DSSSB 12 August 2024
Applied Psychology
Easy

What is the meaning of conation?

Appeared in: DSSSB 12 August 2024

Explanation

  • Conation refers to the mental faculty of striving, volition, and purposeful action, as defined in psychiatric and psychological literature.
  • It represents the proactive and motivational component of behavior, often summarized by the simple term 'doing'.
  • This concept is a core part of the classic tripartite model of mind, which divides mental life into three distinct but related functions.

Why Other Options Were Wrong

  • Option A: Affection refers to the emotional or 'feeling' domain of the mind, which includes moods and emotional responses.
  • Option C: Knowing refers to the cognitive domain, which involves thought processes, perception, memory, and understanding.
  • Option D: Feeling is a synonym for affection and belongs to the emotional (affective) domain, not the volitional (conative) domain.

Related Visual

Visual explanation — Related Visual
Clinical Relevance
  • Nursing practice connection: This is primarily an exam-oriented knowledge point with limited direct bedside application, so retain Tripartite Model of Mind: Cognition, Affection, and Conation as background academic context rather than a clinical decision trigger.
  • Assessing conation is crucial in psychiatric nursing. A deficit in conation, known as 'avolition' (a severe lack of motivation or initiative), is a key negative symptom of schizophrenia and can also be present in severe depression.
  • Nurses monitor for avolition by observing a patient's ability to initiate and persist in goal-directed activities, such as personal hygiene, attending therapy sessions, or engaging in social interactions.
  • What if? If a patient with depression states they 'can't get out of bed,' the nurse should recognize this not just as sadness (affective domain) but potentially as impaired conation (volitional domain). This understanding guides interventions toward behavioral activation strategies rather than just addressing mood.
How to Approach the Question
  • First, identify the core term in the question, which is 'conation'.
  • Recall the fundamental psychological model that divides mental processes into three distinct parts.
  • Associate each part of the model with its simple, one-word function: Cognition is 'knowing,' Affection is 'feeling,' and Conation is 'doing.'
  • Scan the options to find the one-word function that correctly matches 'conation'.
  • Select 'Doing' as it is the direct counterpart to conation in this widely accepted model.
Concept Tested & Keywords
  • Concept Tested: Tripartite Model of Mind: Cognition, Affection, and Conation
  • Stem keywords: conation, meaning
  • Lead-in keywords: What is

Question ID

qoMjiAj1SjBzSPZp6Vtc9

Reference Book

E6 Kaplan Sadock's Synopsis of Psychiatry-2022 (pp 1-3768 of 3768) p. 3561-3563

E6 Robert Boland, Marcia L. Verduin - Kaplan and Sadock's Comprehensive Text of Psychiatry-Wolters Kluwer Health (2024) (pp 1-16525 of 16525) p. 2625-2627

Practise the full DSSSB 12 August 2024

Attempt every question from this paper in a timed mock, then review the full solution for each one.

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