Activity is an integral part of human life. From birth, he learns to interact with the world around him. All people go through a difficult path of training and development, which is an active activity. It is unlikely that everyone thinks about it, because activity for a person is so natural and automated that attention is simply not fixed on it. But in fact, activity is a rather complex and interesting process that has its own structure and logic.
Leontief's theory of activity: basic theoretical principles
The problem of activity was studied in detail by both domestic scientist and psychologist A.N. Leontyev in the middle of the last century. At that time there was no clear idea of the functioning of the human psyche, and Leontiev turned his close attention to the process of human life. He was interested in how the process of reflection of reality occurs in the human psyche, and how this process is associated with specific human activities. The theory of Leontyev’s activity can be briefly and clearly formulated as follows: activity determines consciousness.
In the process of his theoretical and practical research, Leont'ev addresses the most important theoretical questions of psychology, which relate to the emergence and structure of the human psyche, as well as issues related to the study of the psyche. As a result, he came to the following conclusions:
- the study of the practical activity of man allows us to comprehend the laws of his mental activity, and vice versa;
- management of the organization of practical human activity allows you to manage the organization of mental activity of people.
The main provisions of the Leontief theory:
- Psychology is a science that studies the emergence, work and structure of the mental reflection of reality, which mediates the life of people.
- Independent of the subjective opinion of a person, the criterion of the psyche is the body's ability to respond to biologically neutral influences that signal biologically significant stimuli (irritability and sensitivity).
- In the evolutionary development, the psyche goes through three stages of change: the stage of the elementary (sensory) psyche, the stage of the perceptual psyche, and the stage of intelligence.
- The psyche of animals develops in the process of activity. The characteristic features of animal life include: attachment of animal activity to biological models; limited action within visual situations; animal behavior is regulated by hereditary species programs; learning is only the result of adaptation of an individual to specific conditions of existence; the fauna is not characterized by the consolidation, accumulation and transfer of experience in material form, that is, there is no material culture.
- An activity is a process of interaction between a living being and the outside world, in order to satisfy vital needs.
- The activity of the subject is characterized by the implementation of real connections with the objective world. In turn, the objective world mediates subject-object relationships.
- Human life activity is objective and has social conditionality. Human actions are inextricably linked with the system of social relations and social conditions. Their main characteristics: objectivity, activity, focus.
- Consciousness is included in the activity of the subject, in itself it can not be considered. The essence of Leontief's theory is the significant influence of activity on the formation and development of the psyche at different stages of human development. Therefore, actions and behavior are considered included in the human mind.
The structure of activity theory
The activity theory of A. N. Leontyev examines the motives and needs of a person in the context of activity. Leontiev divided it into several levels:
- The first level is activity. It is characterized by specific needs and motives, based on which a specific goal or task is formed.
- The second level is actions that are subject to the achievement of the goal.
- The third level is operations. These are ways of carrying out actions that depend on the conditions for achieving a specific goal.
- The fourth level is psychophysiological functions. It is the lowest level in the structure of activity, characterized by physiological support of mental processes, that is, a person’s ability to think, feel, move and remember.
Leontyev’s theory gives a detailed description of the structure of activity and determines its relationship with the needs and motives that prompt a person to various kinds of activity.
Thus, Leont'ev showed the connection of external practical actions and human behavior - with internal processes of mental actions and human consciousness. In the theory of Leontief, its main types are: labor, cognitive, play.
Activity theory concept
Leont'ev revealed that a person’s ability to objectively reflect the world around him, not obeying factors directly affecting the vital activity of the body. The theory of mental activity by A. N. Leont'ev illuminates the problem of the emergence of consciousness. He called this property sensitivity, in contrast to the irritability inherent in the animal world. It is sensitivity, in his opinion, that is the criterion of the mental level of reflection of reality, which contributes to the most effective adaptation to the world.
To the factors of the emergence of consciousness, the scientist relates collective labor and verbal communication of a person. Participating in collective work, people perform various operations that are not related to the immediate satisfaction of their needs, but are related to the result needed in the context of collective activity. Speech communication allows a person to be included and to use public experience, through a person's mastery of the system of linguistic meanings.
The principles of the psychological theory of A. N. Leontyev
Key principles of Leontief theory:
- principle of objectivity - the subject subordinates and transforms the activity of the subject;
- the principle of activity - the life of the subject depends on the activity of the mental reflection of reality, including the needs, motives, attitudes of a person;
- the principle of internalization and exteriorization - internal actions are formed in the process of transition of external, practical actions into the internal plane of consciousness;
- the principle of the non-adaptive nature of objective activity - a mental reflection of reality is generated not by external influences, but by processes by which the subject comes into contact with the objective world.
Internal and external actions
Leontief's theory of activity is a psychological phenomenon that illuminates two aspects of life: an explanatory principle and a subject of research. The explanatory principle studies the relationship of the individual life of a person with the socio-historical and spiritual life of society. As a result, such categories as joint and individual activity were identified. And also focused, transformative, sensory-objective and spiritual characteristics of activity were highlighted.
Leontyev’s theory characterizes external activity as material, and internal as operating with images and ideas about objects. Internal activity has the same structure as external, the difference is only in the form of flow. Internal actions are performed with images of objects, eventually receiving a mental result.
As a result of the internalization of external activity, its structure does not change, but it is strongly transformed and reduced for faster implementation in the internal plane. This allows a person to significantly save their efforts and quickly choose the necessary actions. However, for successful reproduction of an action in the mind, first it must be mastered in the material plane, having obtained a real result. What is very well observed in the process of development of children: first they learn to operate and perform the necessary actions with real objects, gradually learning to mentally calculate their actions and achieve the desired result much faster.
Theory of speech activity A. A. Leontiev
In his theory, A. N. Leont'ev partially addresses the issue of human speech activity and its importance for the development of mental functions. This topic was studied in more detail by his son A. A. Leont'ev. In his writings, he formulated the basics of speech activity.
A. A. Leont'ev speaks of the great influence that speech has on human life. In his studies, he proves that the development of speech activity is associated with the development of a person's personality. The development of intelligence is impossible without speech activity, since it directly affects the cognitive abilities of a person, his thinking and creative expression.
Speech activity has two implementation options: speech communication and internal speech-cognitive functioning. In the theory of speech activity of A. A. Leontiev, the concepts are separated: communication and speech communication. Communication is the process of transmitting a message in which speech acts are implemented. Speech communication involves a focused interaction in which you can highlight the goals and objectives of the speakers. According to Leontyev, speech actions serve labor, cognitive and game activities, being part of them.
The structure of speech activity
Speech activity is a complex of acts of speaking and understanding. It is expressed in the form of separate speech actions, each of which is purposeful, structural and motivated.
Stages of speech activity:
- orientation;
- planning;
- implementation;
- the control.
Speech action is carried out according to these stages. It is stimulated by a speech situation that encourages utterance. In speech action, the following phases are distinguished:
- statement preparation;
- structuring a statement;
- transition to external speech.
Activity theory in the works of Rubinstein
In addition to Leontiev, the activity theory was developed by the Soviet scientist S. L. Rubinstein. They developed the theory independently of each other, but in their works there is much in common, since they relied on the works of L. S. Vygotsky and the philosophy of K. Marx. Therefore, the theory of activity of Leontyev and Rubinstein is one of the most important methodological principles in Russian psychology.
S. L. Rubinstein formulated the basic principle of the activity theory - “the unity of consciousness and activity”. The activity is regulated by the consciousness of the subject, in turn, consciousness is known through the system of subjective relations and through the actions of the subject, contributing to its development.
The scientist also identified the general characteristics of activity: he identified the subject of the action (person), the subjects in joint actions (the actions of people engaged in joint activities), the interaction of the subject with the object in the activity (reflects the objective and meaningful nature of life), revealed the influence of creative actions on the formation and development of the psyche people.
Rubinstein draws attention to such a concept as skills, which he characterizes as an automated way of performing an action. Thanks to skills, human consciousness is freed from the regulation of elementary acts and can focus on more complex tasks. He equates skills to the operations with which the action is carried out.
The theory of Rubinstein and Leontyev explains the structure and content of psychological activity, indicates the relationship of life with human needs. And also leads to an important understanding: through the study of external actions and behavior, you can explore the internal state of the psyche.
The activity approach in the works of L. S. Vygotsky
The outstanding Soviet scientist and psychologist L. S. Vygotsky in his writings laid the foundations of an activity approach, which was subsequently investigated and developed in the writings of his student A. N. Leontyev. The theory of activity of Leontief and Vygotsky deeply affects the mutual influence of human activity and consciousness.
The main ideas of Vygotsky regarding the activity campaign:
- pointed out the importance of analyzing the actions of people for the study of the psyche and consciousness;
- considered consciousness in connection with labor activity;
- developed a theoretical position on the impact of labor on mental processes;
- considered symbolic and communication systems as psychological tools for the development of the psyche.
The influence of the theory of A. N. Leontyev on the development of domestic psychology
Leontief's domestic theory touches on a wide range of theoretical and practical problems in psychology. The structure of activity proposed by Leontyev became the basis for the study of almost all psychic phenomena, due to which new psychological branches arose and developed. His writings cover such theoretical issues of psychology as: the personality of a person, the development of his psyche, the emergence of people's consciousness, the formation of higher mental functions of man. Together with other scientists, he developed a cultural-historical theory of activity, and also influenced the development of engineering psychology.
In the context of activity theory, together with P. Ya. Halperin, a theory was developed of the phased formation of mental actions. The concept of “leading activity” proposed by Leontyev allowed D. B. Elkonin, combining it with a number of ideas of L. S. Vygotsky, to build one of the main periodizations of mental development. Without a doubt, A.N. Leontyev is an outstanding scientist of his time, a theorist and practitioner who made a huge contribution to the development of Russian psychology.
A person’s life is inconceivable without activity (a person acts - means exists). It is inextricably linked with the physical, mental and spiritual development of man. Man's actions extend both to the man himself and to the people around him, and to the whole world as a whole.
By performing actions, a person affects the world and changes reality. A person influences the reality in which he lives, he can increase his material wealth, acquire status and influence in society, develop his abilities and capabilities. All this can be done through activities.
Moreover, human civilization is the result of the actions of all people, on a global scale. It is constantly evolving and changing along with the people who create it.