In the early 1900s, a number of studies were done on how people can complete tasks that require significant effort. They called this “the will” or “volition” (Ach, 1910; Lewin, 1922; Lindworsky, 1929). Some psychologists believed that you needed more than just wanting to do something, you needed to have a strong intention to do it. For example, Narziss Ach used an “introspectionist method” to figure out how he could swallow a living fly, and he thought that you needed an act of the will, which he described as a renewed affirmation of an intention that had been made (Ach, 1910). But in the 1930s, Kurt Lewin claimed that you didn’t need this extra “will” concept, you just needed motivation (Lewin, 1922). After that, not many people studied “the will.”
However, in the 1970s, this topic resurfaced as an are of intertest because research indicated that just being motivated wasn’t enough to actually do something if there were other things competing for your attention (Atkinson & Birch, 1970). At this time, the term “volition” was coined and replaced “will” to avoid confusion (Beckmann, 2019). Basically, volition is the set of processes in your brain that help you regulate your thoughts, feelings, and actions so that you can reach your goals. It’s like a muscle that needs to be trained, and if you use too much of it, you can get tired and need a break (Baumeister et al., 2000; Kuhl, 2001). Having good volitional skills is important for achieving your goals, especially in sports and exercise (Beckmann & Kossak, in press).
References
Ach, N. (1910). Über den Willensakt und das Temperament (On the act of the will and temperament). Leipzig: Quelle & Meyer.
Atkinson, J. W., & Birch, D. (1970). The dynamics of action. New York: Wiley.
Baumeister, R. F., Muraven, M., & Tice, D. M. (2000). Ego depletion: A resource model of volition, self-regulation, and controlled processing. Social Cognition, 18, 130150, S.
Beckmann, J. (2019). In D. Hackfort, R. J. Schinke, & B. Strauss (Eds.), Dictionary of sport psychology: Sport, exercise, and performing arts (p. 310-311). Academic Press.
Beckmann, J., & Kossak, T.N. (in press). Motivation and volition in sport. J. Heckhausen & H. Heckhausen (Eds.), Motivation and action. Heidelberg, Berlin: Springer.
Kuhl, J. (2001). Motivation und Perso ̈nlichkeit (Motivation and personality). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
Lewin, K. (1922). Das Problem der Willensmessung und das Grundgesetz der Assoziation (The problem of measuring the will and the fundamental law of association). Psychologische Forschung, 2, 65140.
Lindworsky, J. (1929). Willensschule (School oft he will). Paderborn: Schönigh.
