K. psychol. n. VE Kupchenko
Omsk State University of F.M. Dostoevsky, Russia
Personal willingness to overcome difficulties as a factor of life strategy
Way of life of each person carried out in certain
situations. To understand the specifics of human behavior is necessary to study
the content and structure of situations that make life and human activity that
mediate the formation of personality and the image of "I". Lewin
emphasized that human behavior and development are due, on the one hand,
personal desires, hopes and ideas, on the other hand, the situation in which it
functions (Levin, 2000). A similar view is present in developed Bandura model
of human behavior, including the interaction of internal and external
determinants (Bandura, 1977).
Traditionally, the national psychology man's
relation to the situation, the nature of interaction and activity in it are
considered as a reflection of stable subjective preferences, values, and
relatively stable personality traits. The most commonly used methods of
interaction with the individual life stories are the core characteristics of
the individual. On the other hand, the life of any human being - it is not
static, but a dynamic phenomenon, and therefore, the account of the individual
conditions of life situation allows it to be flexible and adaptive behavior.
Life situations of each person can be evaluated by
the duration, the degree of their intensity force of impact on the individual,
as well as their degree of difficulty. R. Lazarus believes that the difficult
situation is always characterized by a mismatch between what a person wants (to
do to reach, etc.), and the fact that it can, once in the circumstances, and
having means at its own possibilities. This error prevents the achievement of
the original goal, that gives rise to negative emotions, which serve as an
important indicator of the difficulties of a situation for the person (Lazarus,
1970).
In the study of difficult situations in life, in our view, current issues are
the study of perception of difficult situations, coping with her personal
tolerance to these situations. These characteristics are directly dependent on
the willingness of the individual to overcome the difficulties of life
(self-efficacy in the concept of A. Bandura), ie conviction of the person in
their own ability to achieve certain goals (Bandura, 1977). In contrast to
efficiency, which is a kind of outcome, the result of activity of the
individual, self-efficacy is a belief, a belief in the ability of the
individual to overcome life's difficulties.
In our opinion samoffektivnost or willingness of
the individual to overcome the difficulties has a determining influence on the
life strategy of the individual. The way a person predicts own effectiveness
determines the restriction or expansion of activities, efforts, his
persistence. A sense of self-efficacy plays an important role in achieving the
goals, objectives and solutions vital issue. According to social cognitive
theory A. Bandura, people with high self-efficacy to cope with more difficult
problems than those who seek to avoid such problems (Bandura, 1977).
The sample consisted of 120 middle adulthood
(26-55 years), a period of personal fulfillment in their professional, family
and interpersonal sphere of life and achievement of results. This study we
carried out in two stages. In the first stage we studied the private and shared
components of life strategy through the use of techniques purpose orientation
DA Leontiev and samoaktualizatsionnogo test E. Shostrom. as well as the procedure
of cluster analysis using the method of K-action.
Particular components of the strategy are vital
goals in life, control and integrity of life, locus of control, I, self-esteem
and self-acceptance, understanding of human nature, the value of self-actualization,
cognitive needs, flexibility and spontaneity of behavior, independence,
creativity, and life satisfaction. At the highest level, the private life
strategy components are combined into four general components:
cognitive-evaluative, motivational and regulatory, operational and effective.
Due to the cognitive-evaluative component life strategies personality gives an
idea of life in general, about myself and about other people. The
dynamics of life is determined by the basic necessities of life and the values of the individual, the disclosure of internal capacity, resulting in a
motivational component life strategy. Cognitive-evaluative and motivational
component life strategies and indicative perform a guiding function. But the
result of life largely depends on development of regulatory powers. Regulatory
component life strategies include behavior and personality characteristics that
make a person meeting the stated goals in life - is the flexibility of
personality, spontaneity, her behavior, contact, independence and creativity.
Vital functions of the individual is the intermediate and final results, which
determines the need for efficient component life strategy that reflects the
subjective experience of satisfaction / dissatisfaction with life in general
and of its individual periods.
The second step is to empirically examine the
effect of readiness to overcome the difficulties of life on the components of
the strategy in middle adulthood, using a scale of self-efficacy total R.
Schwarzer, M. Erusalema in adapting and implementing V. Romek ANOVA procedure.
In cognitive-evaluative component life strategies self-efficacy determines
samootnoshenie personality: the higher the psychological readiness of the
individual to overcome the difficulties of life, the higher the level of
self-esteem (F = 4,04 at p ≤ 0,05). Subjective sense of identity that it
can overcome life's troubles increased confidence and belief in yourself, in
general contributing to the growth of self-esteem level. According to Bandura,
high self-efficacy associated with the expectation of success, usually leads to
a positive result, increasing self-esteem. Low self-efficacy pre-configures a
person to fail, blocking its activity or focusing deficiencies, and as a result
determine the actual failure and reducing the personal self-esteem [4].
The severity of psychological readiness to
overcome the difficulties of life in the period of middle adulthood affects the
motivational component of life strategy, adding value to self-actualization (F
= 6,44 at p ≤ 0,05), defining its cognitive needs (F = 3,26 at p ≤
0.05). Confidence of personality in that it is able to cope with life's
difficulties is its desire to know ourselves and the world, to realize their
potential. That person, who, by contrast, shows the uncertainty in overcoming
difficulties, limited knowledge of self and reality, perhaps because of their
own unwillingness or fear.
In addition, most express a willingness to
overcome the difficulties of life manifested in behavior, increasing the
person's willingness to take risks (F = 7,37 at p ≤ 0,01), autonomy (F =
7,58 at p ≤ 0,01), rapport (F = 6,4 at p ≤ 0,05). High self-esteem
self-efficacy increases the willingness of the individual to the unexpected,
independence and sociability personality.
During middle adulthood revealed the influence readiness to overcome the
difficulties of life in the real satisfaction (F = 3,6 at p ≤ 0,05) and
the past (F = 8,09 at p ≤ 0,01). Thus, the result of the subjective
experience of the past and the present period of life of the individual middle
adulthood is directly determined by the severity of self-efficacy: the more a
person is confident in its ability to cope with life's difficulties, so it
takes more behavioral activity in their lives, reaching life outcomes that will
be quite different periods own life.
Thus, during the middle adulthood readiness of the individual to overcome the
difficulties of life is a significant personal characteristic, all the
components of life strategy.
1. R. Lazarus theory of stress and physiological research / / emotional stress.
- M., 1970.
2. Lewin K. Field theory in social sciences. - St.: Speech, 2000. - 368s
3. Bandura A. Self-effficacy: Toward a unifying theory of behavior change. -
Psychological Review - 1977. - № 84. -p.191-215.