In the simplest division of the driving forces of behavior, one can say that a person is driven either by reason or by feelings↑, by cognitive or affective processes. Despite the fact that a person is called homo sapiens, “reasonable person”, as the driving force of behavior, the mind seems to usually lose to feelings and emotions, affective processes in general.
It is unlikely that the point here is that the mind is weaker than the senses; rather, people use the mind less often. Turning on the head, acting on the basis of the mind — this assumes a certain level of culture, requires effort and training, while acting on the basis of feelings is more natural and does not require effort.
How does a person live, in whom the affective sphere is predominant? Such a person sometimes acts on impulse, sometimes as a result of coercion, and both motivation and coercion can stem both from outside and from within a person. If these driving forces of human behavior are presented in the form of a typology of areas of the affective sphere, we get the following.
- Inner urge. The desire to decorate a room for the holiday, to give flowers to your beloved, the motive to earn more money … — this area can be called Desires and motives.
- external urge. A toy that a child saw, a call from a friend calling to a disco, a bottle that fell into the hands of an alcoholic — all external objects and circumstances that call and cause motivation — this is the area of motivators: what motivates us from the outside, what causes our desire and interest from the environment us of the world.
- external coercion. Strong electric shocks force the rat to look for a way out of the maze. Prisoners are forced to sew mittens. A terrible thundercloud over the forest, promising a downpour on our heads, or a policeman’s wand, forcing the car to stop — this is all that pushes and forces us from the outside. This area is traditionally called Incentives.
- internal coercion. This is a state of passion, and an oppressive feeling of fear, and an internal struggle with temptations: all that internal that makes us do something, leaving us no choice. This area is Affects.
At the same time, it should be noted that many human actions are organized by internal and external circumstances in such a way that it is more correct to speak not about inducement or coercion, but about the organization of behavior. Behavior organized by rational considerations, as well as behavior determined by habits and traditions, are all examples of organized behavior in one way or another.
Organized employees come to work by 9.00, because there are such orders in the organization, because they are organized people and it is natural for them to come on time. When crossing the road, you must first look to the left, and then to the right — if we understand the meaning of these actions and act in this way, for us this is not an impulse or coercion, but a reasonable organization of our behavior.
If the parents barked: “Go to sleep!” — and the child trudged into bed, it was an incentive for him. If the child saw a cozy bed and he, a little tired, wanted to lie down for a while, the motivator worked. If the child wanted to sleep and was drawn to the bed, there was a motive. The child hardly tore himself away from the computer and, despite the desire to play even further, went to bed — this is an internal compulsion.
If the child remembers that it is time to sleep, this is already going beyond the affective sphere. Such a child already knows how to organize himself with reasonable considerations and lives in order.
The affective sphere acts more powerfully, but it is the inner convictions, as an alloy of reason, feelings and will, that form the real inner core of a person.
“Daddy said”, “God commands” — as an external stimulus and internal coercion, such attitudes are not very strong: you can avoid the external, you want to get rid of coercion. Only when certain attitudes live inside a person as his own convictions, supported by his mind and will, does a person have an inner core, an understanding of duty and a human image.
Levels of Behavior Drivers
The driving forces of human behavior can be decomposed into levels:
- mission, values (spirit level)
- rationality: reasonable understanding, decisions, plans, rules and agreements. «Need» (level of mind)
- desires, inner feelings, motives, interests, needs. I want (level of soul and body)
- emotions, attitudes (soul level)
- fears (body level)
- automatisms, habits, instincts, reflexes. (body level)
From the point of view of motivation, all the driving forces of human behavior can be conveniently divided into three groups:
- positive motivation or self-motivation (desire, mission)
- negative motivation or self-motivation (pain, fear, prohibition)
- organization of life, creation and alignment of the situation (circumstances, automatisms — set the framework).
Creating a situation is one of the methods of hidden influence on oneself and others, more characteristic of a tactician. Almost the same as Building a Situation, the only difference is that Creating a Situation is from scratch, and Building a Situation is from existing elements.
The motive is the main and usually perceived driving force in the absence of the need, life goals and values. If a person has a positive motivation, is passionate about a dream and a value, he no longer has incentive motives, but meanings from meaning-forming motives. It is not motives that govern him, but he considers their meanings and decides to act on the basis of the Need and his life goals and values.
The division into reason and feelings is not enough. I will propose to additionally highlight the usual, automatic behavior, and then the division will be threefold:
- Affects and feelings
- Habitual automatic behavior,
- Thoughtful behaviour.
Affects and experiences These are primarily hormonal outbreaks and hormonal waves. As a rule, they are triggered in a person by their own triggers (anchors, stimuli — combinational reflexes) and are supported by beliefs and convictions that are not critically comprehended. This is physiology, sometimes a predisposition, and most often a bad upbringing.
Habitual automatic behavior. Sometimes a child teaches (something) himself, sometimes he obeys his parents, but he somehow acts, does things. Repetition of actions gives rise to skills, then a habit. Habits make character, character sets destiny. Habitual behavior includes both thinking and emotions. But thinking is fast thinking according to Kanneman, and emotions are habitual situational emotions, everyday emotions, in which there is more behavior than feelings and experiences. People make a familiar face, habitually hold (or crook) their shoulders, use characteristic intonations — and with this habitual behavior they trigger habitual everyday emotions. Sometimes, if desired, experiences are triggered. This is the background behavior of most people.
Thoughtful behaviour. The man turned on his head, looked around — and in a reasonable way did what he should. Unfortunately, this is done by a minority.