Abstract: The concept of will in psychology. Will is a definition in psychology The concept of will in psychology

Since childhood, we have all heard such phrases as “willpower”, “weak-willed person” or “gather your will into a fist”. Each of us has an approximate idea of ​​what exactly the interlocutor means when he says these words. However, usually only a specialist in the field of psychology or philosophy can give a precise definition of the concepts of “will” and “functions of the will”. This is all the more surprising because without this term it is difficult to imagine a person as a whole and all aspects of his life. Therefore, in this article we will consider the concept of will and the functions of will.

Interpretation of the concept in philosophy and psychology

Since ancient times, philosophers and psychologists have been concerned with questions of will and They have been viewed from numerous angles and interpreted in completely different ways. For example, Schopenhauer conducted research on will in psychology. He revealed the rational nature of the will, but attributed it to the most hidden corners of the soul. During this period of time, it was believed that it represents a force that binds a person and obliges him to commit certain actions. Therefore, in order to have hope for a happy and free life, the individual had to get rid of the shackles of the will.

I would like to note that psychologists distinguish three main areas of human activity:

• emotional;
• intellectual;
• strong-willed.

Experts believe that the latter area is the least studied, and it is often presented in a distorted version. For example, psychologists in the Soviet Union, defining the function of will and the concept itself, argued that it can be understood as the subordination of public goals and interests over individual ones. It is noteworthy that with this interpretation, individual values, formed by volitional nature, became just a set of accepted value guidelines of society as a whole. This approach raised several generations of citizens whose will was completely and unconditionally subordinated to public and state interests.

It is noteworthy that philosophers are still debating about free will. Some authors of works adhere to the ideas of determinism. Their meaning can be expressed in a few words as the absence of free will in principle. That is, a person cannot independently choose one path or another based on his own beliefs, and another group of philosophers promotes the theory of indeterminism. Representatives of this movement provide evidence for the ideas of free will. They argue that every person is free from birth and in such a context the will only contributes to development and movement forward.

In psychology, there are certain characteristics through which will is determined:

• personality traits - determination, perseverance, self-control, and so on;
• the ability to regulate mental and behavioral reactions;
• volitional actions that have a number of clear signs - overcoming moral and other types of obstacles, awareness, and the like.

Of course, all of the above does not provide an accurate definition of the structure of the will and function. However, in general, the mechanism of its action in certain conditions becomes clear. In the following sections of the article we will take a closer look at the will, its main features and functions.

Definition

In the modern scientific world, the concept of will is considered one of the most complex and multifaceted. After all, when considering it, we have to take into account that will can act as an independent process, an indispensable aspect of certain actions, as well as the ability of an individual to subordinate and control his actions and emotions.

If we refer to the terminology of psychology, we can say that will is the ability of an individual to regulate his behavior by overcoming a number of difficulties and obstacles. This process occurs consciously and has a number of functions and characteristics. Will in this case appears as a certain property of the human psyche. Indeed, in order to achieve his goal, a person must not only overcome a number of obstacles, but also apply all his emotional and physical strength to this end. Therefore, it is difficult to imagine human activity without the volitional aspect.

Volitional act

It is possible to reveal the signs of will and function only through understanding the act of will. This process is extremely complex; it includes several successive stages, which can be represented as follows:

• a need that performs a motivational function;
• awareness of the emerging need;
• internal determination of motives that motivate action;
• selection of options to fulfill the need;
• first steps towards the goal;
• control over the process of implementing a well-thought-out plan.

It is noteworthy that each stage is accompanied by tension of will. She participates in all the processes described above. Psychologists believe that every time a person checks his action against a picture drawn in his head, accepted as an ideal. The real plan is adjusted and put into action again.

Experts also call all the items on our list “volitional actions” and believe that it is in them that the personality is revealed most fully, and also enters a new stage of development.

Signs

Before talking about the functions of the will, it is necessary to consider its characteristics. There are several of them:

• concentration of efforts for an act of will;
• availability of a detailed action plan;
• attention to one's own efforts;
• lack of positive emotions in the process of their actions;
• mobilization of all the forces of the body;
• extreme concentration on the goal and the path to it.

The listed signs reveal the psychological basis of will. After all, such actions are aimed primarily at overcoming one’s own fears and infirmities. In the process of implementing volitional action, a person is determined to fight with himself, which is considered characteristic only of a highly developed personality.

Signs of volitional action

We have already said that will is the main aspect of all human activity. She imperceptibly penetrates into all spheres of life and sometimes subjugates them to herself. This process has three main features that explain that the will and volitional processes and functions of the will are closely interrelated concepts:

• Providing a purpose for any human activity, as well as streamlining life. Volitional actions can change the world around a particular person, subordinating it to certain goals.
• The ability to control oneself through will gives a person freedom. Indeed, in this case, external circumstances cannot have a decisive influence and the personality turns into an active subject who has the ability to make conscious decisions.
• Conscious overcoming of obstacles on the way to the goal activates all volitional processes. After all, when faced with difficulties, only the person himself can decide whether he should continue moving forward or whether it’s time to stop. Will gives him the impetus to make a decision.

It is worth noting that the mental function we describe is manifested in various properties of the human personality. It is worth talking about them in more detail.

Manifestation of will

Each personality has certain qualities. Many of them are a clear reflection of the will:

• Perseverance. It can be interpreted as the ability to gather all your strength and concentrate on the task at hand.
• Excerpt. Subjugation and restraint of the mind, emotions and actions for the sake of one single goal.
• Determination. The desire to make decisions as quickly as possible and implement an action plan.
• Mandatory. Completing all actions on time and in full.

Of course, these are not all personality traits. In reality, there are many more of them, but even from this small list it becomes clear that will literally permeates all human activities, his thoughts and dreams. Without it, the person would not be able to realize any of the ideas that arose. In this, the will and volitional processes are fully revealed.

Functions of the will

Science has been identifying them for a long time. Initially, psychologists spoke of the presence of two functions of the will, but now their number has increased to three. This is considered the most accurate definition of the functional role of this mental aspect. Today we can highlight:

• incentive function;
• brake;
• stabilizing.

In the following sections of the article we will consider in detail the main functions of the will.

Incentive

Many scientists consider this to be the main function of the will. It ensures human activity, both voluntary and conscious. It is noteworthy that this function is often confused with reactivity. However, there are serious differences between them that are noticeable even to beginners in psychology. Reactivity causes action in response to a particular situation. For example, a walking person almost always turns around when he hears a shout, and teasing will definitely cause offense and negativity. In contrast to this process, the incentive function is expressed in action caused by certain states within the personality. An example is a situation where the need for some information forces a person to shout out and start a conversation with a friend or classmate. This is what primarily distinguishes the basic function of the will, as it is called, from the reactivity described.

It is noteworthy that activity caused by the impulse of the will allows one to rise above the situation. The action can be carefully thought out in advance and go beyond what is happening right now.

It is worth keeping in mind that the incentive function often provokes a person to engage in activity that is not obligatory. No one expects it from a person and no one will judge him for failure to perform any actions. But despite this, an action plan is being drawn up and implemented.

The incentive function helps to mobilize all forces even when the need for activity does not exist right now. For example, it can be difficult for a school graduate to study hard every day for a year, but thoughts about the final exam and admission to the coveted university force him to mobilize and start studying.

Braking function

The functions of the will in psychology have been studied for a long time, so experts argue that the inhibitory and incentive functions act in unity and work for the same goal in a person’s life. Any personality is capable of suspending actions that contradict its principles, moral principles and worldview formed as a result of upbringing. Remarkably, the inhibitory function can even stop the development of unwanted ideas. Without it, no person would be able to regulate his behavior in society.

The habit of controlling oneself is especially important in a team. She is nurtured as a person from infancy. First, parents, and then kindergarten teachers, teach the child to inhibit himself in various negative manifestations. Even Anton Semenovich Makarenko in his works more than once emphasized how important it is to cultivate self-regulation in a growing individual. Moreover, control should become a habit and be as natural as possible. For example, banal politeness is considered one of the manifestations of the inhibitory function. It is at the same time a certain framework that regulates a person’s relationship with society.

We have already said that a person cannot exist without incentives to action. They can be divided into lower and higher. The former form our need for the simplest and most necessary things: food, drink, clothing and the like. But the higher ones give us the opportunity to experience a wide range of emotions and feelings associated with moral experiences. The will allows the individual to restrain his lower needs for the sake of higher ones. Thanks to her, a person can bring the work he has begun to its logical conclusion, despite all temptations and difficulties.

The incentive and inhibitory functions in their unity work to achieve the goal, despite all the problems encountered along the way.

Stabilizing

Defining the functions of the will is impossible without describing the stabilizing function. She plays her very significant role in the development and formation of personality. Thanks to it, the required degree of activity is maintained when encountering obstacles. At the moment when a person realizes a number of problems that he will have to overcome to achieve his goal, and is ready to retreat, it is the stabilizing function that prevents activity from decreasing and motivates the person to continue the struggle.

Definition of the function of the will: voluntary and volitional regulation

When talking about the will and its functions, it is impossible not to mention voluntary and volitional regulation. This is not the easiest topic, because in psychology there is still no unity among specialists regarding terminology. It is noteworthy that most psychologists equate voluntary and volitional regulation, but apply these definitions in different situations.

In the broad sense of the word, voluntary regulation refers to control over the behavior and activities of a person as a whole. This process has its own characteristics, but it is worth considering that not every action that is subject to self-regulation is volitional. For example, a person who abuses alcohol does it arbitrarily. That is, he consciously destroys himself every day, but he doesn’t have enough to radically change the situation. However, in other life situations, it is the voluntary regulation of behavior that becomes the very mechanism that triggers the process of dominance of higher motives and needs over lower ones. This depends on the level of development of the individual himself and the conditions in which certain actions should take place.

When psychologists mention volitional regulation, this most often means action in a situation that is critical or difficult for a particular individual, requiring the concentration of physical and, above all, moral forces. Any volitional action includes a struggle of motives and is accompanied by continuous movement towards a consciously set goal. regulation can be considered using a simple example. Many people are actively involved in sports and do morning jogging. What motivates them to do these actions almost daily? Let's find out:

• First of all, the need for physical activity is determined, which is transformed into a specific and clear goal.
• Every morning there is a struggle of motives, because often you want to sleep much more than to go out into the fresh air in the very early hours, when everyone in the household is still sweetly dozing.
• At this stage, volitional regulation comes into play, forcing the person to get out of bed and go for a run.
• In parallel, this process weakens the motivation that inclines a person to abandon his intentions regarding the morning run.
• Before returning home, the individual clearly regulates his actions so as not to be tempted by going into a store, for example, or jogging a shorter distance than originally planned.

Based on the foregoing, it can be understood that volitional regulation contributes to the manifestation, formation and development of various mental processes. Thanks to them, the strong-willed qualities of the individual become more noticeable. A person’s consciousness, determination, determination and self-control increases. Some psychologists call this mechanism the genetic function of will. However, not all scientists agree with this term, so it is used extremely rarely in scientific works.

To summarize, I would like to say that will is a mental process that has not yet been fully studied. But it is difficult to argue about its significance, because it is thanks to it that humanity still lives and develops.

Will– this is the part of a person’s consciousness that acts and regulates. The will is capable of creating effort and maintaining it as long as necessary. This concept embodies the ability of a person on his own initiative
from the conscious need to plan and carry out actions, even organize and direct mental activity.

The concept of will implies a clearly defined and extremely important personal force in a person, which consists of a set of certain qualities that are quite capable of development in the process of both spontaneous and special training.

Functions

In the psychology of will, its main functions are as follows:

1. Selection of motives, goals, setting tasks.
2. Regulating incentives to act when their motivation is insufficient or excessive.
3. The will organizes mental processes into a system that is adequate to the activity being performed.
4. Pulling into a unity of physical and mental capabilities while overcoming obstacles in achieving the goal.

The will directs or restrains a person's actions. and the education and development of the will can be considered on the corresponding page.

Whatever goal we set, a good and creative goal is always pure, warms the whole world, makes it better, cleaner and gives hope to the whole world. Let's set bright goals. And materialize them. Create. Defeat everything that leads to destruction.

Structure of an act of will

For a long time, thinkers have been interested in the question: what does a volitional act consist of? When analyzing and summarizing all the options discussed, 2 aspects of will were identified.

So, the structure of a volitional act consists of the formation of an impulse and the implementation of the plan. The formation of motivation is associated with the motivational sphere of the individual, and the implementation of plans is tied to the implementation of actions and control over them.

In the structure of a volitional act, the domestic psychologist Nikolai Nikolaevich Lange (03/12/1858 – 02/15/1921) identified 4 phases:

1. Pursuit.
2. Anticipation of the goal.
3. Imagination of movement.
4. Direct movement.

Likewise, the leading Russian psychologist and philosopher Sergei Leonidovich Rubinstein (06.06.1889 – 11.01.1960), in the concept of will and the structure of a volitional act, distinguished four parts:

1. Actualization of motivation and goal setting.
2. The struggle of motives and their discussion.
3. Deciding on action planning.
4. Direct execution of the planned action.

Viktor Ivanovich Selivanov (07/07/1906 – 09/27/1996), domestic psychologist and teacher, identified three stages in the structure of a voluntary act:

1. Setting the goal of action.
2. Planning the execution of an action at the mental level.
3. Direct execution of the action.

Roberto Assagioli (02/27/1888 – 08/23/1974), Italian psychologist, psychiatrist and humanist (founder of psychosynthesis), distinguishes 6 stages:

1. Awareness of the goal, evaluation of it, generation of motivation based on the evaluation.
2. Contemplation or reflection.
3. Selecting one from several goals.
4. Confirming your choice.
5. Drawing up a program of your actions, taking into account the available funds.
6. Performing an action.

The German psychologist Heckhausen Heinz (1926 – 1988) highlighted the materialization of intention in the structure of a volitional act. He divided this process into 4 phases: preparatory, preactional, actional and postactional. The first 2 phases are motivation, the last are will.

When we prepare, we think about different options for our future actions, then an impulse to action is formed. Before an action, that is, in the pre-action phase, we wait for the right moment and the necessary circumstances in order to decide on a certain action or refuse it. Next, we carry out implementation and achieve the result of our actions.

So, in principle, we examined the concept of will and the structure of a volitional act from various positions and opinions of authoritative scientists.

Psychology of will by E. P. Ilyin

There is a good textbook addressed to psychologists, physiologists, teachers and university students of psychological and pedagogical profiles. Book by a domestic doctor of psychological sciences, professor
Russian State Pedagogical University named after. A. I. Herzen Ilyin Evgeniy Pavlovich (03/20/1933), “Psychology of Will”, will also be useful to ordinary people interested in the positive resolution of psychological problems.

E. P. Ilyin’s textbook “Psychology of Will” is devoted to the theoretical and practical study of volitional processes. Here, a deep analysis of various ideas - scientific, philosophical, psychological, physiological - about the emotional-volitional sphere of a person and such a concept as “willpower” is carried out. The patterns of development of the will, its manifestation in human behavior and activity, as well as its painful deviations - pathologies are described.

The book “Psychology of Will” systematically presents psychodiagnostic methods for studying will, which can be used in psychological, pedagogical and sports practice, as well as in the production and organizational sphere.

There are numerous theories of will, which are discussed in the textbook by E. P. Ilyin. The sphere of voluntary control of human behavior and activity and their psychophysiological mechanisms, the structure of an arbitrary, that is, volitional act, are covered in detail.

The ideas about voluntary actions, their conscious initiation, the ideas of independent control and independent mobilization of the physical, psychological and energetic resources of the body are presented.

Separate chapters in the “Psychology of Will” by E.P. Ilyin are devoted to the volitional qualities of the individual, they are classified, and some qualities of the will are characterized. Changes in volitional qualities in connection with age-related changes have been analyzed and their differences in relation to gender have been carried out.

The behavior of a person in the absence of will, the very state of lack of will - laziness and the so-called “learned helplessness” are described in detail. And also, volitional disorders - pathologies of the will.

The last chapters of the textbook are devoted to the development of volitional qualities and methods of studying volitional strength.

Will in psychology

Let us present the main psychological characteristics of will in Figure 2. Let us further consider volitional action - the basis of will.

Figure 2. “Will”

Volitional action

All human actions can be divided into two groups:

1. arbitrary,
2. involuntary.

Voluntary actions are carried out under the control of consciousness; accordingly, involuntary actions are subordinated to the unconscious.

Let us analyze the structure of volitional action.

1. Inducement to action. Usually this action is poorly understood by a person. The urge to action is associated with those emotional states that manifest themselves as a result of the emergence of a certain need.
2. Anticipating the goal of a planned action. The main characteristic of a volitional action is the receipt of a result after its completion.
3. Finding means to achieve a goal.
4. Intention to carry out an action. Without this intention, the implementation of the activity will not occur, which is why the result will not be achieved.
5. Decision to take action. There are three main types of solutions:

• habitual decisions (characteristic of simple volitional actions, these are the so-called everyday “template” decisions);
• decisions without sufficient reason (emotional hasty decisions, decisions on an unconscious basis);
• conscious decisions (decisions that are typical for volitional actions, since they are conscious).

• objective difficulties caused by the characteristic features of the objects and phenomena themselves; for example, physical work that requires great muscle effort; a complex algebraic problem that requires great mental effort to solve; a gymnastic exercise that requires the performer to have outstanding dexterity and coordination of movements, etc.;
• subjective difficulties caused by the characteristics of the subject himself, his existing relationships with the surrounding reality; for example, fear of performing a given physical exercise (for example, jumping into water from a height of one meter), although objectively it is not difficult; lack of love for a given academic subject (for example, history), although objectively lessons in this subject do not present any particular difficulty; laziness developed in connection with certain living conditions, the habit of not bothering oneself with overcoming certain difficulties on one’s own, lack of the habit of systematic and hard work, etc.

The concept of will in psychology

Will is one of the most complex concepts in psychology. There are several interpretations of this concept:

1. Will - this is a person’s conscious regulation of his actions and actions, which require overcoming internal and external difficulties. (Soviet general psychology)
2. Will is a form of mental reflection in which reflected is an objective goal, incentives to achieve it, and emerging objective obstacles; reflected becomes a subjective goal, a struggle of motives, a volitional effort; result is action and satisfaction in achieving a goal. The obstacles that a person has to overcome on the way to achieving a goal can be both internal and external.
3. Will - this is the side of consciousness, its active and regulating principle, designed to create effort and maintain it for as long as necessary.

In other words will is a human ability, manifested in self-determination and self-regulation of its activities and various mental processes.

Thanks to the will, a person can, on his own initiative, based on a perceived need, perform actions in a pre-planned direction and with a predetermined force. Moreover, he can organize and direct his mental activity accordingly. By an effort of will you can restrain external manifestations of emotions or even show the completely opposite.

The main functions of the will are motivating, stabilizing and brake.

Incentive functionwill is ensured by human activity. In contrast to reactivity, when an action is determined by a previous situation (a person turns around when called), activity gives rise to action due to the specific internal states of the subject, revealed at the moment of the action itself (a person in need of receiving the necessary information calls out to a friend).

Stabilizing function– maintaining activity at the proper level when external or internal interference occurs.

Braking functionwill, acting in unity with the incentive function, manifests itself in restraining unwanted manifestations of activity. A person is able to inhibit the awakening of motives and the implementation of actions that do not correspond to his worldview, ideals and beliefs. Regulation of behavior would be impossible without the process of inhibition. In their unity, the incentive and inhibitory functions of the will ensure overcoming difficulties on the way to achieving the goal.

Based on the basic functions of the will, we can sayvolitional regulation of behavior.

Volitional regulation of behavior- this is the conscious direction of mental and physical efforts to achieve a goal or restrain them.

For the emergence of volitional regulation, certain conditions are necessary -the presence of obstacles and obstacles.

External obstacles– time, space, people’s opposition, physical properties of things, etc.;

Internal obstacles –relationships and attitudes, painful conditions, fatigue, etc.

Most often in a person’s life, will manifests itself in the following typical situations when:

It is necessary to make a choice between two or more thoughts, goals, feelings, attitudes that are equally attractive, but require opposite actions, and are incompatible with each other;

No matter what, you must purposefully move towards your intended goal;

You should refrain from implementing the decision due to changed circumstances.

Will is not an isolated property of the human psyche, therefore it should be considered in close connection with other aspects of his mental life, first of all, with motives and needs. Will is especially needed when the motives and needs that directly motivate activity are relatively weak or there are strong motives and needs that compete with them. A strong-willed person suppresses some of his motives and needs in order to satisfy others. We can say that will consists of the ability to act in accordance with a goal, suppressing immediate desires and aspirations.

Volitional act (action)

The main component of will is the volitional act (action). Volitional actions are characterized by the presence of a goal, as well as obstacles, difficulties, and the presence of a kind of tension experienced during their implementation.

There are simple and complex volitional actions.

Fig.1. The structure of simple volitional action

Fig.2. The structure of complex volitional action.

The connection of the will with other mental processes

The powerful engine of will is feelings. A person who is indifferent to everything cannot be a person of strong will, because will presupposes awareness of one’s feelings, their assessment and power over them. “Slaves of their passions” (gamblers, drug addicts, etc.) are always weak-willed people. Volitional action in itself can give rise to a new strong feeling - a feeling of satisfaction from a duty accomplished, an obstacle overcome, a goal achieved, against the background of which the old, suppressed feeling is often forgotten.

The connection between the will and the thinking. A volitional action is a deliberate action: before forcing oneself to act as is necessary in given circumstances, a person must understand, realize, and think through his actions. Before overcoming external obstacles that stand in the way of the goal, you need to find the optimal paths, think about the idea of ​​​​action and draw up a plan for it.

Also, volitional action is closely related to the emotional sphere of the individual and imagination. When performing it, a person experiences certain emotions and assumes an imaginary result.

Physiological foundations of will

Physiological mechanisms of volitional behavior and volitional actions can be presented as follows. The motor area is located in the parietal cortex of the cerebral hemispheres. It is connected to all areas of the cortex, including the cortical ends of all analyzers. This connection ensures that excitation arising in any part of the cortex has the opportunity to reach the motor area and cause a similar process in it.

The reflex nature of volitional regulation of behavior involves the creation of a focus of optimal excitability in the cerebral cortex (this is a working focus in the cortex). The reticular formation is important in the general mechanism of volitional regulation: a kind of filter that selects some impulses going to the cortex and retains others that are not of vital importance.

PC. Anokhin put forward the conceptaction acceptor.Its essence is that nervous processes are ahead of the course of external events.
Based on past experience, humans (and animals) anticipate and anticipate future effects on the nervous system. Based on the signal, the entire complex of neural connections, the entire system of associations developed through repeated repetition, are restored in the brain.

An important role in the implementation of volitional actions is played byfrontal lobes of the brain, in which, as research has shown, the result achieved each time is compared with a previously drawn up goal program. Damage to the frontal lobes leads to abulia (painful lack of will).

Will, as the regulating side of consciousness, hasconditioned reflexnature. On the basis of a temporary nervous connection, a wide variety of associations and their systems are formed and consolidated, which in turn creates the conditions for purposeful behavior.

A person has the ability to accumulate information and act on its basis, as well as generalize information and knowledge received from outside, which is achieved with the help ofsecond alarm system. On the basis of second-signal connections, all conscious and expedient regulation of human behavior is carried out, the choice of place, time, nature, method, and intensity of action occurs when implementing the received information.

In humans, the mechanism of preliminary real action is developed much better than in animals; the system of associations is restored on the basis of the most minimal and distant stimulus (a word, an object, its properties, etc.).

Thus, consciously controlled behavior is the result of the interaction of complex brain physiological processes and environmental influences.

Volitional personality traits

From childhood, a person performs actions and commits actions that are, to one degree or another, regulated by the will. Life practice consolidates the regulation of actions in the form of volitional properties of the individual.

The volitional personality traits include the following:

1. Determination(manifests itself in the ability to set and achieve socially significant goals).

2. Determination (manifests itself in a quick and thoughtful choice of goal, determining ways to achieve it). He does not have enough strength to overcome contradictory thoughts and feelings, to direct them in any specific direction.

All this leads to the fact that a person wastes time, and then, when he nevertheless finds himself faced with the need to make a choice, he grabs the first one that comes along, maybe even the worst goal. Indecision also manifests itself in the fact that a person, without thinking it through, without weighing it, makes a hasty decision.

3. Persistence (manifests itself in the ability to direct and control behavior for a long time in accordance with the intended goal).

There are people who, at first glance, seem exceptionally persistent. A close acquaintance with them shows that they are simply stubborn. A stubborn person recognizes only his own opinion, his own arguments and strives to be guided by them in actions and actions, although these arguments may be erroneous or, in any case, not the best.

4. Exposure (or self-control) (manifests itself in the ability to restrain mental and physical manifestations that interfere with achieving a goal). Independence (the ability to set goals on one’s own initiative, find ways to achieve them and practically implement decisions made). The property of the will that is opposite to independence is suggestibility. People who are suggestible cannot, on their own initiative, begin and complete a more or less complex volitional action; They are active if they receive instructions, orders, advice. They are quickly influenced by other people.

Volitional personality traits include such as courage, bravery, courage, fortitude, discipline. But they are to a large extent an individual combination of the volitional qualities discussed above.

People with a high level of development of certain volitional properties are rightly called people of strong will. There are people who have a low level of development of all volitional properties. Such people are usually called weak-willed. Will as a regulator of behavior is formed in the process of life and activity. Daily regular work is of primary importance in the development of the will and the formation of volitional properties of the individual.

Will is perhaps one of the most complex concepts in the world of psychology. Belief in yourself and your own strengths, the ability to discipline yourself, the manifestation of determination at the right time, courage and patience - these are all phenomena that are reunited into one whole, forming the main character of our article. Psychology covers several interpretations of the concept of will. In our article we will try to find out as much as possible about this mystery.

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What is will: definitions

1. Will is the conscious regulation by each individual of his actions and actions, the implementation of which requires moral and physical costs.
2. Will is a form of mental reflection in which the reflected object is the set goal, the motivation for its achievement and the existing objective obstacles to implementation; reflected is considered to be a subjective goal, a struggle of contradictions, one’s own volitional effort; the result of the manifestation of will is the achievement of goals and the satisfaction of one’s own desires. It is worth noting that the obstacles that a person has to face are both internal and external.
3. Will is the side of consciousness, which is a kind of lever of activity and regulation of the beginning, designed to create efforts and maintain them for as long as necessary.

In short, we can combine all of the above and conclude, that will is the skill of every person, which manifests itself in self-determination and self-regulation of its own activities and various mental processes.

Will and its main features

Modern psychology divides this phenomenon into three the most common types in the human psyche:

Development of will in human character

This distinctive human character trait distinguishes us from the behavior of other living beings on the planet. It is generally accepted that this is a conscious quality that was formed as a result of the formation of society and social labor. The will closely interacts with the cognitive and emotional processes that take place in the human psyche.

Subject to her exhibit only two functions:

• brake;
• incentive.

The functioning of the first quality manifests itself in the form of restraining those actions that contradict your prejudices, characteristics, moral standards, etc. As for the second quality, it encourages us to take active action and realize our goals. Thanks to the combination of these two interacting functions, every person has the opportunity develop strong-willed qualities, to overcome life’s difficulties that stand in the way of one’s own realization and happiness.

It is worth noting that if the quality of life conditions, starting from birth, were unfavorable, then the likelihood that the child will have well-developed volitional qualities is small. But believe and know that courage, perseverance, determination and discipline can always be developed through hard work on yourself. To do this, it is necessary to devote time to various activities, suppressing external and internal obstacles.

List of factors, which contribute to inhibition of the development of volitional qualities in children:

• spoiled;
• tough parents who believe that suppressing the child's decisions will benefit him.

Characteristics of the will

• Close relationship with the concept and motive “must”;
• Formation of a clear intellectual plan that allows you to move towards the implementation of your plans;
• Conscious mediation;
• Interaction with other mental processes, for example: emotions, attention, thinking, memory, etc.

Will in the structure of character and its education

Self-education and the development of one’s own volitional qualities is an integral part of the self-improvement of each individual, based on which it is necessary to develop rules and programs for the development of self-education of “willpower”.

If willpower to consider as spontaneous control, it must include self-stimulation, self-determination, self-control and self-initiation. Let's look at each concept in more detail.

• Self-determination (motivation)

Determination or, as we used to say, motivation is the conditioning of human behavior, which was prompted by certain factors or reasons. In the voluntary behavior of a person, the reason for the action and deed lies in the person himself. It is he who is responsible for the body’s reaction to the stimulus. However, decision making is a more complex process, which covers more ongoing phenomena.

Motivation is the process of forming the intention to act or not act. The formed foundation of one’s action is called a motive. Quite often, in order to try to understand the reason for another person's actions, we ask ourselves: what motive motivated the person to commit this act.

Summarizing all of the above, I would like to note that in one person all the components of volitional qualities are manifested heterogeneously: some are better, others are worse. This indicates that the will is heterogeneous and depends on various life situations. Consequently, we can assume that there is no unique willpower for all cases; otherwise, it would be manifested by one person either extremely successfully or consistently poorly.

But that doesn't mean there's no point engage in self-improvement and cultivating your willpower. It should be assumed that you may encounter significant difficulties along the way, so it is necessary to acquire patience, wisdom, tact and human sensitivity.