Overview

""It is not thought as such that can move anything, but thought which is for the sake of something and is practical."" This discerning insight, which dates back more than 2000years to Aristotle, seems to have been ignored by most psycholo­ gists. For more than 40years theories of human action have assumed that cogni­ tion and action are merely two sides of the same coin. Approaches as different as S-O-R behaviorism,social learning theory, consistency theories,and expectancy­ value theories of motivation and decision making have one thing in common: they all assume that ""thought (or any other type of cognition) can move any­ thing,"" that there is a direct path from cognition to behavior. In recent years, we have become more and more aware of the complexities in­ volved in the relationship between cognition and behavior. People do not always do what they intend to do. Aside from several nonpsychological factors capable of reducing cognition-behavior consistency, there seems to be a set of complex psychological mechanisms which intervene between action-related cognitions, such as beliefs, expectancies, values, and intentions,and the enactment of the be­ havior suggested by those cognitions. In our recent research we have focused on volitional mechanismus which presumably enhance cognition-behavior consistency by supporting the main­ tenance of activated intentions and prevent them from being pushed aside by competing action tendencies.

Full Product Details

Author:   Julius Kuhl ,  Jürgen Beckmann
Publisher:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. KG
Imprint:   Springer-Verlag Berlin and Heidelberg GmbH & Co. K
Edition:   Softcover reprint of the original 1st ed. 1985
Dimensions:   Width: 15.50cm , Height: 1.60cm , Length: 23.50cm
Weight:   0.464kg
ISBN:  

9783642697487

ISBN 10:   3642697488
Pages:   288
Publication Date:   25 January 2012
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Paperback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   Manufactured on demand  
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Table of Contents

1. Introduction and Overview.- I. Cognitive and Motivational Determinants of Action.- 2. From Intentions to Actions: A Theory of Planned Behavior.- 3. Knowing What to Do: On the Epistemology of Actions.- 4. The Pursuit of Self-Defining Goals.- II. Self-Regulatory Processes and Action Control.- 5. Historical Perspectives in the Study of Action Control.- 6. Volitional Mediators of Cognition-Behavior Consistency; Self Regulatory Processes and Action Versus State Orientation.- 7. Dissonance and Action Control.- 8. Action Control and the Coping Process.- III. Problem-Solving and Performance Control.- 9. Mechanisms of Control and Regulation in Problem Solving.- 10. Thinking and the Organization of Action.- 11. A Control-Systems Approach to the Self-Regulation of Action.- 12. From Cognition to Behavior: Perspectives for Future Research on Action Control.- Author Index.

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