). However, the reasons for it are seen more often (especially young children) in external circumstances. Frustration is a factor that enhances motivation when its causes are considered by a person as removable. There is increased emotional arousal and an acute desire to destroy barriers. This natural mechanism, which triggers energy reserves in case of obstacles in achieving the goal, is socially progressive and individually beneficial in better adaptation and functioning of both people and animals. With persistent, repeated failures and a complete loss of hope for success, motivation drops, and then a new motive may appear.

The immediate psychological consequences of frustration are excitement, fantasizing, apathy, destructiveness, despair. Typical reactions to frustration are aggression (aimed at others or at oneself), a decrease in the value of an inaccessible object (the desire to relieve oneself of the blame for failure, to present events in a favorable light for oneself), etc. Frustration is successfully studied using the technique of unsolvable problems, as well as interruption techniques. In the course of continued failure, an accumulation of frustration can occur, which in turn leads to psychosomatic disorders (ulcers, allergies, asthma, stuttering) and fixed reactions. The latter often arise under the influence of punishments. Replacement activity is a frequent adaptation to frustration. If the child was forbidden to build a house from the details of the designer, since the time for rest and play has ended, he will draw it even in the air. The real way out of this state is a conscious retreat, which is tantamount to restraint, the unconscious is expressed in the suppression of unwanted and unrealizable hopes, aspirations that sometimes live and remain in a person’s dreams.

In general, frustration is one of the components of stress, a mental state of high tension, which is caused by unexpected changes, excessive demands on a person over which he has no control: catastrophe, illness, betrayal, death of loved ones and other unusual situations that cause mental shock.

Motivation. Motive is motivation. This concept often denotes such psychological phenomena as intention, desire, aspiration, design, hunting, thirst, fear, etc., i.e., which reflect the presence in the human psyche of a certain readiness that directs towards a specific goal. Motivation is closely related to human needs, as it appears when a need arises, a lack of something, it is the initial stage of mental and physical activity. Motivation is an inducement to activity by a certain motive, the process of choosing the grounds for a certain direction of action.

motive– it is such a hypothetical construct, a concept that is used to explain individual differences in activities carried out under identical conditions. Motivation processes have a direction - to achieve or avoid a goal, to carry out a certain activity or to refrain from it; accompanied by experiences, positive or negative emotions (joy, satisfaction, relief, fear, suffering). There is a certain psycho-physiological tension, i.e., the processes are accompanied by states of excitement, agitation, a surge or loss of strength.

Purpose and motive do not match. So, for example, a person may have a goal - to change his place of work, and the motives may be different: to improve his position; avoid future troubles; bring the place of work closer to the place of residence; work next to friends, etc. Some of the motives may not be realized by a person. In the above example, a person can be guided and consider the main motive "to work next to friends", not realizing the real motive "to avoid future troubles." Activity is directed by a multitude of motives; their totality and the inner process of motivation itself we call motivation. Motivation is a process of mental regulation that affects the direction of activity and the amount of energy mobilized to perform this activity. Motivation explains the choice between different options for action, different, but equally attractive goals. In addition, it is motivation that helps to understand the perseverance and perseverance with which a person carries out the chosen actions, overcomes obstacles on the way to the chosen goal.

The strength and activity of motivation are expressed in the degree of its influence on the direction of activity and its success. Strengthening motivation increases the success of the activity to a certain limit, with a further increase in motivation, the success of the activity begins to fall. In addition, in solving easy tasks, the best success of an activity is achieved with a high level of motivation, and in solving difficult tasks, with its low and medium level. A change in motives when a person's social and life situation changes, the structure of his values is transformed, the difficult passage of age stages, a sharp change in profession often cause a motivational crisis in some people. The concept of "motivational crisis" describes a situation of change and weakening of motives and is often a characteristic of a certain age period (mainly after 45 years). Studies show that people who are driven by the motive of power in life always find a sphere for the realization of their goals at this late age, while people motivated to achieve, find themselves in a more difficult position and experience a mid-adult crisis much more acutely.

social motivation. The initial classification of social motives, proposed by G. Murray, combined more than 20 motives. This section will briefly review the main social motives - the motive of achievement and the motive of power; the motive of social success and the motive of affiliation (desire for people), the motive of help.

achievement motive as a stable personality characteristic was first singled out by G. Murray and understood as a steady desire to achieve results in work, the desire to do something well and quickly and reach a certain level in any business. Then it was differentiated into two types - the desire to succeed and the desire to avoid failure. It has been noted that success-oriented people prefer medium-difficulty tasks because they prefer to take calculated risks; and those motivated to fail choose either easy tasks (with a guarantee of success) or difficult ones (because failure is not perceived as a personal failure). Achievement motive shows how much a person strives to increase the level of their capabilities. The system-dynamic model of motivation was developed by M. Sh. Magomed-Eminov. In the motivational process, he singles out the stages of actualization of motivation and goal formation, the choice of action; the stages of formation and implementation of intentions, as well as the stage of post-realization, where self-esteem correction and switching are important. M. Sh. Magomed-Eminov, T. V. Kornilova adapted many important methods for measuring achievement motivation. There is a well-known methodology for measuring the motivation of X. Schmalt and its computer variants.

In domestic psychology, the study of the achievement motive began with the study claim level. It was understood as the level of difficulty of the goal and task that a person chooses. This concept arose in the school of K. Levin. In our country, the first studies of the level of claims were carried out by I. M. Paley and V. K. Gerbachevsky in connection with the study of intelligence and personality traits. It was found that those who are prone to anxiety and anxiety, the level of claims is more consistent with their real intellectual level. Rigid, low-plastic people, as well as extroverts, are more often inadequate in assessing their abilities, tend to overestimate or underestimate their claims. VK Gerbachevsky showed that the main factor influencing the dynamics of the level of claims is success. The level of claims depends on the comparison of their results with normative achievements (the results of a social group significant for a person), on self-esteem and personal characteristics. So, for example, compared with normal people, neurasthenics set higher goals for themselves, and tantrums - minimal compared to the average level of their achievements. It is known that unrealistically high or low standards lead to a "self-defeat strategy". The maximum efficiency corresponds not to the maximum, but to the optimal strength of motivation. Motivational training courses have been developed, which helps to increase activity and initiative, the transition from the tactics of avoiding failures to the tactics of hoping for success. After the training, the determination and confidence in the correctness of their decisions, the expectation of success, and the balance of the level of claims increase. The methodology of the training showed that it is better if during the training period people have failures, which are explained by insufficient efforts. They are more useful for overcoming uncertainty and "learned helplessness" than support and constant good luck.

There are certain sociocultural differences in achievement motivation. High national achievement motivation is manifested in disproportionately rapid economic development. It was sociocultural differences that prompted scientists to analyze the components of a complex achievement motive. It has been shown to have at least three components at its core: striving for excellence(orientation in difficult work to your internal quality standard), to rivalry(the desire for competition and leadership), to work(the pleasure of hard work well done). In the socio-psychological aspect, the achievement motive can be considered as a motive for social success. According to recent studies, it has the following structure: the desire for fame, prestige, recognition; desire for competition; striving for achievement in meaningful activities. A study by M. L. Kubyshkina showed that the leading features of people with a pronounced motive for social success are great activity and self-confidence, high self-esteem with firm confidence in their charm; at the same time, women value their business qualities more and strive for achievements in significant activities, while men value the qualities necessary for a public figure more and strive for recognition and rivalry. It also turned out that a strong desire for social success contributes to the development in women of properties that are more characteristic of men (dominance, aggressiveness, etc.).

Power motive. Power is when someone is able to induce another to do something that this person would never do. One of the definitions is power as the potential for influence. Power is seen as the ability of an actor to carry out his will in spite of the resistance of other people. At the heart of the power motive is the need to feel strong and to show their power in action. We can talk about two different tendencies at the heart of this motive: the desire to acquire power; exercise of power and influence. Sources of power can be: reward power(“if you do it, you will receive it”), the power of coercion (“if you don’t do it, it will be bad”), normative power(official in power of the expert, informational power and etc.). Individual differences are manifested in the desire to increase the number of sources of power and in the ability to influence the motivational system of other people (you need to quickly and accurately determine the motivational basis of another person and correlate it with your own sources of power). A strong motive for power was found among representatives of those professions that, by the nature of their activity, should be good manipulators; they are teachers, priests, psychologists, journalists. Affiliation motives and assistance are based on an effective-positive attitude towards people and exclude manipulation. The motive of affiliation is the desire for such contacts with people, including strangers, which imply trust, cooperation, affiliation, friendship. The purpose of affiliation is a mutual search for acceptance, acceptance of friendly support and sympathy. Mutual trust is important so that the partner feels that he is offered an equal relationship, such communication that captivates and enriches both parties. There are two forms of the affiliative motive - the hope of affiliation (HA) and the fear of rejection (FA). The questionnaire of A. Mehrabyan is best known as a measuring tool for affiliation.

Help motive, altruistic motives. Altruism is an independent motive, which is different from other motives based on personal gain; it is based on love and selfless concern for others, the ability to make a free sacrifice for the sake of the group, the need to give and a sense of responsibility. The need to help others already exists in three-year-old children. Help is more often provided by those who themselves have received it before, and those who have empathy, the ability to empathize. In a study by S.K. Nartova-Bochaver, it was found that the experience of success increases the desire to help other people, and the experience of failure weakens. It is also known that teaching children altruistic behavior with the help of pictures increases their verbal (in words) altruism, while learning in real situations forms a stable altruistic motivation, which is the higher, the warmer and friendlier the relationship between the child and the teacher. More altruism, mercy is shown in relation to a dependent person than an independent, pleasant and attractive, familiar and person of the same ethnic group.

In conclusion, it should be noted that specific systems of motives are distinguished in certain areas of human activity. So, for example, according to E. Shane, a person, building his professional career, can be guided by one of eight motives:

ü professional competence, the desire to be a master of his craft;

ü management of various aspects of the activity of your enterprise, a successful manager;

ü striving for autonomy and independence from any organizational restrictions;

ü striving for security and stability of both the place of work and the place of residence;

ü serving high goals, helping people;

ü solving difficult problems, overcoming obstacles, challenge and struggle;

ü integration of lifestyles, balancing family, work, career;

Entrepreneurship, the desire to own your own business.

5. Materials for self-training of students

1. Define the concept of will.

2. Describe the concept of "volitional regulation".

3. Describe the main functions of the will in different approaches.

4. Describe the structure of the act of will.

5. Volitional process: the main approaches in the description of the volitional process.

6. Define needs and motives.

Portal for the student. Self-training

The meaning of actions is a psychological phenomenon-motivational phenomena. "struggle of motives" in psychology

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