The Latin word involuntarius came into our language as involuntary . This adjective is used to describe what is not voluntary .
To understand the idea of involuntary, therefore, we must first define the notion of voluntary . This is what the action that arises from the will is called; That is, it is not done by force.
By contrast, the involuntary develops due to a cause beyond the will. In this type of act, there is no decision made by the person: when something is involuntary, the subject does not determine his or her behavior.
Reflexes , for example, are involuntary movements that are triggered by a stimulus . It is an automatic response that the body executes as a reaction.
The patellar reflex is among these involuntary movements. When the patellar tendon is hit , it stretches, as does the muscle to which it is connected. This information reaches the spinal cord and the knee is elevated. All these movements are carried out without the will intervening.
Sneezing , meanwhile, is a reflex action that occurs when a foreign particle irritates the nasal mucosa. In this situation, the individual expels air violently through the nose and, in many cases, even through the mouth.
Yawning is also generally involuntary. Although its origin is unclear, it is believed to be linked to the sleep-wake cycle. Yawning involves opening your mouth to inhale deeply and then expelling some of that air .
Outside the realm of reflex acts, it is also possible to classify an action as involuntary even if it appears absolutely voluntary in the eyes of the observer. For example, it may happen that a person twists his body with too much force and involuntarily pushes a fragile object with one of his arms, knocking it to the floor and causing it to be destroyed into pieces; This is not voluntary because the force that the subject intended to exert in his movement was less than the resulting one, but he could not control it.
In the business environment, irregularities that harm customers are very common. Although in some cases they are caused by employees with the aim of receiving an extra benefit in a certain transaction, for example, there are also many involuntary errors. Of course, there is not always money involved or clear benefits for the party that incurs said irregularity: it may be an excessive delay in updating certain data or registering a service, among many other possibilities.
Errors are actions that can be considered involuntary, since the person who commits them does not expect the results they obtain, but rather others, generally better viewed by the person who must suffer their consequences. There are examples in various media and in everyday speech of the expression "involuntary errors", but we must point out that this is an unnecessary clarification, since the opposite concept, "voluntary errors", does not exist. In order to qualify an action as an "error" we must be sure that the result is different from the desired one and that it generates some negative consequence for the subject or a third party or deprives them of a specific benefit.
Tourette syndrome is known as a neurological disorder whose manifestation occurs before the patient reaches the age of eighteen. The most common symptoms are involuntary movements in various parts of the body, such as the face and extremities, and vocalizations of various types, including screams, growls, and obscene words. Life in society for a person with this syndrome is very difficult, since their involuntary actions are usually opposite to those considered correct in areas such as work or student life.