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Cited by 126Free Will and AgencyNeural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesMotor Control and Adaptation

The DOI matches its Crossref record; 85 of the 85 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.

The Neurocognitive Bases of Human Volition.

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Haggard, Patrick·2019·Annual Review of Psychology
DOI 10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103348
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Abstract

Volition refers to a capacity for endogenous action, particularly goal-directed endogenous action, shared by humans and some other animals. It has long been controversial whether a specific set of cognitive processes for volition exist in the human brain, and much scientific thinking on the topic continues to revolve around traditional metaphysical debates about free will. At its origins, scientific psychology had a strong engagement with volition. This was followed by a period of disenchantment, or even outright hostility, during the second half of the twentieth century. In this review, I aim to reinvigorate the scientific approach to volition by, first, proposing a range of different features that constitute a new, neurocognitively realistic working definition of volition. I then focus on three core features of human volition: its generativity (the capacity to trigger actions), its subjectivity (the conscious experiences associated with initiating voluntary actions), and its teleology (the goal-directed quality of some voluntary actions). I conclude that volition is a neurocognitive process of enormous societal importance and susceptible to scientific investigation.

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Research works printed but not linked: 11

  1. Ach NK, 1905, Über die Willenstätigkeit und das Denken
  2. Chalmers DJ, 1995, J. Conscious. Stud., 2, 200
  3. Diderot D, 1751, Encyclopédie, ou dictionnaire raisonné des sciences, des arts et des métiers
  4. Duggal HS, 2002, Neurol. India, 50, 487
  5. Hume D, 1978, A Treatise of Human Nature,
  6. James W, 1890, J. Hist. Philos., 21, 270
  7. Law Comm, 2013, Criminal liability: insanity and automatism
  8. Lévi-Strauss C, 1961, Tristes tropiques
  9. Passingham RE, 1987, Ciba Found. Symp., 132, 151
  10. Popper K, 1962, The Open Society and Its Enemies, Volume I: The Spell of Plato
  11. Voss M, 2017, Brain, 152, 33

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Metadata

Authors
Haggard, P.
Affiliations
University of London (GB)
Corresponding author
Haggard, Patrick
ORCID
Haggard, Patrick
Venue
Annual Review of Psychology
Publisher
Annual Reviews
Published
2019-01-04
Volume
70
Issue
1
Pages
9-28
ISSN
  • 0066-4308 (ISSN-L)
  • 1545-2085
DOI
10.1146/annurev-psych-010418-103348
OpenAlex
W2888599222
Cited by
126
References
85
Citations by year
2026: 8 · 2025: 15 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 18 · 2022: 18 · 2021: 14 · 2020: 16 · 2019: 9
FWCI
1.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Annual Review of Psychology (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Leverhulme Trust (RPG‐2016‐378)
  • Conseil Régional, Île-de-France
  • FP7 Ideas: European Research Council (323943)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Philosophy › Free Will and Agency
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Motor Control and Adaptation
Keywords
volition, free will, goal-directed action, voluntary action, subjective experience, generativity, teleology, history of psychology
MeSH terms
Brain, Goals, Humans, Neuropsychology, Volition

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