Content
- Psychological features of the phenomenon
- How to listen to the voice of reason
Hello, dear readers! Everyone is familiar with the situation when you need to work, but you just can’t bring yourself to do anything. You don’t seem to be tired, but your whole body is screaming that it’s time to take a break.
The struggle of motives in psychology is a clash of different tendencies that provoke intrapersonal conflict.
The most striking example of this phenomenon is a person who is trying to quit smoking. Often, the problem of not achieving a goal affects a person’s behavior and mood even more than the presence of cigarettes in his life. He seemed to have decided everything, got ready, but failed to cope with the task and once again the desire to smoke won.
Even if the main aspect for making the decision to go to the store was physical craving and, as a result, a bad mood, it cannot improve, since in this case it was not the voice of reason, a strong-willed decision, that won, but a seductive random impulse.
4. Post-crime behavior
Post-criminal behavior is the behavior of a person who has committed a crime. We will not call post-criminal behavior, for example, the divorce of a convicted person from his wife for the reason that she got together with another person during her husband’s long imprisonment. This divorce is quite distantly related to the crime committed, but escape, forgery of documents, or, on the contrary, confession and repentance will be such post-criminal behavior under any conditions.
It is clear that in post-crime, as in any other behavior, there are objective and subjective sides. The objective consists of the actions performed, and the subjective consists of their awareness and planning, as well as the motives for their commission and setting goals. We will consider only the main types of post-criminal behavior: confession, active repentance, cooperation with justice, evasion of responsibility and behavior while serving a sentence.
Confession is considered by the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation as a circumstance mitigating responsibility (clause “and” of Article 61). According to Art. 62 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, the amount of punishment imposed on such a person cannot exceed 3/4 of the punishment provided for in the article of the Special Part.
What are the motives for turning yourself in? They can be varied: the desire to mitigate future punishment, negative self-esteem, censure of one’s actions. Confession can be an independent decision or take place on the advice of other persons; this does not affect the mitigation of the responsibility of the perpetrator.
Confession, as a rule, occurs either in minor crimes, moreover, committed for the first time, or when the crime was committed under the influence of passion and the subject soon realized his guilt and regrets what happened.
In the heat of a quarrel, K. severely beat his wife. Having come to his senses, he called an ambulance himself and immediately went to the police, where he wrote a statement about what happened. He was given a suspended sentence.
Active repentance, in fact, is contained in the example given, since paragraph “k” of Art. 61 of the Criminal Code mentions “providing medical and other assistance to the victim.”
Another illustration is the case of engineer S. Heading to his workroom, S. usually walked past the accounting department, the door of which, as a rule, was open. The safe, located directly opposite the door, was often open. The engineer observed this picture systematically and one day decided to go into the accounting department and make a remark to its employees. He entered, but there was no one in the room. The safe was open again. “I don’t know what pushed me then,” the engineer later explained, “but I decided to take a wad of bills from the safe.” He did so, put the money in his briefcase and went to his workplace.
For two days he expected some kind of reaction to his action, but nothing changed either at the enterprise or even in the accounting department, as if no one had discovered the loss. On the third day, he came to the director, took out the money from his briefcase and told him about what had happened. They did not hold him accountable for the theft, and the accounting department employees were replaced by other people.
This case falls under paragraph “and” of Art. 61 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, which provides for “active assistance in solving a crime,” although, in fact, there was nothing to disclose here. As for the motives, S. himself did not fully understand them: a momentary desire to take “ownerless” money or a desire to expose blatant sloppiness or to show himself as an honest person against the backdrop of widespread theft? Motives are not always amenable to rational explanation. As has been noted repeatedly in the criminological literature, motives are not always sufficiently expressed and clearly understood. In some cases, they may not be realized at all. This may be due to various reasons, including an emotional state. The struggle of motives can be just as unconscious; if it occurs in the subconscious, then in the end only one winning motive emerges and is recognized by the subject as the leading one. It is possible that this was the case with engineer S.
Active repentance can take place both at any stage of the commission of a crime and after it (for example, already during the trial). In this case, a change in motivation may occur under the influence of events that have little to do with the criminal (for example, the appearance of witnesses for the prosecution, which he did not even expect).
Nevertheless, he may have had hidden, perhaps subconscious, motives for repentance before, but the criminal overcame them through an effort of will, in particular, thanks to the competing motive of achieving the goal.
About the latter, psychologists write that this motive assumes that: a) the desired result has been obtained; b) the result satisfies the subject (“I did what I wanted”); c) neither too high nor too low demands are effective; d) the result is such that others can evaluate it as some kind of achievement of the subject (“well done, he managed to achieve his goal”); e) the result was obtained by himself. The motive for achieving a goal for some people is very strong and stable; sometimes the goal itself is not even as important as the fact that it was achieved. It is obvious that the motive for achieving a goal is closely related to the self-affirmation of the individual and, perhaps, is even its basis.
Needless to say, the direction (content) of the motive for achieving a goal can be extremely varied - from murder (“I wanted to destroy him and achieved my goal”) and ending with self-exposure and repentance (“I wanted to act like a Christian and that’s why I came to the police myself and surrendered to the authorities; I deserve death and am waiting for it"). The psychology of a criminal is as complex as that of an honest citizen, and the options for behavior are countless.
Evasion of responsibility is another type of criminal behavior that occurs in at least half of all criminal cases. The forms can be very different: departure to another area, including abroad; acquisition of false documents; changes in appearance, including cosmetic surgery; secret residence with friends, etc.
Practice shows that most often there are three motives for evading responsibility:
1) fear of punishment (characteristic of either primary, including accidental, criminals, or those who face a very severe punishment, for example, life imprisonment).
It is appropriate to add that the motive of fear can cause two opposite reactions; flight from justice and repentance and confession (“Let them punish as soon as possible”). What underlies these fluctuations in motivation? Obviously, the personality traits of the subject (courage, strength or weakness of will, cowardice, as well as moral and value attitudes);
2) the desire to take advantage of the results of the crime. It is clear that if a major embezzler, as a result of complex operations, took possession of millions or billions, then going to prison and parting with them would mean that all his activities were meaningless. Therefore, he strives in every way to evade responsibility, at least until he “launders” (legalizes) the stolen wealth;
3) intention to continue criminal activity. This motive of behavior is typical for pickpockets, swindlers, and cheaters. To be behind bars means to interrupt their usual trade and way of life. For the most part, they succeed in evading punishment. Suffice it to say that a pickpocket in a large city or in transport commits on average up to 25 thefts a month, and he is detained, again on average, once every two years. It is easy to calculate how many times he managed to evade criminal responsibility between prison terms. Confession or active repentance do not even occur to such people.
Serving a sentence. At this stage, the convicted person has the opportunity, over a more or less long period of time, to evaluate his past behavior and think about the future. Among other things, the motives for the crime committed are assessed and re-evaluated and motivation for the future is formed.
These processes are very contradictory. On the one hand, some of the convicts feel a sense of remorse for their actions. According to the observations of lawyers and psychologists, 55-60% of defendants plead guilty in court. However, these are not always frank statements. “Actual repentance, complete and deep self-condemnation, remorse is an extremely rare phenomenon for all categories of criminals.”
Even having repented in their souls, not every convicted person will dare to tell other prisoners about this. Most people deprived of their liberty prefer not to talk about their crimes and, especially, about their experiences. To this we must add that prisoners have to maintain relationships with two categories of people at once: the administration and the convicts, and this is not easy and requires resourcefulness, or better yet, silence.
On the other hand, there are people who painfully need self-affirmation. Often, while boasting, they attribute to themselves something that they did not do. These are thieves in law and psychopathic individuals, of whom there are many in places of detention.
Associated with these two positions—repentance and bragging—is the so-called attribution of responsibility, i.e., attributing the causes that caused the crime to a variety of factors and persons. Statistics show that different categories of criminals behave differently in this sense. For example, 63% of those convicted of acquisitive crimes do not answer questions at all about the reasons for their actions. In more than 80% of cases, violent offenders blame other people, mostly the victims, for what happened. “Distortion of the situation serves as a unique form of self-justification and is a prerequisite for the formation of illegal motivation.” However, this motivation (or rather, motivation) is already turned into the past.
Here is its transcript (based on the testimony of those convicted of murder):
— protection of one’s rights, self-defense — 30%;
- helping others, defending justice - 20%;
- desire to resolve relationships, revenge on the offender - 22%;
— state of intoxication and excitement — 10%;
- desire to scare, randomness - 18%.
As for the punishment imposed by the court, it is usually regarded by those convicted as unfair and too harsh. It is clear that “various forms of self-justification form a distorted vision of life, the situation, oneself, bringing consolation and relief to the subject, but the consolation is illusory, because everyday problems ... are by no means removed.” It is not news that prison is unlikely to reform a person. This thesis is confirmed by research by psychologists. Even “repeated punishment when performing some action does not take away the irresistible desire to resort to it again and again.” Only if this or that action or object no longer satisfies any need does the subject begin to lose all interest in it.
This, by the way, explains some of the features of the motivation and behavior of persons who have served their sentences. Firstly, the fairly high level of recidivism that has persisted for decades (up to 30 and even 40%) is explained by the fact that criminal activity, after serving the sentence, continues to satisfy the interests of the subject; secondly, it is obvious that the emergence of new life prospects for a person released from prison places of detention (good job, solution to housing problems, etc.) can radically change the direction of his dominant motivation and give it a positive character. Solving these issues is the main task of individual prevention, which is the subject of the next chapter.
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If we summarize the consideration of the issue of the causes, mechanisms and results of the struggle of motives, then we can identify two central factors that play a major role in this process and ultimately determine the nature of the subject’s actions.
This is, firstly, the priority of the value that is most important for a potential criminal. As already mentioned, this value can be positive, negative, or ethically and legally neutral (money, power, authority, career, friendship, love, a clear conscience, etc.).
Secondly, when a subject rationally comprehends the situation in which he finds himself, the principle applies: the expected benefit must exceed the possible losses. Even the ancients believed that “a criminal is a bad accountant”: after all, it is clearly more profitable for him to preserve his freedom, or even his life, than to risk them, for example, because of the dubious prospect of enrichment. But these considerations are applicable, I emphasize once again, precisely for a rational assessment of the state of affairs, and this, as has already been said more than once, is not often found in criminal behavior.
It is enough to give one example. Most of us probably believe that freedom is of incomparably greater value than money, but a major fraudster may have a completely different approach. He is ready to serve 7-8 years in prison (or even more) if, after his release, he receives all the stolen billions stored in a foreign bank. Now he is, say, 40 years old. And at 50 he will not yet be an old oligarch. This, by the way, is why a certain lobby fought so hard to prevent the State Duma from reinstating confiscation in the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. And she achieved her goal! Although confiscation was returned to the Criminal Code, it does not apply to economic crimes! Steal, but don’t forget to “launder” what you stole: after serving time, everything will come back to you!
So, both of these factors: the subjective value of the desired good and the predominance of benefits over possible losses - essentially predetermine which of the motives competing (fighting) in the consciousness of the subject will win. Knowing this is necessary both for a correct understanding of the causes of the crime being committed and for the prevention of criminal activity. We will move on to the last question in the next chapter.
Psychological features of the phenomenon
If you are interested in defining the motivational struggle in a person, then this is a clash of interests. When in a person, along with some desires, diametrically opposed ones appear.
At some point, an impulse arose and a goal was set, but on the way to solving the problem, an obstacle was encountered that the person could not cope with. We encounter similar examples every day, and the most common obstacle that is so difficult to resist is the desire to rest.
I want to create my own online store, but not today. There was a lot to do at work, I’d better go and watch TV. I decided to learn English, but my friends invited me to sit at the bar. Starting tomorrow I will start exercising in the morning. Oh, No. They write on the Internet that the weather will be bad. I'll set the alarm as usual.
We get used to following momentary impulses, as a result of which the tendency to be disciplined decreases and forcing ourselves to follow the decision made becomes more and more difficult with each new indulgence.
Types of motives
Classifying motives is a difficult task, because there are many circumstances that motivate action. Various directions and schools of psychology have their own classifications, and in domestic science there is no consensus on this issue. The most common and most important is the identification of 4 groups of motives.
External and internal motives
These two types of motives mean a lot not only in the choice of means and ways to achieve a goal, but also in the manifestation of a person’s individuality.
Internal motives are circumstances associated with the person himself and his attitude to activity. Internal motives include interests, hobbies, the need for positive emotions and the desire to avoid negative ones, the desire to increase self-esteem, fulfill one’s duty, show love and care to loved ones, etc.
Internal motivation is quite stable, since changes in our worldview, interests and beliefs, and relationships with others occur gradually. In the above example, when a student sets his goal to learn a lesson well, the internal motives include the following: interest in the subject, the desire to gain new knowledge, increase self-esteem, and experience satisfaction from a job well done.
External motives are associated with circumstances that do not depend on a person and are outside of him and the sphere of activity that they influence. This may be public opinion and the vagaries of the weather, professional responsibilities and the desire to receive higher pay or avoid punishment. If, in an effort to better complete a task, a student focuses only on evaluation or encouragement from adults, if he hopes that success will allow him to beg his parents for the thing he needs, then this is external motivation at work.
Psychologists believe that external motives play an important role in a person’s life, since the encouragement or censure of society is very significant for us. These motives are often more effective than internal ones, and they are easy to use to control a person. However, from the point of view of development and improvement of personality and productivity, internal motivation is preferable. For example, creativity is associated almost exclusively with intrinsic motivation.
Positive and negative motives
Motives, like needs, are related to emotions. In many ways, it is the desire to experience positive, pleasant feelings and avoid unpleasant ones that guides us when choosing one or another course of action. Motives for avoiding fear, anxiety, pain, punishment, etc. are considered negative, while those associated with the desire to receive pleasure, enjoyment, and joy are considered positive.
Psychologists still cannot come to a consensus on which type of motivation is more effective. Indeed, fear can be a very powerful motivator, as can the desire to avoid experiencing physical and mental pain. Negative motives can encourage a person to overcome obstacles on the way to an intended goal, force him to work until exhaustion, or endure communication with unpleasant people. But they destroy human personality, destroy dignity and self-respect. While positive motivation helps to increase self-esteem, it provides a positive incentive for personal development.
Motivation to achieve success
Among the various motives that drive us, the motivation for success has recently become especially popular. This is due to the understanding of success as a significant life value. Success is prestigious; it attracts not only the material benefits that accompany it and the feeling of personal satisfaction. The main thing in success is public recognition, which increases a person’s social status.
It would seem that everyone has the need to become a successful person, but in reality there are many obstacles on the path to success that seem insurmountable. The main one is the lack of motivation, that energy impulse that would move a person from his usual comfortable place, force him to leave his comfort zone and support in him the desire to move towards the goal, overcoming obstacles.
If you have such a problem and you are not moving towards your goal, but are hesitantly marking time, then ask yourself: “Why?” Why do you need this goal? What do you want to get when you reach the top? If you haven’t heard a clear answer from yourself, then maybe you don’t really need this goal, and it’s better to set another one? Or should you think more seriously and find those hidden motives that can become the source of your movement?
The cause of problems with motivation for success may be the remoteness of the goal. She seems to be attractive, but she is lost in such a vast distance that she seems unattainable. In this case, you need to break the path into relatively small segments and set intermediate goals. Moving from one to another, you will definitely achieve success.
The mechanism of sports psychology
You can suggest anything to a person. And competent suggestion works wonders. An athlete can achieve success with the power of thought, believe in himself, feel like a hero, a winner, etc. Therefore, it is necessary to understand how important for a person is the one who is next to him, who inspires him to succeed and achieve his goals. It is also important how his self-hypnosis is configured.
Do you remember when you won something? In competitions, in school Olympiads, or just in an argument? Do you remember that feeling of superiority? So, the task of sports psychology is to preserve this feeling, reinforce it, improve it, and stimulate it for new victories. Or, on the contrary, remember the loss - second place, third, last? You might think that this disappointment will bring complexes, reluctance to continue pursuing this area, apathy and frustration. Here the psychological approach is completely different: the task is to transfer the loss from the internal component of the athlete to the external world.
Make them not consider it a failure, but a step, an opportunity, a lesson, an experience, whatever. Do not allow a persistent thought to form in your head that everything a person does is doomed to failure. In any case, you need to believe in yourself, believe that you can achieve success even after a lot of defeats. The main thing is to adhere to the system correctly and follow its laws. If something doesn’t work out, it doesn’t mean that the athlete is bad, it means he’s doing something wrong. You need to study, look at patterns, make adjustments and move towards your goal. It is contraindicated to consider yourself a weakling and a loser. Just the mood to win and harmony within yourself.
The fight against cyberbullying and pedophiles on the Internet was included in the new manual on life safety
“We did not follow the path of creating this manual by people whose main activity is teaching, and relied on specialists in the practical field. The second feature that distinguishes this manual, this book, is its practical orientation. We tried to put recommendations in this book that can be implemented in practice, to shift the emphasis from extremely dangerous phenomena towards those everyday situations in which we find ourselves every day,” she said.
The manual will have ten sections, each with its own author or group of authors specializing in a given topic. “In addition to safety at home, safety in transport, public places, the natural environment, cybersecurity, knowledge about health, there are also several sections,” added group representative Kristina Kolesnikova.
The new manual on life safety is the first in Russia in which the rules for providing first aid are legally defined by the Ministry of Health, noted the department’s chief freelance specialist in first aid, Leonid Dezhurny. Previously, there were no legislative definitions of first aid at all.
“First aid is about using your hands, these are the actions that need to be carried out. Yes, there is some kind of theoretical block, but now the approach to teaching first aid is aimed at teaching practically. We have to do resuscitation, we have to apply a bandage - we can’t learn this from a picture,” he emphasized.
Speaking about the cybersecurity section, Associate Professor of the Department of Social Psychology at Moscow State University Alexander Rikel said that it will include rules for combating manipulation on the Internet and cyberbullying (online bullying). There are a huge number of pedophiles and maniacs on the Internet, “who are either trying to steal money, or brains, or control over a device, but the worst thing is when it’s the brains, that’s why hygiene is needed, such digital hygiene,” added the president of , which is developing an intelligent monitoring and analysis system social media, Igor Ashmanov.
The new benefit will begin testing in October in 12 regions of Russia. According to Kristina Kolesnikova, it is a “preliminary incarnation of a textbook” and after the necessary procedures, perhaps it will become one. In addition to the paper version, a digital version will also be available.
The news has been edited (18:01 Moscow time) - transmitted with a change in wording in the 1st sentence of the 4th paragraph
Life is a fight
The lion's share of everyday life is a struggle with oneself and bad habits. Every day people have to overcome themselves in different situations. Without noticing, a person creates difficulties for himself, which he then has to fight with. For example, if you drink too much at a party with friends, then the next day it is very difficult to get in shape.
Having sat at the computer and gone to bed after midnight, in the morning you can hardly lift your head from the pillow, blaming yourself for not following your daily routine the night before. Once you allow yourself to overeat your favorite junk food, you will subsequently have to fight off those extra pounds. Postponing important matters until the last moment, you end up having to painfully resolve life’s issues. And there are many such examples. What do you need to do to stop ruining your life, consciously or unconsciously?
To do this, you need to answer the following questions. Honest answers will allow you to understand what is the reason why a person finds unnecessary adventures and trials that can simply be avoided in life.
Questions:
– what problems often appear in life;
– lie to yourself or others more often;
– Do you often try to hide from problems?
– what actions or actions do not allow you to deal with your problems;
- what secret are you hiding?
The answers will allow you to understand yourself and identify acute problems of your personality.
Next, answering the following questions, you need to rate yourself on a scale from 1 to 5.
Statement 1 means that it practically does not relate to the personality, and 5 means that what is said is completely inherent in the personality.
Questions:
– I don’t allow myself to live a full life because of low self-esteem and fears;
– I feel the need to be right all the time, even if it pushes other people away;
– I have unresolved negative situations or personal problems in the past, because I don’t want to face them again;
– I depend on some people;
– I have physical addictions;
– I don’t take care of myself (physical and emotional health);
– I have not decided on my main values;
– I lie to myself and others;
– I don’t see what is the best thing to do with my life;
– I have constant financial problems;
– there are difficulties in communicating with loved ones, I am not positive;
– my interests are focused on my person;
– I don’t understand why others have success in life, but not me;
– I don’t feel the strength, there is no motivation and desire to change my life for the better;
– I often feel tired and overworked.
Interpretation
It is important to pay attention to the answers that were given a score of 4 and 5 points. Analyze how the described moments manifest themselves in life.
You can write down specific examples. You need to think about what makes you act this way and why certain situations occur in life.
Next, you need to think about and write down what can be done so that the negative manifestations of life cease to be present and how you can completely get rid of them. If your habits are so formed that you cannot cope on your own, then you should seek help from a professional. For example, a psychologist can help solve psychological problems; if you have addictions, you should contact a psychiatrist.
But it is important to understand: in order to start fighting with yourself, you need to identify the reasons that prevent you from becoming what you want.
