Will

Volitional behavior is opposed to field behavior. Field behavior — behavior in which a person is led by random emotions and stimuli of the external environment, and not by his own needs, internal rules or goals set for himself. Volitional behavior is spoken of when a person has an inner core, if a person remembers his plans and he has enough strength to maintain the direction of his activity despite difficulties, interference, distractions.

“Will is the subject’s ability to create a hierarchical system of values ​​and make efforts to achieve values ​​of a higher order, neglecting values ​​of a lower order” (Ilyasov F.N. Methodology of the resource approach to the analysis of labor motives and attitudes] // Public Opinion Monitoring. 2013. No. 5).

Do animals have a will? Animal lovers are convinced that some animals have a will, and sometimes a stronger one than many people. Perhaps this is true, and one of the most plausible answers: some yes, some no.

Animals are mainly controlled by instincts: the instincts of self-preservation, procreation, parental instincts … Will for animals is their ability to resist their own instincts, and to show strong-willed behavior for animals is extremely dangerous, especially for herbivores. If, for example, a herbivore ceases to immediately react to the appearance of a predator with flight and panic, it will be eaten. But predators have a slightly different situation, they need to have restraint, being able to lie low, wait and defeat their impulsive desire to rush before the victim has approached. Predators seem to be the first to be able to find creative solutions, often involving real will.

Seton-Thompson described a coyote who had learned to evade chasing dogs. This coyote did not run away, but turned and wagged its tail towards the dogs. The dogs rushed past him, because they were trained to run after a fleeing animal, and not after a standing and wagging tail.

The development of will is characteristic more often for predators than for herbivores, but individual differences sometimes turn out to be more than generic differences: you can meet a brave horse and a cowardly dog. An even greater difference is in the development of the will between wild and domestic animals. The development of will in wild animals is a rarity and rather an exception, but the development of will in domestic animals is a reality if the animal is trained and the trainer sets such a task. It is really possible to teach a dog to sit where he was told, and not where he wants to, and not to pick up tasty things from the ground, although his instincts tell him otherwise.

Sometimes volitional behavior in animals includes their ability not to show pain symptoms, simply not to scream in pain. It seems that this is not a matter of will, but something else. Strange as it may seem, screaming, roaring or squealing in pain is not at all natural for animals: this does not reduce pain, and there is no evolutionary sense in such behavior. Roars, squeals and cries of pain have a different meaning — this is a learned behavior, sometimes characteristic of herd animals, where mutual assistance is possible, and absolutely natural for pets living among kind people.

If the paw of a wild cat falls into a trap, the cat will not make a sound, because it knows that if it makes noise, they will eat it ahead of time. And if you accidentally step on the paw of a domestic cat, the screech will sound throughout the apartment, because the cat is surrounded by people who sympathize with her troubles and are ready to help her.

But with people, as we know, everything is different: since children learn to scream from any trouble, especially from pain, from an early age, from infancy, then for both children and adults the ability to endure pain is manifestation of the will.

If the will of animals is their ability to resist their own instincts, then the will of a person is the ability to resist their own desires or fears, the ability to gather strength in order to achieve their goals. Will is the power component of the personality, it is the ability to promote one’s desires, to control one’s desires, in any case, it is the ability to overcome force directly and head-on.

Will is not the only organizer of our behavior, the Silovik organizes himself by will. Dushka organizes himself by the attractiveness of goals, Tactician organizes the situation around him and develops the necessary habits. The path of will is overcoming obstacles by force directly and head-on, and this is more often a male approach. For women, the path of flexibility and cunning is more characteristic.

A woman needs a will, but it is better that she is not very noticeable outwardly. A good analogue is the development of physical strength. It’s good when a woman is strong, but having bodybuilder’s biceps is a controversial acquisition for a woman. It is more important for a woman to have well-developed internal muscles, smooth muscles. And flexibility — both physical and mental. Wise women develop their will moderately and not for show, in relationships with men they often turn out to be hidden leaders.

It can be difficult with strong-willed people, but it is they who command great respect. In different situations, the will gets different names, its names are courage, courage, determination, self-discipline, perseverance and self-confidence. It is worse when the will manifests itself as a stupid obstinacy: this is what they say about people who have the will, but lack the mind. Napoleon, speaking of the commander (and it seems that his words concern not only military people), insisted on the balance of will and mind: «A military man should have as much character as mind.» “The emperor compared the talents of a real commander with a square in which the base is the will, the height is the mind. A square will only be a square if the base is equal to the height; only the person whose will and mind are equal can be a great commander. If the will greatly exceeds the mind, the commander will act decisively and courageously, but unreasonably; otherwise, he will have good ideas and plans, but lack the courage and determination to carry them out.”

Where do young children get will? It is difficult to deny the biological prerequisites, but the will to a greater extent is a product of social learning. The will is brought up (or not brought up) in children by their parents. Will is the demanding, strong voice of the father that resounds in us. Mom can ask, exhort, persuade — the father says what needs to be done.

In families where father and mother have exchanged gender roles, where the father is gentle, and mother is in command, mother is the bearer of will.

If you had such a voice in your childhood or youth (sometimes it can be the voice of a coach or a sergeant), if this voice became your law and began to organize your life and behavior, you know what will is. If you yourself began to speak with this voice to yourself and others, you have become a strong-willed person. How to develop the will? Developing the will is not a quick thing, but it is quite real. To make yourself a super-strong person, you may need a separate talent, but just to strengthen your will, to become a sufficiently strong-willed person — everyone can.