Any human meaningful activity is appropriate and motivated by internal or external causes. It transforms the surrounding reality, and therefore it is important to understand the goals and motives of the individual through these criteria. Why is this important? To predict the cause-effect relationships and the results of the individual. Both the subject of activity and the surrounding society will use these criteria for their own purposes.
Activities
This is a conscious activity of a person aimed at satisfying personal and social needs, having a specific goal and motive. All human activities shape the development of society.
Activity is a form of realizing the goals of people in society. In its process, the external world is transformed as an object of conscious influence, and the man himself. This happens as a result of improving knowledge of the world and its capabilities. Therefore, it is so important to know and take into account the motivating motives of activity and the orientation of people’s actions in society, since ultimately they form the system of social life of the society, and their effectiveness depends on motivation.
Human activities pay attention to different disciplines. Sociology considers it from the point of view of social significance. Philosophy - for the analysis of meanings and values in the actions of people, for psychology, the structure and types of human activities are important from the point of view of the mental orientation of the person, for management it serves as a tool for motivating employees.
In the process of studying different areas of humanitarian knowledge, a single basis was identified that characterizes the process of activity. This structure and its elements constitute the principle of expedient activity, which is preserved in all its forms.
Phenomenon structure
Any activity has a common nature and focus. The structure of human activity looks rather concise, the scheme of which can be represented as follows: goal → motive → result. But this chain does not contain all links. Moreover, it is characterized by the cyclical nature of the repetition of the process. And the beginning of such a chain is based on the result of previous activities. Rather, it is a spiral that strives for the perfection of man and society.
Before setting a goal, a person must feel the need and the motive for activity arising on its basis. Moreover, the result is not the end of the chain, but serves as the basis for a new stage in the active development of the individual from setting goals (tasks) based on a specific motive and to the process of achieving results using selected techniques and means to achieve it. Such is the logical structure and its stages. These are links of one chain, and they act as a structure of human activity:
- Need.
- Motive.
- Goal.
- Process.
- Method (method) of implementation.
- Result.
Each of the elements performs a specific function, it is important for the whole process. Without the identified need, it is impossible to determine the authorship of the goal. This form of activity has no result, or it is alienated from the subject of activity, does not belong to it and does not serve its purpose, since it makes senseless of the whole process.
If the process replaces the result, people lose interest in this area of activity. If the result does not meet expectations, the individual loses its meaning and may degrade due to the lack of the most important quality of human activity - awareness of its purpose.
Analysis and synthesis
Forms of activity are studied by a complex of social and humanitarian sciences. One of their tasks is to reveal the nature of goal-setting in human activities in order to motivate each member of society to socially significant activity and to prevent antisocial motives and asocial orientation in people's actions.
An analysis of all the elements of the chain allows us to discover causal patterns of interaction of motives and results of activities, goals and forms of the process, thereby helping to understand the driving forces of society.
The structure itself does not have a linear orientation. It is repeated, intersects with other forms and methods of action of a person and a group, is absorbed, it happens that it is interrupted, not ending with the achievement of the goal.
An analysis of the structure of the activity of the completed cycle gives an idea of the strength of motivation, of how energy is used to solve problems, and of other socio-psychological factors of activity. It can serve as a quality tool for creating motivational programs and methods of organizing the labor process.
Knowledge of the reasons and conditions for the formation of motives can serve as an effective tool for creating incentive programs in the process of work and professional self-realization of people.
The goal of the activity is the leading motivator
The level of a person’s stated goal depends on his culture, capabilities, environment, and social conditions. Not always can he accurately formulate a goal. More often, personal goals are replaced by external attributes of success and values characteristic of a particular moral environment of society. The ability to formulate a personal goal of activity is an indicator of a person’s personal development.
The purpose of the activity is to comprehend its result. This idea is material, having a spatio-temporal localization.
Goals can be internal, immanent (intrinsic to) the nature of man and external, determining the activities of the individual. External and internal goals may coincide. This is the best option for the benefit of society and the individual, since it does not provoke a conflict of interest.
If the external goal does not meet the interests of the individual, then the activity can achieve a result, but talking about effectiveness is acceptable if there is a strong motive for achieving the result. If the goal solves problems important to the personality, it can itself be a powerful motivating factor. So what is an activity motive? What role does he play?
Motivational needs
This concept is so important from the point of view of mental processes that there are numerous theories of human motivation. One of the most famous is the theory of the hierarchy of needs of Abraham Maslow. According to this system, it is precisely the needs that are the internal engine of the individual, they encourage him to create and create, and the structure of human activity is based on them. Scheme Maslow consists of several levels:
- The desire to satisfy the physiological need for food, home, warmth.
- Existential needs: life safety, housing integrity, the presence of a predictable future.
- Social security: the need for love, the need for people, belonging to a social group.
- Spiritual needs for creativity.
- Cognitive needs.
- Aesthetic. This is the desire for harmonization of the inner and outer world, for beauty.
- The need for self-actualization (a person wants to have a status, recognition, strives for full self-expression).
All needs that aim at the personal well-being of the individual are basic, primary. The level of human need for recognition by society, the desire to lead a social life - all this is secondary. Similar needs are formed when basic ones are satisfied.
Motive
The motive forms the goal, as the structure of activity shows. The diagram clearly demonstrates the importance of this element. It should be added that all needs are inherent in human nature. But the leading motivator will be the one that solves the most urgent tasks of achieving personal goals.
Motive, to characterize it briefly, is the meaning of human activity, its activity.
In order to understand what is the motive of activity, let us turn to an example.
If a person seeks to become a leader, his goal is to acquire the status of a boss, the motive is to satisfy the need for recognition, the result is a high position. In real life, everything is not so schematic and primitive, of course. Motives are often multi-level, like goals.
Methods and methods of activity
The analysis of the structure of activity logically makes one come up with a number of questions.
How are goals and outcomes interconnected, how do these moments influence each other? What is an activity motive? How does he manifest himself in the process of achieving the goal?
Indeed, if a motive is an internal engine, then a method or method of achieving a goal is an external form of implementation of an activity. And it must be adequate to the goal. The correspondence of the methods and methods to the obtained result is a qualitative characteristic of the process. The mismatch of the forms and contents of the activity with the goal may have negative consequences both for the individual and for the inner circle.
If a person seeks to become educated, and his inner motive is the need for knowledge, then the purchase of a diploma will never become an adequate form of realizing the goal. The characterization of the structure of activity always gives an idea of the adequacy of the purpose, methods and results of the process.
A process is always action. The characterization of the structure of activities of different options gives an idea of the possible paths of events. Actions can lead to a result, then they form an expedient process. Actions at the level of affects, habits, false beliefs, misconceptions about the goal are inappropriate and lead to unpredictable results.
Activities
Activities are diverse. The chosen path depends on various parameters - age, profession, status, field of activity. We will consider some types in order to trace how the psychological structure of human activity changes.
This process does not begin with adulthood, when a person becomes able to make free and independent choices with all responsibility. Activities are carried out from the very first days of life. Only the degree of her awareness and motivation changes.
The infant, like the formed personality, has a goal, but it cannot yet be called conscious. But they are driven by a strong motive - the satisfaction of physiological needs. He already carries out activity on a subconscious level of reflexes.
Next, game activity is added. In childhood, she is leading. At this stage, the general structure of activity is already manifesting itself. It reflects the entire hierarchy of Maslow's needs in a collapsed form.
The next logical stage is human learning activity. Its purpose is the acquisition of new knowledge, skills. This is a very significant activity.
It is present at all stages of human life. It can be said differently: any type of activity has a learning function.
As a rule, in the process of labor, the expedient activity of the personality is fully realized. Ultimately, a product is produced that meets the current needs of society.
The result of the creative process is a work of art. The desire for self-expression contains the structure of activity. The diagram demonstrates the close relationship between this motive and the goal: self-expression motive ↔ method ↔ goal. But it does not necessarily take place only in a creative environment. The element of creating something new is present in all forms of human activity, but to a different degree, of course.
Result
The final stage for which any activity is carried out is the planned result. If it does not meet expectations, a person may experience frustration - a mental state that characterizes the internal devastation, disappointment. Naturally, this kind of phenomenon does not contribute to the success and further goal setting. Therefore, it is so important that the result brings joy. The latter must be distinguished from pleasure. A person experiences joy if he puts effort into the process to obtain a result. In this case, the result itself is a logical motivator for further activities, because people tend to desire positive emotions.
The result is the end product of human activity. At the same time, he must meet his goal. The structure of human activity coincides in this phase. Having reached the goal and getting the result, the individual goes to a new level of need that needs to be satisfied.
The result often appears in the form of a product, but it does not always have a material shell.
The result can be a goal that brings joy from the labor process. If the result of the activity corresponds to the goal, then the person has achieved a positive result. If not, then negative experience is being formed, which should also be taken into account when drawing up plans for the future.
Rational activity and personality
Of particular note is human activity, the goal of which is self-improvement. In the course of this process, the structure of human activity has its personal potential and subject matter. Each of the people has such an opportunity. But not every person is ready to work on himself. Only a highly developed individual understands that he himself is the best subject of his own development. What features does this process have?
- The ability to be fully responsible for the results of its development.
- The ability to achieve success in an activity in which a person fully realizes himself.
- The goal has a deep life meaning, as a rule, significant for society, going beyond the personal needs of an individual.
- The high level of organization of personal space, the submission of the way of life to the goal.
It should be noted that any human activity, the purpose of which satisfies him, is an element of self-improvement. The fact is that joy is always the opening of one's own boundaries and possibilities. In addition, it also provides a positive attitude that encourages others to work together and helps to increase the energy of this process.
Even Aristotle, the father of Logic, called expedient activity a great good for society and man. All the true values of life over time become even more significant. The words of Aristotle are undoubtedly relevant to the present.