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Historical Perspectives in the Study of Action Control

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Action Control

Part of the book series: SSSP Springer Series in Social Psychology ((SSSOC))

Abstract

In his summary of a socio-genetic theory of voluntary regulation, Leontiev (1932) describes a strategy the Chinese mailman used to avoid getting distracted while delivering an urgent telegram. “He organizes his own behavior, creating for himself additional stimuli. He hangs a number of subjects — a piece of coal, a pen, and some pepper on the end of a short rod. This he keeps before his eyes on the road. This will remind him that he must fly like a bird, run as if he was stepping on hot coals or had burnt himself with pepper” (Leontiev, 1932, p. 57). This example illustrates a strategy of voluntary regulation which presumably facilitates cognition-behavior consistency. Whether or not a cognition suggesting a certain action results in its enactment depends on the actor’s ability to apply appropriate self-regulatory strategies.

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Authors
  1. Julius Kuhl
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  2. Jürgen Beckmann
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Max-Planck-Institut für psychologische Forschung, Leopoldstrasse 24, D-8000, München 40, Germany

    Julius Kuhl  & Jürgen Beckmann  & 

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© 1985 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Kuhl, J., Beckmann, J. (1985). Historical Perspectives in the Study of Action Control. In: Kuhl, J., Beckmann, J. (eds) Action Control. SSSP Springer Series in Social Psychology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69746-3_5

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69746-3_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-69748-7

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-69746-3

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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