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291
Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
Introduction
The issue of volitional regulation and the mechanisms of volitional action is one of the central
problems for psychology. The complexity of the experimental study of the will as well as methodological
discussions about the nature of volitional behavior actualize the formulation of new research tasks and
place the need to study the will, the implementation of actions and the implementation of human choice
in a separate signicant layer of research. Instability and complexity of the world, on the one hand,
creates conditions for the development of anxiety, a number of other negative states; on the other hand,
today we can observe a situation of developing new opportunities and new psychological resources of
the volitional process. Being associated with a special cognitive practice, the situation of uncertainty
allows, in the absence of specied algorithms, to experience a new experience, to see and rethink reality
in a new way, to form a new culture of experiences through an emotional attitude to phenomena and
objects of reality, to structure a new picture of the World and oneself in it. Self-regulation in this case
unfolds not on an intellectual, but rather on a personal and semantic level. Moreover, the removal of
uncertainty becomes a more signicant goal in decision-making than the realization of choice (Kornilova,
2014). Thus, in situations where intellectual orientation is difcult (which is typical of the modern world
challenges), a decisive role is assigned to personal effort, that unfolds at the level of volitional action. In
existential psychology and philosophy this phenomenon is described in terms of resilience, existential
courage (Maadi, 2004); courage (Tillich, 1995; Kierkegaard, 1993), effort in time (Mamardashvili, 2018),
etc.
Moreover, speaking about the psychological resources of self-regulation (resilience Maadi, 2004),
willingness to take risks, exibility, orientation to action/state (Kuhl, 2000), we should understand that
the shortage of resources is no less important. In one of his articles D.A. Leontiev designated such
resources as universal, “based on the system restructuring connections in interaction with the world and
thereby capable of turning into advantages even what at rst glance looks like an obvious disadvantage.”
(Leontiev, 2016). So, the situation of trauma, despair, deprivation of opportunities and high stress – all this
On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety
Selezneva Yulya
1*
, Abakumova Irina
1
, Kupriyanov Igor
1
1
Faculty of Psychology, Pedagogy and Defectology, Don state technical university, Rostov-on-Don, Russia,
e-mail: yulya.selezneva@gmail.com, abakira@mail.com, kupriyanov@sfedu.ru
Abstract: The article attempts to describe the features of a person’s volitional regulation regarding the aspect of the
implementation and realization of his intention in action in a challenging situation of the modern world: complexity, uncertainty,
stress. The approaches to the study of will in psychology and philosophy have been analyzed. The role of trust in the implementation
of a person’s choice and the realization of intention in action has been shown . The following empirical methods were used:
the psychometric technique “Self-condence” by T.P. Skripkina, the Scale of interpersonal trust by J.Rotter in the adaptation of
S.G. Dostovalov, the methodology of “Life orientations, SOHO” D. A. Leontiev, express diagnostics of propensity to unmotivated
anxiety (V.V. Boyko), “Control in action” by Yu. Kull in S.A. Shapkin’s adaptation. According to the results of our study, we can
conclude that there are differences in the realization of the intention to act, depending on the different ratio of the level of trust
in oneself and in the world. Self-trust can be a component and an important resource of self-regulation.
Keywords: self-regulation, volitional control, trust, trusting relationships, anxiety.
Original scientic paper
Received: April, 05.2023.
Revised: April, 28.2023.
Accepted: May, 15.2023.
UDC:
159.947.3
159.942.5
10.23947/2334-8496-2023-11-2-291-300
© 2023 by the authors. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the
Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
*
Corresponding author: yulya.selezneva@gmail.com
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Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
can turn out to be a resource for growth and “mobilize a person to change the structure and compensatory
increase in the quality of self-regulation of their life activity.” (Leontiev, 2016). Therefore, the modern world
can also act as a mobilization factor, and in this regard, it is vital not only to study what obviously increases
the resources of self-regulation, but also to talk about those obstacles that make us grow.
The modern world challenges (informational, stressful, uncertain) are increasingly actualizing
a person’s personality resources – goal setting and meanings search as a vector of movement, the
possibility of free action and taking responsibility for one’s own choice, the effects of understanding and
resistance to manipulation. Turning to psychological researchers and philosophical views on the nature
of thinking, we underline that it is the act of thought that sets the possibility for free action; gives rise to
a new experience situation and, via the extraction of meaning, opens up new opportunities for changing
the movement trajectory. The act of understanding is always a “shift of consciousness” and, in the view of
ancient and modern philosophers, it is “switching to a structure where meaning is extracted once and for
all and further (Mamardashvili, 1999). The act of thought is the comprehension of continuity, “extracting
meaning and making decisions.” (Mamardashvili, 1999). It is the aspect that M.K. Mamardashvilli reects
on the “bad innity” we fall into without being able to extract meaning from our own experience. In a
situation of instability of the world, unpredictability of life processes and events, a person more often faces
the need to develop personal resources to cope with information overload, compression and the speed of
change. Thus, the experience of slowing down and focusing attention, accepting events and recognizing
symbols, trust and dealing with anxiety creates a powerful resource for the realization of intentions and
the expansion of his life experience.
In our opinion, trust as the most important socio-psychological phenomenon, is one of the
mechanisms of regulating human activity and can also inuence the mechanisms of volitional action,
manifesting itself at the level of different ratios of self-condence and trust in the world and thereby
regulating the implementation of humans’ actions and the implementation of their intentions in different
ways. Our research is aimed at studying the features of volitional regulation (in this case, we understand
volitional regulation as the retention of intent in action) and describing the differences in the implementation
of actions depending on different types of trust relationships.
Despite the terminological ambiguity of the concept of will, as well as the complexity of the empirical
study of this phenomenon in the view of philosophers and psychologists, will is primarily “a reasonable
action accepted for execution, but insufciently motivationally secured” (Aristotle); it is a concept that has
become an affect (L.S. Vygotsky); a psychic force that transforms understanding and knowledge into
action; a kind of bridge between desire and action (I. Yalom); the psychic organ of the future (Arendt);
the ability to spontaneously begin a series of sequential actions, and nally, will is the decisive factor
in the transfer of equilibrium into states of change; the act occurring between insight and action and
experienced as an effort or determination (Velis); acceptance of responsibility as opposed to awareness
of responsibility; the ability to make and embody choices; power consisting of energy and desire. Thus,
the will expresses determination and commitment; directs us into the future, creates new opportunities in
nding ourselves.
In the psychological tradition all theories of will can be conditionally divided into three approaches.
The rst one is motivational: will is considered through motivation and affects, aspirations, desires,
determining actions become the subject of study. Motivational will theories also include D. N. Uznadze’s
views. He emphasized that the basis of volitional action is an attitude that controls the decision-making
process and is formed in the process of imagination or thinking. In the theories of free choice the will is
an independent force that mostly determines all other mental processes functioning. The same tradition
is widely represented in philosophy. For instance, we nd the idea of free will in I. Kant’s reections on
the freedom of action. The will becomes free when it obeys its inner imperative, the inner law which
determines the boundaries of volitional action. In psychological research the theory of free choice is
also reected in the P. Ya. Galperin’s works: (will as a way of making a conscious decision in a situation
of moral choice and volitional actions as a special type of mental actions requiring internal effort, in the
concept of A. N. Leontiev (as characteristics of volitional actions, the author of the concept identies:
arbitrariness, the presence of choice, decision-making, overcoming obstacles (Leontiev, 2000)). Thus,
within the framework of the approach the will of free choice is represented either as an autonomous unit
or as one of the signicant functions of cognitive processes.
The second concept suggested by Y. Kul’s will is the basis for the construction and implementation
of our research task, It is also close to the approach described above. In Yu. Kull’s view, volitional
regulation initially implies some difculties in the implementation of personal intentions and is reected at
the level of retaining intentions in action. Reecting on the obstacles in the realization of the intention and
the implementation of the action, Yu. Kull introduces two basic concepts: state orientation (susceptibility
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Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
to the formation of inferior intentions, excessive concentration on thoughts about the experiences of their
states resulting in difculties with the action itself) and action orientation (the transition from intention to
action occurs involuntarily). The author identies the mechanisms that provide control in action: emotional
(emotions regulation and thus the action continuation when face an obstacle), motivational (motivation
support and intent actualization in achieving the goal); attention control is the most important mechanism
manifested as focusing on information that is signicant for the intent realization and distraction from
interfering factors; perceptual control, failure control and behavioral control.
And nally, the third one – regulatory approach – is represented by the research of I.M. Sechenov,
M.Ya. Basov, L.S. Vygotsky. In this approach the emphasis is shifted from the study of the will as a situation
of generating special actions to the area of “mastering oneself” and one’s behavior. Within the framework
of this very approach the problem of self-regulation arises as a private area of will research. Regardless of
the difference in concepts, the volitional process includes: the motivational side as an incentive to action
and setting a goal, motivational conict and the problem of internal choice, decision-making based on the
personal meaning of the action, expressed in intention and the action implementation (committing an act).
At this exact stage volitional regulation acts as control over the execution of an action, and in a situation
of obstacles – as a continuation of the action when meeting them.
Materials and Methods
The purpose of the study is to analyze the possibilities of volitional regulation in the situation of
modern word challenges and to identify differences in the implementation of intentions in action, depending
on different types of trusting relationships. As a working hypothesis we put forward a few points. Firstly, the
assumption that the trusting relationships system is interconnected with the peculiarities of implementing
implementation in action. Secondly, the suggestion that there are differences in the implementation of
intentions among respondents with different types of trusting relationships. 210 people of 27-55 years
old participated in the study: 28% were men, 72% – women. The research methods were focused on the
study of the individuals’ features of the volitional regulation at various stages of the action implementation,
highlighted by Yu. Kull. Distinguishing between action orientation (transition from intention to action) and
state orientation (delay in the motivational phase), the author captures personality traits operationalized
to three different situations. Firstly, orientation to active action versus orientation to reection in a situation
of failure, the ability to exibly switch from one situation to another, the ability to dive deeply into the
implementation selected activities while being distracted from others, in the realization of the intention
to act (“Scale of control over action” by Yu. Kull, adaptation by S.A. Shapkin). Secondly, the severity
of anxiety as an indicator of emotional state (express diagnostics of the propensity to unmotivated
anxiety V.V. Boyko). Thirdly, trust in oneself and others and the study of the trusting relationships system
(methodology for the study of interpersonal trust J.V. Boyko). Rotter’s “Interpersonal Trust Scale”, ITS,
adapted by S.A.Dostovalov; psychometric technique “Self-condence” by T.P. Skripkina). Fourthly,
meaning of life orientations: the subject’s experience of the meaningfulness of his own life as an integral
adaptation indicator and psychological well-being, including such components as satisfaction with the
process of life and the result of self-realization in the past, the presence of clear goals and readiness for
their implementation (methodology “Meaning of Life orientations”, SOHO, D.A. Leontiev).
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Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
Results
At the rst stage of the study, the system of trusting relationships among respondents (self-
condence and trust in the world) was studied and the groups of trusting relationships were identied
depending on the severity of self-condence and trust in the world.
Table 1
Distribution of the sample by the severity of self-condence and trust in the world. Groups of trust
relationships
These techniques allowed us to assess the severity level of two parameters – the level of self-trust,
which ranges from high to low – and the trust level in others (in the World). As can be seen from the table,
the most numerous group turned out to be group “B” – the self-trust level is higher than the trust level in
the World. In our opinion, this result correlates with the idea of a transitive World, the person’s need and
often their ability to nd support mainly relying on themselves. Based on theoretical propositions about
the essence of trust presented research on the trust system relations (Skripkina and Selezneva, 2014;
Dostovalov, 2013), we proceeded from the fact that the balance of trusting attitudes allows a person to
exercise activity more fully.
For the subsequent analysis of the trusting relationships group (“A” the average level of self–trust
and the average trust level in the World and “D” the high self-trust level and the high trust level in the
World), where the balance of trusting attitudes was recorded, we combined into one group – group “A” the
harmonious ratio of the trust level to oneself and to the World.”
Further in the text:
Group “A” is a harmonious ratio of the self-trust level and the level of trust in the World.
Group “B” – the self-trust level is higher than the level of trust in the World.
Group “C” – the self-trust level is lower than the level of trust in the World.
At the next stage of the study, based on the tasks set, we analyzed the features of life-meaning
orientations in each of the three groups, as well as the features of the implementing intention in action.
Figure 1. Symbols: A – a harmonious system of trusting relationships; B – self–trust is higher than
trust in the world, C -self-trust is lower than trust in the World.
The obtained results suggest that self-trust is one of the conditions for a person’s ability to build
a life perspective, perceive life as a value and ll it with meaning. As can be seen from the graph, the
respondents in group “B” are more inclined to perceive themselves as having freedom of choice and
being able to control their lives (scale “locus of control life (32,4); locus of control I (23)). On the contrary,
in group “C” (self-trust is lower than trust in the World). The decrease in these indicators shows that,
perhaps, excessive trust in the World limits, narrows the scope of what is possible for a person, thereby
causing difculties in setting goals, in feeling able to change the current life situation. It is interesting to
note that in the harmonious group of trusting relationships there is also a decrease in values on all scales
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Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
of the SOE (in comparison with group “B”).
Table 2
The results of comparing the average values of the CSR scales of respondents with different types
of trust relationships. Variance analysis table
We conducted a one-factor analysis of variance (ANOVA) of differences between subjects with
various types of trust relationships according to the scales of the SOE methodology. The values of
Fischer’s statistical F-test and its signicance level, as well as indicators of the magnitude of the ω
2
effect
(omega-squared) and their 95% condence intervals are shown in the table (the values are rounded to
2-3 decimal places).The differences on all scales are statistically signicant, while the magnitude of the
effect on the scales “Goals”, “Process” and “Locus of control – life” is small, and on the scales “Result”,
“Locus of control – I” and the overall indicator is average (according to Mangiaco, 2016; Ben-Shachar
Lüdecke and Makowski, 2020).
At the nal stage of the study we analyzed respondents with different types of trusting relationships
and their features of the realization of intention in action.
Figure 2. Symbols: A – a harmonious system of trusting relationships; B – self–trust is higher than
trust in the World, C -self-trust is lower than trust in the World
As can be seen from the graph, in group “A” a harmonious system of trust relations, the values on
the scales of the “Control in action” methodology are reduced, and the orientation to the state is expressed
on the “Failure” scale (5) and on the “Planning” scale (5,8). Whereas in case of a violation of the trust
attitudes balance (group “B” and group “C”) we observe differences in the implementation of intention
in action (differences are signicant at the level of p=0.014 at p<0.05 according to the Mann-Whitney
U-criterion). It should be noted that for group “C” (self-trust is lower than trust in the World) there is a
tendency to focus on the state in the situation of setting goals and gradually moving towards them (the
“Planning” scale (5,7) and in the ability to focus on the goal in stressful conditions, overcoming anxiety (the
“Failure” scale – 5,8). In group “B” (self-trust is higher than trust in the World), on the contrary, we observe
high values on the scales of “Failure” (6.2), “Planning” (7), “OU” (21.2) with an action orientation. Thus,
the cognitive and affective component of self-control in this group is the better formed and, unlike state
orientation, assumes overall high abilities to plan and focus on goals without anxiety, as well as exible
choice of strategies in a situation of unfavorable conditions that complicate the action.
Therefore, self-trust can become a powerful condition that allows a person to act in an unpredictable,
rapidly changing world. When there is no support in the outside world due to its unpredictability and
uncertainty a person with a “fatalistic attitude” may form obstacles in implementing intention in action – a
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296
Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
delay in the motivational phase with a focus on reection in a situation of failure and planning, as opposed
to orientation to action (transition from intention to action). It can be assumed that self-trust (as a certain
sensitivity to desires, experiences, needs) provides control in action: at the emotion regulation level,
maintaining motivation in the state necessary for action, attention control, failure control and, to a lesser
extent (in comparison with other types of trusting relationships) contributes to the formation of inferior
intentions (excessive concentration on thoughts about the experiences of their states, as a result of which
the action itself is difcult).
Let us consider the results of correlation analysis.
Figure 3. Results of correlation analysis (scales of the SOE methodology (D.A. Leontiev) and
“Control in action” (Yu. Kull)
Symbols: B – self–trust is higher than trust in the world, C -self-trust is lower than trust in the world
The results of the correlation analysis allowed us to formulate the following conclusions:
In group “B” (self-trust is higher than trust in the world):
• positive connections are noted between the scales of the “Result” method and the scales of the
“Control in action” Failure” method (0.22) The overall level (0.23). Speaking of this type of trust relationship,
it should be noted that the more a person is able to evaluate their life as productive, the more they are
ready to act in case of failures, overcoming anxiety and the higher the overall level of control in action is;
• positive relationships between the “Process” scale and the “Planning” scale (0.21); Overall level
(0.2). This connection is quite interesting and reects our general idea – the more a person is involved in
their life and perceives it as emotionally saturated and lled with meaning, the more they will be ready to
set new goals and move towards them, anticipate difculties, and generally realize intentions in action;
• negative connections were found between the anxiety scale (V.V. Boyko’s express diagnosis; the
scale of propensity to unmotivated anxiety) and the scales “Failure” (-0.33), Realization (- 0,19), General
level (-0.35). Thus, the higher the anxiety level, the less a person is capable of realizing the intention of
action. Considering that these connections are common for the respondents in group “B” (self-trust is
higher than trust in the World), it can be assumed that trust in the World provides contact with the World
and creates the basis for safe activity in it. With a marked decrease in condence in the World, the higher
the propensity to experience anxiety in a person, the more this situation can lead to changes in the level
of realization of intention in action for people, making it difcult to implement it. Recall that anxiety is a
phenomenon that hides interest in an object and involvement as an emotional experience. The source of
anxiety always consists in avoiding experience (past, current, future) and in this sense (with a high level
of self-trust), because of anxiety, obstacles may arise in the way of implementing an action;
In group “B” (self-trust is lower than trust in the World):
• If the balance of trusting attitudes is disturbed in the direction of reducing the self-trust level,
changes in the level of implementation of intentions in action may be observed, making motivational,
emotional and behavioral control more difcult. This is evidenced by a large number of negative connections
between the SOE scales and the “Implementation” scale of the “Control in Action” methodology. Goals
and implementation (-0.70); Result and implementation (-0.71), Locus of control I and implementation
(-0.68). For this reason, in case of disharmony of trusting attitudes (towards increasing the level of trust in
the World and reducing self-trust), a person may have difculties in realizing intentions in action, delaying
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Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
action in the motivational phase even if he or she is capable of experiencing the meaningfulness of life, is
satised with the process of life and the results of self-realization, having clear goals.
Thus, we see variations in the identied relationships in different (based on the severity of self-trust
and trust in the World) groups of trusting relationships. Self-trust actually creates the basis when value-
semantic resources (meaningfulness of life, life satisfaction) begin to act as a support and give the subject
self-condence and the right to be active and make decisions).
Discussions
Thus, according to the results of our research, it was shown that the implementing intention in
action (volitional control) can be interconnected with expressed condence attitudes. Moreover, that
exactly self-trust that mostly determines a person’s willingness to act. In our opinion, this is the point of
sensitivity to oneself that creates the basis for volitional action through the integration and processing
of one’s own emotional experiences, a more subtle awareness of one’s needs and coordination with
goals considered personally signicant. In this case, trusting oneself, a person is more able to integrate
contradictory feelings, accept their own contradictory experience as part of a single reality related to
values, internal imperatives, meanings.
Another important conclusion that we made based on the results of the study concerns the function,
the essence of a harmonious and disharmonious trusting relationships system. In a number of studies
(Skripkina and Selezneva, 2014; Dostovalov, 2013), regarding various phenomena not directly related to
volitional regulation, there was the thesis that the harmony of trusting attitudes sets a more complete way
of human existence in the world. Indeed, trust as a phenomenon that allows a person to take a certain
value position in relation to themselves and the world and, based on it, to build a life strategy largely
determines the choice of a particular behavior model. Using the example of these studies, we proved that
the trust predominance in the world underlies adaptive forms of behavior, the self–trust predominance is
the basis of non-adaptive activity forms associated with risk and creative activity. In a situation of balance
between self-trust and trust in the World a person nds themselves in a more harmonious situation and
the balance of trust in the World and in themselves gives an opportunity to a fuller self-expression in the
world. The present study shows that in a situation of a violation of the balance between trusting attitudes
a person is more ready to realize their intentions. This is quite an interesting moment that allows, on the
one hand, to take a fresh glance at the trust category, on the other hand, to raise even more questions and
outline new research tasks in the study of the relationship between trust and free action.
Turning to modern foreign research in the eld of will, it should be noted that most of them were
carried out within the framework of research and study of the brain (Slors, 2019; Liljenstrom, 2021), while
there are practically no completed studies on the relationship between trust and volitional regulation.
Foreign studies are more focused on the exploring will in the aspect of studying decision-making and
actions based on brain potentials. These studies are also focused on highlighting important aspects
creating the conscious and unconscious in making volitional choices and concretizing the very concept
of volitional regulation as irreducible only to motivation or to cognitive mechanisms, presenting an
independent construct that is interconnected with personal, cultural, cognitive differences (Slors, 2019).
However, an interesting study by Jumana Yahua, who attempted to describe the factors inuencing
self-Control and suggested that self-control as the ability to regulate one’s thoughts, emotions and
behavior in order to achieve a certain goal (goals), especially in the presence of motivational counteraction,
depended on three situational factors: bodily condition (muscle tone), signals of the surrounding world
(soothing or alarming) and social trust (Yahua, 2021). Despite some differences in conclusions, this study
is quite alluring for us. Thus, the author proves in a number of experiments that successful self-control is
signicantly increased in the case of muscle tension and a special bodily state (when, instead of modulating
the cognitive state, which then mediates the success or failure of self-control, the bodily state has an
unconscious and direct effect on self-control and is “inherently associated with strengthening or calling
for willpower”. This is the rst situational factor. Social trust is the second factor that improves self–control
indicators. And here a fairly simple explanation is expressed by Jumana Yahua: the situation related to the
safety and reliability of objects (in other words, the situation of trust in someone or something) positively
affects our ability to self-regulation in achieving goals when we also have to overcome obstacles.
Despite the controversial aspects of the presented judgments and some disagreements with the
author, this study is of great interest to us and shifts the emphasis in the eld of will studies to the plane of
situational cognition, which in terms of the prospects for the study of volitional regulation, in our opinion,
creates great opportunities and a research interest.
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Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
Conclusions
The challenges of our time are primarily existential, covering issues of free will, responsibility,
personal decision, and human choice. Following V.A. Ivannikov, we note that “the ability to Choose
taking into account the consequences “for Other equals” and taking responsibility for their own decisions”
characterizes a Person as an individuality (Ivannikov, 2016). Awareness and decision-making in a situation
of Choice, taking responsibility for the consequences of one’s decisions, committing an act and, nally,
choosing one’s way of life forms a picture of the Personality and subsequently leads to the formulation of a
task that is possible only for a Person – the task of changing oneself. This level of personal self-regulation
cannot be considered outside of the question of a person regulating their intentions and his actions. As
already noted earlier, the aspect of action regulation presented in the “Rubicon model” by H. Heckhausen,
Yu. Kulya is primarily associated with a certain subject’s attitude to risk taking uncertainty. In a decision-
making situation the moment when intention transits to the action implementation can often be associated
with an act of internal responsibility acceptance for it. However, as we have seen, there are differences
in determination and willingness to accept this responsibility, which depends on the severity of trust in
the world and in oneself. This severity will determine a person’s attitude to uncertainty. Revealing the
resources of self-regulation, D.A. Leontiev in addition to sustainability resources (features of the value-
semantic sphere), motivational, instrumental and psychological resources (causal orientations, locus of
control, orientation to action/state, self-efcacy, tolerance to uncertainty, risk tolerance, self-dependence,
reection, time perspective parameters, etc.) allocates so-called universal self-regulation resources, the
function of which is to compensate the lack of sustainability resources in extreme life circumstances
(Leontiev, 2016). These resources, which allegedly limit the subject’s capabilities, often become a
resource for growth. Thus, the author formulates a general existential law: the scarcity of any resource
increases the efciency of its use (Leontiev, 2016).
The loss of stability today is a factor that leads a person to a crisis and, therefore, to action.
These are the same universal resources D.A. Leontiev wrote about – resources that reect the lack of
opportunities and thereby increase the strength of the action potential. Analyzing the results, we saw
what a signicant proportion of respondents demonstrate a high level of self-trust, which causes the
action. Acting with a clearly expressed trust in the world, feeling its security and the possibility of control,
is becoming almost impossible today. The world leaves no choice and its complexity, unpredictability and
sometimes unbearability creates the basis for free action only when you can rely on something inside
yourself. This attitude (trust in the world as opposed to self-trust, the illusion of controlling the world) is
increasingly changing to a desire of taking risks, to the percepting the failures not as a factor reducing the
ability to act, but rather as an experience needed to extract meaning from and shifting the trajectory of
movement. This is a special state of “sensitivity to the impossible” that allows a person to be “mobile in a
mobile environment” (Asmolov, 2018).
In our opinion, self-regulation resources can be supplemented with self-trust as the basis of self-
regulation. This thesis in no way detracts from the importance of the opposite attitude (trust in the world),
which forms the human activity basis. Of course, a person does not explore themselves in their decits,
they learn about their capabilities from the information that comes from the World and this also allows a
person to design goals, correlate their needs, etc. However, the measure, the ratio of trusting attitudes
means a lot for self-regulation. Our study convincingly proves that self-trust is exactly the thing that allows
you to create support and move in the chosen direction.
The idea of a multidimensional space of life, a multidimensional psychological reality that has a
value-semantic dimension, the idea of self-organization as the ability to complicate elements and arrange
structures (Klochko and Klochko, 2015) turns us back to a Person, to their emotions, meanings as “guides
to the consciousness of those objects that correspond to the current state of a person” and creates the
basis for action (Klochko and Klochko, 2015). Thanks to the semantic dimension, the World is capable of
expansion, but also of collapse, “compression, when external regulations limit the space of free movement.”
Perhaps it is self-trust as a source of a certain measure of self-sensitivity, reecting a willingness to work
with emotions (including negative ones, but which also carry information about meanings and are in many
ways the sources of our movement) that lies (paradoxically) at the heart of readiness for changing and
at the heart of efforts to retain and implement goals. Where there is a sense, there will inevitably be a
feeling, wrote V.P. Zinchenko (Zinchenko, 2007). And trust, as an irrational attitude in many ways, is also
primarily a feeling. Often, when talking about volitional regulation, we think about the unity of “thinking
and acting”, making a meaningful decision which leads to free action. Undoubtedly, it is vital to take this
into account when studying volitional action. However, less often they talk about the feeling, about the
emotions that underlie any action. Through the awareness of desires as special experiences, the intention
www.ijcrsee.com
299
Selezneva, Y., Abakumova, I., & Kupriyanov, I. (2023). On The Question of A Human’s Personality Resources in a Changing
World: Volitional Control, Trust, Anxiety, International Journal of Cognitive Research in Science, Engineering and Education
(IJCRSEE), 11(2), 291-300.
acquires meaning and signicance; and at the stage of the volitional process (as the retention of intention
in action), in conditions of involvement and high sensitivity to oneself, these conscious desires acquire
the character of active intentions that guide a person’s activity and form an action plan. Finally, decision-
making and action takes us to the plane of interaction with the world in terms of taking responsibility for the
consequences and results of our decisions. Thus, the intentionality itself (as a special position in relation
to something) presented at the level of trust creates a powerful resource in the intentions realization and
the commiting a conscious act by a person.
Acknowledgements
The research was supported by the Russian Science Foundation (Project No. 23-18-00848, 2023)
«The research of the value-semantic sphere and the development of technologies for the psychological
rehabilitation of the population of the region of a local military conict in the context new geopolitical risks».
Conict of interests
The authors declare no conict of interest.
Author Contributions
Conceptualization, S. Y., A. I.; methodology, S. Y., A. I; formal analysis, K. I. and S. Y.; writing—
original draft preparation, S. Y., A. I. All authors have read and agreed to the published version of the
manuscript.
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