(2016) Science and education, 11, 91-97. Odessa.

Oleksandr Sannikov,
PhD (Candidate of Psychological Sciences), senior researcher, associate professor,
Department of Theory and Methods of Applied Psychology,
South Ukrainian National Pedagogical University named after K. D. Ushynsky,
4, Fontanska Doroha Str., Odesa, Ukraine

PSYCHOLOGICAL MECHANISMS OF MAKING A CHOICE BY A PERSONALITY

The article presents the author’s approach to studying the mechanism of making everyday decisions by a personality, based on the system of activation of its resources. The complex of the main concepts of the psychological system of personality’s everyday choice includes the contextuality of everyday decisions, structural integrity, functional and subjective usefulness. The mechanism of making a choice by a personality can be carried out only by the “bounded” psychological system of making everyday decisions. The structure of the system of personality’s choice is formed by the clusters of the interconnected elements – components of making everyday decisions; and its functioning is provided by the mechanisms of making a choice. The functional analysis of the situations of making everyday decisions has made it possible to describe the functional units of specific features of the mechanism of making everyday decisions. The activation of the mechanism is initiated by a person’s realisation of the context of a real or imagined situation of choice. The mechanism of making a choice is carried out by the following units: actualisation, assessment and rebuilding of a situation, estimation of the resources, consideration of the criteria of usefulness of choice, etc. The algorithms of personality’s behaviour as a consequence of the assessment of resources of the choice include transformations, saving resources, transforming the conditions of a real or virtual situation. The decisiveness is considered as a multileveled, integral personality trait which provides the readiness for making everyday decisions. It is understood as a personality’s ability for wise analysis and assessment of the situation of making a decision and own abilities (resources); the ability for self-regulation, controlling and managing the states, thoughts, actions and behaviour in different situations of making a choice; the readiness for defending the choice, etc.

making a decision, everyday choice, the mechanism of making a decision, the components of a situation of choice.

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