The Specificity Of Processes Of Motivational Conditioning In The Human Mind

The methodological principle of the objectification of needs, which in activity theory explains the ontological development of motivation (Leont'ev, 1975), is in need of concrete psychological development to ascertain what influences and mental processes give rise to such objectification. In terms of biological motivation, this question is made easier by the existence of a detailed system of data, accumulated in conditioning studies, concerning the acquisition of the capacity to activate a person by neutral stimuli. A psychological interpretation of these data purports to explain the fact that the conditioned response phenomenon indicates not only a redirecting of unconditioned responses toward new stimuli but also the genesis, in response to this stimulus, of subjective relations orienting the person toward influences relevant to his needs. Such an interpretation therefore helps to concretize the concept of the objectification of biological needs (Vilyunas, 1986. Pp. 154-74).