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Everything about Volition
Cognitive process of decision to act
Volition, also known as will or conation, is the cognitive process 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, motivation, and cognition (thinking). Volitional processes can be applied consciously or they can be automatized as habits over time. Wikipedia →
🧭 Start here: a 6-step reading path
- Read the overview: VolitionA 5-minute orientation
- Skim a recent paper: Striosomes and Matrisomes: Scaffolds for Dynamic Coupling of Volition and ActionInfluential work since 2022
- Pick up a classic book: Die Welt als Wille und VorstellungThe most-reprinted book on the subject
- Read the landmark paper: Human volition: towards a neuroscience of willCited 869 times
- Go sideways: Rubicon modelA closely related topic
- Go sideways: Self-regulated learningA closely related topic
📖 Definitions
Noun A conscious choice or decision.
Noun The mental power or ability of choosing; the will.
Noun A concept that distinguishes whether or not the subject or agent intended something.
🗂️ The subject at a glance
🏆 Landmark papers (most cited)
Human volition: towards a neuroscience of will
Integrating Implicit Motives, Explicit Motives, and Perceived Abilities: The Compensatory Model of Work Motivation and Volition
Ego Depletion: A Resource Model of Volition, Self-Regulation, and Controlled Processing
Internally Generated Preactivation of Single Neurons in Human Medial Frontal Cortex Predicts Volition
Volition and Conflict in Human Medial Frontal Cortex
The Role of Volition in Organizational Learning: The Case of Automotive Product Recalls
Deglutitive tongue force modulation by volition, volume, and viscosity in humans
The Meaning of Behavior: Discriminating Reflex and Volition in the Brain
🆕 Influential since 2022
Striosomes and Matrisomes: Scaffolds for Dynamic Coupling of Volition and Action
Libet’s legacy: A primer to the neuroscience of volition
Influence of economic and academic barriers on perception of future decent work: A moderated mediation model of work volition and social support
Career Exploration and Career Decision Self-Efficacy in Northwest Chinese Pre-service Kindergarten Teachers: The Mediating Role of Work Volition and Career Adaptability
Aye for the tiger: hegemony, authority, and volition in India’s regime of dispossession for conservation
📚 Books worth reading
Die Welt als Wille und VorstellungArthur Schopenhauer · 1819
Thought reform and the psychology of totalismRobert Jay Lifton, Robert Jay Lifton · 1961
GritAngela Duckworth · 2016
The emotions and the willAlexander Bain · 1859
Maladies de la volontéThéodule Armand Ribot · 1884
Will and spiritGerald G. May · 2009
Body and willHenry Maudsley · 1883- 📕Philosophical and practical treatise on the willThomas Cogswell Upham · 1843
Ranked by number of editions on Open Library, a rough measure of how lasting a book is.
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