Activity has two main forms: external activity (practical) and internal activity are interconnected and transform into one another. Genetically, the primary, main form of activity is external sensitive-practical activity.
The development of the theory of activity began with the analysis of external, practical human activity. But then the authors of the theory turned to internal activity. What is “internal activity”?
To begin with, imagine the content of that internal work that is called “mental” and which a person is constantly engaged in. Is it always the actual thought process, i.e., the solution of intellectual or scientific problems? No not always. Very often, during such “reflections,” a person reproduces (as if replaying) the upcoming actions in his mind.
For example, N. is going to put up bookshelves and is “figuring out” where and how to place them. Having evaluated one option, he refuses it, moves on to another, third option, and finally chooses the most suitable, in his opinion, place. Moreover, during the entire time he never “lifted a finger,” that is, he did not perform a single practical action.
“Playing out” actions in the mind is also part of thinking about actions. What does a person do when he thinks about what to do? Imagines some action to have happened and then looks at its consequences. Based on them, he chooses the action that seems most suitable to him (if, of course, he acts deliberately).
How often does a person, expecting some joyful event, ahead of his time, imagine this event having already happened? As a result, he finds himself sitting with a happy smile. Or how often we turn in our thoughts to a friend or loved one, sharing our impressions with him, imagining his reaction or opinion, sometimes having a long argument with him and even sorting things out.
Do all the described and similar cases of internal work represent simply curious facts that accompany our real, practical activities, or do they have some important function? They certainly have - and a very important one!
What is this function? The fact is that internal actions prepare external actions. They save human efforts, making it possible to quickly select the desired action. Finally, they give a person the opportunity avoid rude and sometimes fatal errors.
Internal activity represents a plane of consciousness, the transition of the external to the internal, i.e. the transition of processes (actions) external in their form with external material objects into processes occurring in the mental plane. The peculiarity of such internal processes is their generality. They are reduced and become free for further development, i.e. external activity has boundaries, but internal activity does not.
In relation to external and internal activities, activity theory puts forward two main theses.
Firstly, internal activities have fundamentally the same structure as external activity, and which differs from it only in the form of its occurrence. This means that internal activity, like external activity, is stimulated by motives, accompanied by emotional experiences (no less, and often more acute), and also consists of a sequence of actions and operations that implement them. The only difference is that actions are performed not with real objects, but with their images, and instead of a real product, a mental result is obtained.
Secondly, internal activity arose from external, practical activity through a process interiorization. The latter refers to the transfer of corresponding actions to the mental plane.
The second thesis is explained as follows:
1. It is obvious that in order to successfully reproduce some action “in the mind” it is necessary to master it in material terms and first obtain a real result. For example, thinking through a chess move is possible only after the real moves of the pieces have been mastered and their real consequences have been perceived.
2. during internalization, external activity, although it does not change its structure, is greatly transformed. This especially applies to its operational and technical part: individual actions or operations are reduced, and some of them are eliminated altogether; the whole process is much faster.
In human activity, its external (physical) and internal (mental) sides are inextricably linked. On the one hand, the external side - the movements with which a person influences the external world - are determined and regulated by internal (mental) activity, motivational, cognitive and regulatory. On the other hand, all this internal mental activity is directed and controlled by external activity, which reveals the properties of things and processes, carries out their purposeful transformations, reveals the degree of adequacy of mental models, as well as the degree of coincidence of the results and actions obtained with the expected.
* The human psyche originates and is formed in activity; * The psyche develops as activity develops. At the same time, the leading link that paves the way for the development of the system is activity; * Interiorization is the main mechanism of mental development; * Activity is a method of studying the psyche; * The psyche at the highest stage of its development can itself become a specific form of activity.
External activities. Internal activities.
Very often, during reflection (mental activity), a person reproduces (as if replaying) upcoming actions in his mind.
For example, N. is going to hang up bookshelves and is “figuring out” where and how to place them. Having evaluated one option, he refuses it, moves on to another, third option, and finally chooses the most suitable, in his opinion, place. Moreover, during the entire time he never “lifted a finger,” i.e. did not perform a single practical action.
“Playing out” actions in the mind is also part of thinking about actions. What does a person do when he thinks about what to do? Imagines some action to have happened and then looks at its consequences. Based on them, he chooses the action that seems most suitable to him.
These instances of inner work have an important function. Internal actions prepare external actions. They save human effort by making it possible to quickly select the desired action. Finally, they give a person the opportunity to avoid gross and sometimes fatal mistakes.
In relation to these extremely important forms of activity, activity theory puts forward two main theses.
1) Similar activity is an activity that has fundamentally the same structure as external activity, and which differs from it only in the form of its occurrence.
Internal D., like external one, is motivated by motives, accompanied by emotional experiences, and has its own operational and technical composition, i.e. consists of a sequence of actions and implementing operations. The only difference is that actions are performed not with real objects, but with their images, and instead of a real product, a mental result is obtained.
2) Internal activity arose from external, practical activity through the process of interiorization. The latter refers to the transfer of corresponding actions to the mental plane.
It is quite obvious that in order to successfully reproduce some action “in the mind” it is necessary to master it in material terms and first obtain a real result. For example, thinking through a chess move is possible only after the real moves of the pieces have been mastered and their real consequences have been perceived.
On the other hand, it is equally obvious that during internalization, external D., although it does not change its fundamental structure, is greatly transformed. This especially applies to its operational and technical part: individual actions or operations are reduced, and some of them are eliminated altogether; the whole process proceeds much faster, etc.
Human activity has a complex hierarchical structure. It consists of several "layers" or levels. Let's name these levels, moving from top to bottom. This is, firstly, the level of special activities (or special types of activities); then the level of actions, the next - the level of operations, and finally, the lowest - the level of psychophysiological functions.
Activity- purposeful activity that realizes the needs of the subject. Structure of activity according to A. N. Leontiev: Action- (the basic unit of activity analysis) is a process aimed at achieving a goal. Target- a conscious image of the desired result. Under psychophysiological functions Activity theory understands the physiological support of mental processes. Need- a state of the body’s objective need for something that lies outside it and constitutes a necessary condition for its normal functioning. Objectification- transition of the activity process into the resting properties of an object . Motive- an objectified need.
Principles of Activity Theory
Basic explanatory principles of activity theory.
1. the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity (action includes an act of consciousness in the form of setting and maintaining a goal, and at the same time the action acts as an act of behavior).
2. the principle of unity of structure of external and internal activities.
3. the principle of activity (activity is an active, purposeful process. Activity is a property of the subject himself, and reactivity is a response to the influence of any stimulus).
4. the principle of interiorization - exteriorization as mechanisms for assimilating socio-historical experience (human actions are objective, goals are social in nature).
According to A.N. Leontiev distinguishes between external and internal activities. External is activity with objects of the material world or their designations; it is called, respectively, material and materialized. Internal - this is activity at the level of consciousness, in an ideal plan - operated by images, symbols, ideas. The introduction of a person to human culture occurs as a result of his appropriation of those methods of action by which the object was created. He masters tools, becomes familiar with the world of things and their functions, absorbs the experience of humanity, the world of human culture. In other words, initially the activity is performed by a person in an external objective plane. At the same time, he draws methods of performing activities either from observation, imitating other people, or gets an idea about them from books and stories, that is, he appropriates them from other people in the process of cooperation and communication. And then internalization takes place—translation of assigned actions into the internal plane, turning them into one’s own patterns of actions, thoughts, and ideas. Thus, higher mental functions can only be born through the interaction of people as interpsychic (the prefix “inter” - “between”), and only then become individual, while they can lose or modify their original external form. In parallel, a change occurs in the very form of reflection of reality: a reflection by the subject of the reality of his own activity, of himself, arises. As a result, consciousness is generated (produced). Thus, the process of internalization does not consist in the fact that external activity moves to the internal plane, it is a process in which the internal plane is formed. To generalize, we define interiorization as a transition as a result of which processes external in form are transformed into processes occurring in the mental plane ; at the same time, they undergo a specific transformation - they are generalized, verbalized, reduced and, most importantly, become capable of further development, which goes beyond the boundaries of the possibilities of external activity. In a brief formulation by J. Piaget, what was said sounds like this: this is a transition “leading from the sensorimotor plane to thought” . L.S. Vygotsky understands interiorization as the “rotation” of external objective actions into the internal plane. In the process of interiorization, he identified two main interrelated points:
1. instrumental (instrumental) structure of human activity;
2. the inclusion of individual activity in the system of relationships with other people.
Activity.
However, the life of an individual in the social and external world is an activity. In activity, personality is formed, expressed and realized. When we consider activity from the point of view of what relationships of the individual are realized in the activity, we talk about the orientation of the individual. When we consider activity from the perspective of real...
Anxious (psychasthenic) type.
Features of communication and behavior. Low background mood, fears for oneself, loved ones, timidity, self-doubt, extreme indecisiveness, experiences failure for a long time, doubts one’s actions. Rarely enters into conflicts, plays a passive role. Traits that are attractive to interlocutors. Friendliness, self-criticism, diligence. Crap...
Conclusion.
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Activity is a holistic process that combines external physical (objective) and internal mental (subjective) components in an indissoluble unity. In essence, they seem completely different and incompatible. Modern science still cannot explain the psychological nature and mechanism of their connection.
External and internal components of activity have functional specialization. On the basis of external components of activity, real contacts of a person with objects and phenomena of the surrounding world, their transformation, recreation of their properties, as well as the generation and development of mental (subjective) phenomena are carried out. Internal components of activity perform the functions of motivation, goal setting, planning, orientation (cognition), decision making, regulation, control and evaluation.
In real activities, the ratio of internal and external components may be different. Taking into account the dependence on this, two types of activity are distinguished: external (practical) and internal (mental).
An example of external activity is any physical labor.
Learning activities are an example of internal activities.
In this case, we are talking only about the relative predominance of certain components. In their “pure” form, their existence in humans is impossible. At the same time, we assume that under certain circumstances, in particular after the physical death of a person, the internal (mental) components of activity are capable of independent existence. At least, there are no facts contradicting this assumption. Human activity has the ability to develop. It is expressed in the fact that with exercise and training, the activity becomes more perfect, the time it takes to complete it decreases, energy costs are reduced, the structure is transformed, the number of erroneous actions is reduced, their sequence and optimality change. At the same time, there is a change in the ratio of external and internal components of activity: external components are reduced and reduced while the share of internal components increases. There is a kind of transformation of activity in form. From external, practical and expanded in time and space, it becomes internal, mental and abbreviated (collapsed). This process in psychology is usually called internalization. This is exactly how the generation and development of the psyche occurs - on the basis of the transformation of activity. At the same time, internal activity is only a component of holistic activity, its side. Therefore, it is easily transformed and expressed in external components. The transition of internal components of activity to external ones is usually called exteriorization. This process is an integral attribute of any practical activity. For example, a thought, as a mental formation, can easily be transformed into practical action. Thanks to exteriorization, we can observe through the external components of activity any mental phenomena (processes, properties, state): intentions, goals, motives, various cognitive processes, abilities, emotional experiences, character traits, self-esteem, etc. But for this it is necessary to have very high level of psychological culture.
In its origin and essence, activity is not an innate, but an educated function of a person. In other words, he does not receive it as a given according to the laws of genetics, but masters it in the process of training and education. All human (not individual) forms of behavior are social in origin. The child does not invent them, but assimilates them. Under the guidance of adults, he learns to use objects, behave correctly in certain life situations, meet his needs in a socially accepted way, etc. It is in the course of mastering various types of activities that he himself develops as a subject and as a person. The sociality of objective activity is also expressed in functional terms. When performing it, a person directly or indirectly relates to other people who act as its creators and accomplices. This can be seen especially clearly and clearly in conditions of joint activity, where the functions of its participants are distributed in a certain way. Considering that in objective activity another person is always co-present, it can be called co-activity.
Activities are certain actions that are performed by a person in order to produce something significant for himself or for the people around him. This is a meaningful, multi-component and quite serious activity, which is fundamentally different from relaxation and entertainment.
Definition
The main discipline that studies human activity as part of the curriculum is social science. The first thing you need to know to correctly answer a question on this topic is the basic definition of the concept being studied. However, there may be several such definitions. Another says that activity is a form of human activity that is aimed not only at adapting the body to the environment, but also at its qualitative transformation.
All living beings interact with the surrounding world. However, animals only adapt to the world and its conditions; they cannot change it in any way. But man differs from animals in that he has a special form of interaction with the environment, which is called activity.
Main components
Also, to give a good answer to a social studies question about human activity, you need to know about the concepts of object and subject. The subject is the one who performs the actions. It doesn't have to be a single person. The subject can also be a group of people, an organization or a country. The object of activity in social science is what the activity is specifically aimed at. This could be another person, natural resources, or any area of public life. The presence of a goal is one of the main conditions under which human activity is possible. Social science, in addition to the goal, also highlights the action component. It is carried out in accordance with the set goal.
Types of actions
The expediency of an activity is an indicator of whether a person is moving towards the result that is important to him. The goal is the image of this result, which the subject of activity strives for, and the action is a direct step aimed at realizing the goal facing a person. The German scientist M. Weber identified several types of actions:
- Purposeful (in other words - rational). This action is carried out by a person in accordance with the goal. The means to achieve the desired result are chosen consciously, and possible side effects of the activity are taken into account.
- Value-rational. Actions of this kind occur in accordance with the beliefs that a person has.
- Affective is an action that is caused by emotional experiences.
- Traditional- based on habit or tradition.
Other activity components
Describing human activity, social science also highlights the concepts of result, as well as the means to achieve a goal. The result is understood as the final product of the entire process carried out by the subject. Moreover, it can be of two types: positive and negative. Belonging to the first or second category is determined by the correspondence of the result to the set goal.
The reasons why a person may get a negative result can be both external and internal. External factors include changes in environmental conditions for the worse. Internal factors include such factors as setting an initially unattainable goal, incorrect choice of means, inferiority of actions, or lack of necessary skills or knowledge.
Communication
One of the main types of human activity in social science is communication. The purpose of any type of communication is to obtain some result. Here the main goal is often the exchange of necessary information, emotions or ideas. Communication is one of the basic qualities of a person, as well as an indispensable condition for socialization. Without communication, a person becomes antisocial.
A game
Another type of human activity in social studies is a game. It is characteristic of both people and animals. Children's games simulate situations in adult life. The main unit of children's play is the role - one of the main conditions for the development of children's consciousness and behavior. A game is a type of activity in which social experience is recreated and assimilated. It allows you to learn methods of carrying out social actions, as well as master the objects of human culture. Play therapy has become widespread as a form of correctional work.
Work
It is also an important type of human activity. Without work, socialization does not occur, but it is important not only for personal development. Labor is a necessary condition for the survival and further progress of human civilization. At the level of an individual, work is an opportunity to ensure one’s own existence, to feed oneself and one’s loved ones, as well as the opportunity to realize one’s natural inclinations and abilities.
Education
This is another important type of human activity. The social studies topic devoted to activity is interesting because it examines its various types and allows us to consider the whole variety of types of human activity. Despite the fact that the human learning process begins in the womb, at a certain period of time this type of activity becomes purposeful.
For example, in the 50s of the last century, children began to be taught at the age of 7-8 years; in the 90s, mass education was introduced in schools from the age of six. However, even before the start of targeted learning, the child absorbs a huge amount of information from the world around him. The great Russian writer L.N. Tolstoy emphasized that at the age of 5 years a small person learns much more than in the rest of his life. Of course, one can argue with this statement, but there is a fair amount of truth in it.
The main difference from other types of activity
Often, schoolchildren receive a social studies question as homework: “Activity is a way of people’s existence.” In the process of preparing for such a lesson, the most important thing to note is the characteristic difference between human activity and the usual adaptation to the environment, which is characteristic of animals. One of these types of activity, which is aimed directly at transforming the world around us, is creativity. This type of activity allows a person to create something completely new, qualitatively transforming the surrounding reality.
Types of activity
The time when students study the social studies topic “Man and Activity”, according to the Federal State Educational Standard - 6th grade. At this age, students are usually old enough to distinguish between types of activities, as well as understand their importance for the overall development of a person. In science, the following types are distinguished:
- Practical- aimed directly at transforming the external environment. This type, in turn, is divided into additional subcategories - material and production activities, as well as social and transformative ones.
- Spiritual- an activity that is aimed at changing a person’s consciousness. This type is also divided into additional categories: cognitive (science and art); value-oriented (determining the negative or positive attitude of people towards various phenomena of the surrounding world); as well as prognostic (planning possible changes) activities.
All these types are closely related to each other. For example, before carrying out reforms (refer to), it is necessary to analyze their possible consequences for the country (forecasting activities.