Activity Theory: Implications for Human-Computer InteractionVictor KaptelininKaptelinin, V. (1996). Activity Theory: Implications for human-computer interaction. In B. Nardi, (ed), Context and Consciousness: Activity theory and human-computer interaction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press. p. 107 - 110The most fundamental principle of activity theory is that of the unity of consciousness and activity. "Consciousness" in this expression means the human mind as a whole, and "activity" means human interaction with the objective reality. This principle, therefore, states that the human mind emerges and exists as a special component of human interaction with the environment. Mind is a special "organ" that appears in the process of evolution to help organisms to survive. Thus, it can be analyzed and understood only within the context of activity. The next principle is object-orientedness. This principle specifies the activity approach to the environment with which human beings are interacting. Unlike Piaget and Gibson, activity theorists consider social and cultural properties of the environment to be as objective as physical, chemical, or biological ones. These properties exist regardless of our feelings about them. "The object is a book" is no less an objective property of a thing than "the surface of the object mostly reflects the light of the red spectrum" (that is, that the object is"red"). So human beings live in an environment that is meaningful in itself. This environment consists of entities that combine all kinds of objective features, including the culturally determined ones, which, in turn, determine the way people act on these entities. The principle of object-orientedness is an obvious contrast to the assumption behind the cognitive approach that the human mind contacts reality only through low-level input-output processes. The third basic principle of activity theory is the hierarchical structure of activity. Activity theory differentiates between processes at various levels (or, rather, groups of levels), taking into consideration the objects to which these processes are oriented. Activities are oriented to motives, that is, the objects that are impelling by themselves. Each motive is an object, material or ideal, that satisfies a need. Actions are the processes functionally subordinated to activities; they are directed at specific conscious goals. According to activity theory, the dissociation between objects that motivate human activity and the goals to which this activity is immediately directed is of fundamental significance. Actions are realized through operations that are determined by the actual conditions of activity. The importance of these distinctions is determined by the ecological attitude of activity theory. In a real-life situation, it is often necessary to predict human behavior. For this purpose it is of critical importance to differentiate among motives, goals, and conditions. In particular, people behave differently in different situations of frustration. When operations are frustrated (that is, familiar conditions are changed), people often do not even notice and automatically adapt themselves to the new situation. When a goal is frustrated, it is necessary to realize what to do next and to set a new goal. This is often done without much effort and without any negative emotion. Also, it is possible to predict what the new goal will be, provided that the motive remains the same. But when a motive is frustrated, people are upset, and their behavior is most unpredictable. In consequence, to understand and to predict the changes of people's behavior in different situations, it is necessary to take into account the status of the behavior in question: is it oriented to a motive, a goal, or actual conditions? This is why activity theory differentiates among activities, actions, and operations. The criteria for separating these processes are whether the object to which the given process is oriented is impelling in itself or is auxiliary (this criterion differentiates between activities and actions),and whether the given process is automated (this criterion differentiates between actions and operations). The fourth principle of activity theory, that of internalization- externalization (Vygotsky, 1978), describes the mechanisms underlying the originating of mental processes. It states that mental processes are derived from external actions through the course of internalization. The concept of internalization was also introduced by Piaget, but the meaning of this concept within activity theory is somewhat different. According to Vygotsky, internalization is social by its very nature. The range of actions that can be performed by a person in cooperation with others comprises the so-called " zone of proximal development." In other words, the we human beings acquire new abilities can be characterized as "from inter-subjective mental actions to intra-subjective ones." The opposite process of internalization is externalization. Mental processes manifest themselves in external actions performed by a person, so they can be verified and corrected, if necessary. The fifth principle is mediation. Human activity is mediated by a number of tools, both external (like a hammer or scissors) and internal (like concepts or heuristics. These tools specify their modes of operation, that is, those developed over the history of society. The use of these culture-specific tools shapes the way people act and, through the process of internalization, greatly influences the nature of mental development. Tools are thus the carriers of cultural knowledge and social experience. Tool mediation is no less an important source of socialization than formal education is. The mechanisms underlying tool mediation is the formation of "functional organs," the combination of natural human abilities with the capacities of external components-tools-to perform a new function or to perform an existing one more efficiently. For example,human eyes equipped with glasses compose a functional organ that provides better vision. The last (but not least!) principle is the principle of development. According to activity theory, to understand a phenomenon means to know how it developed into its existing form. The principle of development is an opportunity to conduct thorough, scientific analysis of complex phenomenon while avoiding mechanistic over simplifications. These principles are not isolated ideas. They are closely interrelated; the nature of activity theory is manifested in this set of principles taken as an integrated whole. Excerpt taken from Kaptelinin, V. (1996). Activity Theory: Implications for human-computer interaction. In B. Nardi, (ed), Context and Consciousness: Activity theory and human-computer interaction. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
|