Volition or will is the

cognitive process Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

by which an individual decides on and commits to a particular course of action. It is defined as purposive striving and is one of the primary human psychological functions. Others include affect (feeling or emotion),

motivation Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...

(goals and expectations), and

cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...

(thinking). Volitional processes can be applied consciously or they can be automatized as

habits A habit (or wont as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously.

over time. Most modern conceptions of volition address it as a process of conscious action control which becomes automatized (e.g. see Heckhausen and Kuhl; Gollwitzer; Boekaerts and Corno).

Overview

'' Willpower'' and ''volition'' are colloquial and scientific terms (respectively) for the same process. When a person ''makes up their mind'' to do a thing, that state is termed 'immanent volition'. When we put forth any particular act of

choice A choice is the range of different things from which a being can choose. The arrival at a choice may incorporate motivators and models. For example, a traveler might choose a route for a journey based on the preference of arriving at a giv ...

, that act is called an emanant, executive, or imperative volition. When an immanent or settled state of choice controls or governs a series of actions, that state is termed predominant volition. Subordinate volitions are particular acts of choice which carry into effect the object sought for by the governing or ''predominant volition''. According to Gary Kielhofner's "Model of Human Occupation", volition is one of the three sub-systems that act on human behavior. Within this model, volition refers to a person's values, interests and

self-efficacy In psychology, self-efficacy is an individual's belief in their capacity to act in the ways necessary to reach specific goals. The concept was originally proposed by the psychologist Albert Bandura. Self-efficacy affects every area of human endea ...

(personal causation) about personal performance. In the book ''A Bias for Action'', the authors' purpose is to differentiate willpower from motivation - the authors use the term volition as a synonym for willpower and describe briefly the theories of

Kurt Lewin Kurt Lewin ( ; 9 September 1890 – 12 February 1947) was a German-American psychologist, known as one of the modern pioneers of social, organizational, and applied psychology in the United States. During his professional career Lewin applied hi ...

. While Lewin argues that motivation and volition are one and the same, the authors claim that

Narziß Ach Narziß Kaspar Ach (29 October 1871 – 25 July 1946) was a German psychologist and university lecturer in Königsberg, Prussia and Göttingen, Germany. Biography From 1890–1895 and in 1898/99 he studied medicine and philosophy at the Univers ...

argues differently. According to the authors, Ach claims that there is a certain threshold of desire that distinguishes motivation from volition: when desire lies below this threshold, it is motivation, and when it crosses over, it becomes volition. Using this model, the authors consider individuals' differing levels of commitment with regard to tasks by measuring it on a scale of intent from motivation to volition. Modern writing on the role of volition, including discussions of impulse control (e.g., Kuhl and Heckhausen) and education (e.g., Corno), also make this distinction. Corno's model ties volition to the processes of self-regulated learning.

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
Weakness of Will
(Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Modeling Willpower
(Darcey Riley)
Narziß Kaspar Ach (1871-1946)
(University of Konstanz) *http://www.sci.brooklyn.cuny.edu/~schopra/Persons/Frankfurt.pdf (Harry Frankfurt's Analysis of the Volition among other things) {{Authority control Cognition Motivation

Overview

See also

References

Bibliography

External links