Intent (psychology)

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In psychology, intent is the intention to perform a certain behavior in a certain situation. With this behavior, a certain voluntary motor skills are intended. (a)

I-quality

A resolution therefore has the form “If situation X occurs, I will perform behavior Y!”. (a) There is a certain ego quality of consciousness connected with it. (b) According to Gollwitzer , intent consists of a specification of the place, time and manner of action. Lewin describes the intent as an undertaking .

In contrast to the intention of also implementing intention is called, is the goal intention to reach a goal, a specific action result (or its consequences) or perform a specific, low-specified behavior. One goal intention has the form “I want to achieve Z!”.

If a goal intention is equipped with an implementation intention, the probability of a successful initiation of action increases, even on very short occasions or under cognitive load. This effect is attributed to the increased cognitive activation of the opportunity as well as to the link between opportunity and action that the implementation intention brings with it.

The majority of the empirical studies were field experiments in which the effect of intentions on health behavior was examined. It has been shown that the formation of an intention, i.e. the precise specification of opportunity and action, greatly increases the likelihood of action. For example, women who had made an intention took part in preventive examinations for cancer much more often than women who had only made one goal intention.

A distinction must also be made between elective actions and instinctual actions . The latter are based on a rather isolated motive for action. The former require individual choices between competing ideas, needs, standards of value, etc. (b)

See also

  • Motivation - the pursuit of goals or desirable target objects based on emotional or neural activity (activation) .

Individual evidence

  1. a b Hans Walter Gruhle : Understanding Psychology . Experiential theory. 2nd edition, Georg Thieme, Stuttgart 1956:
    (a) p. 13 f. to Stw. "Intent and act of will";
    (b) p. 269 on stw. “I-consciousness”.
  2. a b Wilhelm Karl Arnold et al. (Ed.): Lexicon of Psychology . Bechtermünz, Augsburg 1996, ISBN 3-86047-508-8 ;
    (a) Col. 1415–1420 on Lemma “Motorik”, Stw. “Movement ..., adapted to spatial and temporal conditions”;
    (b) Col. 845. on Lemma “Action”.