{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T18:42:20Z","timestamp":1773254540723,"version":"3.50.1"},"posted":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"group-title":"Social Sciences","reference-count":0,"publisher":"MDPI AG","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]],"date-time":"2026-03-10T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1773100800000},"content-version":"unspecified","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"content-domain":{"domain":[],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":[],"accepted":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,8]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Background: Motivation research has generated many constructs, yet many theories remain structurally under-specified, relying on flexible verbal accounts or models whose functional form is optimized to data rather than fixed in advance. This limits falsifiability, cross-domain comparison, and principled failure.  Theory: Lagun\u2019s Law proposes a fixed six-variable structural equation of volitional drive specifying ignition gating, nonlinear amplification, divisive resistance, and an explicit variability term. The law is defined by its functional architecture rather than by any particular semantic interpretation or measurement instantiation.  Objective: This study evaluates Lagun\u2019s Law using straight structural validation: assessing whether a pre-specified equation exhibits recurring empirical signatures when applied without reparameterization, optimization, or post hoc modification. The aim is to test structural admissibility.  Method: The equation was instantiated using pre-defined proxies across four independent secondary datasets spanning learning analytics, intelligent tutoring systems, naturalistic smartphone sensing, and laboratory neurophysiology. All proxies respected temporal precedence and outcome non-overlap. Where full instantiation was not possible, analyses were treated as reduced-form tests.  Results: Recurring structural signatures were observed across all four datasets. Readiness functioned as a prerequisite rather than a graded predictor, divisive resistance effects were observed in three of four datasets, and independent behavioral variability persisted across contexts. Nonlinear amplification was directly testable in two datasets and attenuated or untestable elsewhere due to measurement constraints.  Conclusion: These findings provide empirical grounding for Lagun\u2019s Law as a structurally admissible constraint on volitional drive, clarifying its scope conditions and falsification pathways while avoiding claims of causality, universality, or optimal measurement.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.20944\/preprints202603.0728.v1","type":"posted-content","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T01:09:54Z","timestamp":1773191394000},"source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Lagun\u2019s Law as a Structural Constraint on Volitional Drive: Straight Validation Across Independent Secondary Datasets"],"prefix":"10.20944","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0009-0005-6372-4852","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Nikesh","family":"Lagun","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"1968","container-title":[],"original-title":[],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,11]],"date-time":"2026-03-11T01:10:43Z","timestamp":1773191443000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/www.preprints.org\/manuscript\/202603.0728\/v1"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"references-count":0,"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.20944\/preprints202603.0728.v1","relation":{},"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,10]]},"subtype":"preprint"}}