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 learning and development, which is an active activity. It is unlikely that everyone thinks about it, because the 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.
Leontiev's activity theory: main theoretical provisions
The problem of activity was studied in detail by the domestic scientist and psychologist A. N. Leontiev back in the middle of the last century. At that time, there were no clear ideas about 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 reflecting reality in the human psyche takes place, andhow this process is connected with a specific human activity. Leontiev's theory of activity can be briefly and clearly formulated as follows: activity determines consciousness.
In the process of his theoretical and practical research, Leontiev touches upon the most important theoretical issues of psychology that 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:
- studying the practical activity of a person allows you to comprehend the patterns of his mental activity, and vice versa;
- managing the organization of human practical activity allows you to manage the organization of people's mental activity.
Main tenets of Leontief's theory:
- Psychology is a science that studies the emergence, work and structure of the mental reflection of reality, which mediates the life of people.
- A criterion of the psyche that is independent of the subjective opinion of a person 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 changes: the stage of the elementary (sensory) psyche, the stage of the perceptual psyche, the stage of intellect.
- The psyche of animals develops in the process of activity. The characteristic features of animal life include:attachment of animal activity to biological models; limitation of actions within visual situations; animal behavior is regulated by hereditary species programs; learning ability is only the result of an individual's adaptation to specific conditions of existence; the animal world is not characterized by the consolidation, accumulation and transfer of experience in material form, i.e. there is no material culture.
- Activity is a process of interaction of a living being with the outside world in order to meet 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 connections.
- Human activity is objective and has a social conditionality. Human actions are inextricably linked with the system of social relations and social conditions. Their main characteristics: objectivity, activity, purposefulness.
Consciousness is included in the activity of the subject, it cannot be considered by itself. The essence of Leontiev's theory lies in 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 consciousness of a person
Structure of activity theory
The activity theory of A. N. Leontiev considers the motives and needs of a person in the context of activity. Leontiev divided it into several levels:
- First level -activity. It is characterized by certain needs and motives, on the basis of which a certain goal or task is formed.
- Second level - actions that are subject to the achievement of the goal.
- Third level - operations. These are ways to carry out actions, depending on the conditions for achieving a specific goal.
- The fourth level - psychophysiological functions. It is the lowest level in the structure of activity, characterized by the physiological provision of mental processes, that is, a person's ability to think, feel, move and remember.
Leontiev's theory gives a detailed description of the structure of activity and determines its connection with the needs and motives that induce a person to various kinds of activity.
Thus, Leontiev showed the connection between external practical actions and human behavior - with the internal processes of mental actions and human consciousness. In Leontiev's theory of activity, its main types are: labor, cognitive, play.
Activity theory concept
Leontiev revealed that a person's ability to objectively reflect the world around him, not subject to factors directly affecting the vital activity of the organism. The theory of mental activity by A. N. Leontiev 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 outside world.
The scientist refers to the factors of the emergence of consciousness collective labor and verbal communication of a person. Participating in collective labor, people perform various operations that are not related to the direct satisfaction of their needs, but correlate with the result required in the context of collective activity. Speech communication allows a person to be included and use social experience, through mastering a system of language meanings.
Principles of the psychological theory of A. N. Leontiev
Key principles of Leontief's theory:
- principle of objectivity - the subject subjugates 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 to the internal plane of consciousness;
principle of the non-adaptive nature of objective activity - the mental reflection of reality is generated not by external influences, but by the processes by which the subject comes into contact with the objective world
Internal and external activities
Leontiev's theory of activity is a psychological phenomenon that illuminates two aspects of life: the explanatory principle and the subject of research. The explanatory principle studies the relationship of individualhuman life with the socio-historical and spiritual life of society. As a result, such categories as: joint and individual activities were singled out. And also purposeful, transforming, sensual-objective and spiritual characteristics of activity were singled out.
Leontiev's theory characterizes external activity as material, and internal activity as operating with images and ideas about objects. The inner activity has the same structure as the outer one, the difference is only in the form of flow. Internal actions are performed with images of objects, eventually getting 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 its faster implementation in the internal plan. This allows a person to significantly save their efforts and quickly choose the right actions. However, in order to successfully reproduce an action in the mind, it must first be mastered in the material plane, getting a real result. What is very well observed in the development of children: at 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 by A. A. Leontiev
In his theory, A. N. Leontiev partially deals with the issue of human speech activity and its importance for the development of mental functions. His son A. A. Leontiev studied this topic in more detail. In his writings, he formulated the foundations of speech activity.
A. A. Leontiev speaks of the great influence that speech has on a person's life. In his research, 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 self-expression.
Speech activity has two options for implementation: speech communication and internal speech-thinking functioning. In the theory of speech activity of A. A. Leontiev, the concepts are divided: communication and speech communication. Communication is the process of transmitting a message, in which speech acts are realized. Speech communication implies purposeful interaction in which it is possible to single out the goals and objectives of the speakers. According to Leontiev, speech actions serve labor, cognitive and play activities, being part of them.
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;
- control.
Speech action is carried out according to these stages. It is stimulated by a speech situation that encourages utterance. The speech action has the following phases:
- preparation of the statement;
- structuring the statement;
- go toexternal speech.
Activity theory in the works of Rubinstein
Besides Leontiev, the activity theory was developed by the Soviet scientist S. L. Rubinshtein. They developed the theory independently of each other, but their works have 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 Leontiev and Rubinstein is one of the most important methodological provisions in Russian psychology.
S. L. Rubinshtein formulated the basic principle of the activity theory - "the unity of consciousness and activity." Activity is regulated by the consciousness of the subject, in turn, consciousness is cognized through a system of subjective relations and through the actions of the subject that contribute to its development.
Also, the scientist identified the general characteristics of activity: identified the subject of the action (a person), the subjects in joint actions (the actions of people carrying out 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 of people.
Rubinshtein draws attention to such a concept as skills, which he characterizes as an automated way of performing an action. Thanks to skills, a person's consciousness is freed from the regulation of elementary acts and can focus on performing more complex tasks. He equates skills with the operations by whichaction.
The theory of Rubinstein and Leontiev explains the structure and content of psychological activity, indicates the relationship of life with human needs. It also leads to an important understanding: through the study of external actions and behavior, one can explore the internal state of the psyche.
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 the activity approach, which was subsequently researched and developed in the works of his student A. N. Leontiev. The theory of activity by Leontiev and Vygotsky deeply affects the mutual influence of human activity and consciousness.
Vygotsky's main ideas regarding the activity approach:
- 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 activity on mental processes;
- considered sign and communication systems as psychological tools for the development of the psyche.
The influence of the theory of A. N. Leontiev on the development of domestic psychology
Leontiev's domestic theory touches upon a wide range of theoretical and practical problems in psychology. The structure of activity proposed by Leontiev became the basis for the study of almost all mental phenomena, thanks to which new psychological branches arose and developed. His works include suchtheoretical questions of psychology, such as: the personality of a person, the development of his psyche, the emergence of people's consciousness, the formation of higher mental functions of a person. Together with other scientists, he developed a cultural-historical theory of activity, and also influenced the development of engineering psychology.
In the context of the activity theory, together with P. Ya. Galperin, a theory of the gradual formation of mental actions was developed. The concept of “leading activity” proposed by Leontiev 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. Leontiev is an outstanding scientist of his time, theorist and practitioner who made a huge contribution to the development of Russian psychology.
Human life is unthinkable without activity (a person acts - it means he exists). It is inextricably linked with the physical, mental and spiritual development of a person. A person's actions extend both to the person himself and the people around him, and to the whole world as a whole.
Performing actions, a person affects the world around him and changes reality. A person influences the reality in which he lives, he can increase his material we alth, acquire status and influence in society, develop his abilities and capabilities. All this is possible through activity.
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.
