The importance of the activity approach for the development of psychology. Integrated and systematic approaches in domestic psychology

Introduction

Update at the end of XX and beginning of XXI centuries of problems of activity, conditioned by a new understanding of man, his capabilities and characteristics, a new level of his development and the tasks of action in a historically new situation, provoked an aggravation of a complex of controversial issues associated with it. Occupied in the 60-70s. (although the activity approach was formed much earlier) a kind of dominant position in the system of scientific, and above all philosophical and psychological, knowledge, the activity approach made it possible to pose and solve many important philosophical and psychological problems.

During the period of active growth of interest in this problem, it was developed by such prominent philosophers as G.S. Batishchev, E.V. Ilyenkov, M.K. Mamardashvili, G.P. Shchedrovitsky, E.G. Yudin, and psychologists A.N. Leontyev, P.Ya. Galperin, V.V. Davydov, A.V. Brushlinsky and others.

But already in the 70s. 20th century formed complex problematic situations in the discussion of activities, which is reflected in the specialized literature.

However, the possibilities of the activity approach are still relevant today, since, according to V.V. Davydov, “with all the different views on the problems of activity and its essence, the majority of Soviet humanists, primarily philosophers and psychologists, understand that without this category, analysis human existence impossible."

Target course work- generalize views on personality development in activities within the framework of psychological science.

An object- activity approach in psychology as an explanatory principle of personality development.

Item- development of personality in activity as a socio-psychological phenomenon.

Tasks: 1) Analyze the psychological literature on the problem of the activity approach in psychology and personality development in activity;

3) Relate psychological concepts“activity” and “personality”;

4) Summarize the ways of personality development in activity.

Methodological grounds of this work were the principle of activity, regulating human activity and psyche; theory of activity A.N. Leontiev and the activity approach to personality.

The structure of the course work: presented by introduction, content (chapters 1, 2), conclusion and bibliography.

Activity as a scientific and psychological category

Activity approach in psychology

activity psychology personality professional

The category of activity belongs to the number of universal, ultimate abstractions. Activities like philosophical category- this is a theoretical abstraction of all universal human practice that has a socio-historical nature.

The most general definition of activity is “a specifically human form of active relationship to the surrounding world, the content of which is its purposeful change and transformation.” That is, the activity is aimed at reproducing the supernatural conditions of human existence - social relations, culture, himself. Thus, it represents the main way of existence and reproduction of man and society as a whole.

Fundamental among the identified meanings of the category “activity” is practice. It is practice that is the holistic and truly genetic source of human reality. The practical, active existence of a person is the basis of his essence and the very possibility of his existence as a subject.

Practice is immediate and always social, objective and conscious. Accordingly, the individual characteristics of activity - objectivity, subjective nature, purposefulness, objectification and disobjectification, consciousness, indirectness, social character, productivity - that distinguish it from the behavior of animals or the interaction of inanimate systems are so interconnected that they cannot be considered in isolation, as a certain sum of independent qualities - the exclusion of any of them automatically makes it impossible to have all the others.

The true objectivity of activity does not consist in the fact that it is directed at objects of the external world. This direction can also be observed in the activity of animals. For a person, the objectivity of the world is revealed in the course of his mastering socially developed and culturally established norms of objective attitude towards the world. The world of “ideal forms” that objectively exists in culture mediates human interaction with any natural object, turning this interaction into a truly objective activity. In objective activity, man recreates and creatively transforms nature, rather than adapting to it.

The subordination of the world to the subjective goals of man leads to the development of the subjective principle of activity, the identification and formation of man as a subject of activity.

A goal is a conscious image of the planned result of an activity. It is always subjective in form and objective in content. It is in goal-setting activity that the unity of the subjective and objective principles, subjective and objective determination is ensured.

In reality, the process of any activity is carried out in the form of two oppositely directed and complementary actions - objectification and deobjectification. Objectification is the transition of activity processes into a quiescent property of an object, the dying of activity in an object. Deobjectification is the reverse transition of objectivity into a living process of activity, into an active ability. Deobjectification is not the loss of objectivity, but is only its transfer from calm to process, where it exists as its moment. As a result of objectification, the objective pole of activity is enriched, an ever richer objective world- the world of human culture (material and ideal). Disobjectification is the reproduction of the norms of activity with it inherent in an object. As a result of deobjectification, the subjective pole of activity is enriched, a person acquires new knowledge, skills, and abilities. It is through the deobjectification of the world of culture that human intellect and personality develop.

The conscious nature of activity directly follows from its expediency and subordination to goals. This does not mean that all components of activity must or even can be conscious, but goals are necessarily realized; the concept of “unconscious goal”, when used strictly, is meaningless.

The indirect nature of any activity follows from the double indirectness of a person’s relationship to the object of labor, which is the original form of activity. Firstly, this is social mediation (in relation to other people) and, secondly, instrumental mediation. A person’s relationship with other people, in turn, begins to be increasingly mediated by material tools, signs and other means of communication.

Social character human activity determined by its socio-cultural genesis. A person who is outside society is not able to independently come to any forms of activity or master them without the participation of other people, even in the presence of objects of material and spiritual culture.

Productivity as a characteristic of activity captures the fact that after an act of activity is committed, the world changes and becomes different compared to what it was before the act of activity. This does not mean that the result fully corresponds to what was planned; moreover, there are necessarily side effects of the activity.

The regulation of human activity and psyche is carried out according to the principle of activity: activity is one of the constitutive characteristics of human activity, expressing its ability for self-development, self-propulsion through the subject’s initiation of purposeful productive (i.e. transforming reality) objective actions.

The analysis of the first function was started by the works of L.S. Vygotsky and S.L. Rubinstein; it was later continued by A.N. Leontyev, A.R. Luria, V.V. Davydov and others. In this aspect, the connection between a person’s individual life and the socio-historical and spiritual practices of people was studied. As a result, concepts such as “joint (collective) activity” and “ individual activity" The identification of such characteristics of activity as transformative, goal-oriented, sensory-objective and spiritual is also the result of studying activity in its first meaning.

The psychological study of activity as a special subject (second function) was also started by L.S. Vygotsky and S.L. Rubinstein, but especially intensively for many years it was carried out by A.N. Leontyev and his followers. It was A.N. Leontiev laid the foundations of the so-called activity approach in psychology. He considered objective activity as a process within which the mental “in general” arises as its necessary moment. Activity was considered by him as equally inherent in both man and animals; however, in the latter case it was interpreted as vital activity.

A.N. Leontyev proceeded from the distinction between external and internal activities. External activity is sensory-objective, material activity. Internal is the activity of operating with images, ideas about objects, or the ideal activity of consciousness.

According to the views of A.N. Leontiev, internal activity is secondary: it is formed on the basis of external objective activity. The process of transition of external objective activity into internal mental activity is designated in psychology by the term “interiorization.”

It is emphasized that internalization does not consist in simply moving external activities into interior plan consciousness, but in the formation of this consciousness itself.

There is also a reverse transition - from internal to external activity. This transition is designated by the term “exteriorization.” The objectification of our ideas, the creation of an object according to a pre-developed plan are examples of exteriorization.

A.N. Leontyev and his followers believed that the category of activity can be placed at the basis of all psychology. Not a category of practice, but specifically activity, the initial form of which was thought to be material-object transformation or production. This is evidenced by the title of A.N.’s latest work. Leontyeva: “Activity. Consciousness. Personality."

The category of activity, the activity approach in psychology were implemented mainly in the development of problems of developmental and educational psychology. There are numerous attempts to solve problems of general mental development based on the activity approach.

However, it is necessary to note the inappropriateness of singling out objective activity as the only basis and source of development of human subjectivity. This formation cannot proceed on any one basis at all, be it consciousness, communication or activity.

Development of the activity approach in domestic psychology

S.L. Rubinstein is a prominent theorist of Russian psychology. Problems of the nature of the psyche, being and consciousness, activity, human subjectivity and his relationship with the world were decisive and main for him throughout his entire life; He made a decisive contribution to the study of these problems. S.L. Rubinstein deserves the credit for analyzing, systematizing and generalizing contemporary achievements of psychological science, the results of which were presented in the fundamental work “Fundamentals general psychology"(1940).

In his works, S.L. Rubinstein touched upon the problems of human mental development. The principle of the unity of consciousness and activity that he formulated formed the basis of the activity approach in psychology. He asserted the unity of learning and mental development and on this basis formulated a methodological principle for studying the mental development of children in the process of education and upbringing. The basic law of mental development is that a child develops by being raised and trained, mastering the content of human culture under the guidance of adults. Hereditarily determined maturation processes reveal ample opportunities mental development realized in the child’s activities. In teaching and upbringing, the child is not only an object, but also a subject of activity.

A prominent representative of L.S. Vygotsky’s school, who had a significant influence on the development of developmental psychology, is A.N. Leontyev. He proceeded from the fundamental position that the mental achievements of the human race are not fixed in hereditarily fixed changes in the body, but are embodied in the products of material and spiritual culture. For an individual, the achievements of the human race are not given in his nature, but are given in his environment. public life; the child must “appropriate” them, master them. By mastering them, he reproduces historically developed human abilities, thereby becoming human. The assignment of generic abilities is possible only in the child’s own activity, which is adequate to the nature of the ability being mastered. This activity is carried out under the guidance of adults, in communication between a child and an adult.

A.N. Leontiev developed a general psychological theory of activity, introduced into psychology the category of leading activity, on the basis of which at that time everyone was meaningfully characterized age period, its place and role in the general course of human mental development was determined. A.N. Leontiev carried out a study of the game as a leading activity in preschool age. He owns research on educational psychology.

Comprehensive and systematic approaches in domestic psychology

The systems approach is a special direction in methodology scientific knowledge, which is based on the idea of ​​an object as a system. Objects of nature (inorganic or organic), man, society, material and ideal phenomena are considered as system objects. Methodologist E.G. Yudin noted that the specifics of systemic research are determined by the promotion of new principles of approach to the object of study, a new orientation of the entire study. In the very general view this orientation is expressed in the desire to build a holistic picture of the object. The systematic approach is characterized by the following features:

The description of the elements of a complete system has no independent meaning; each element is described not as such, but taking into account its place in the structure of the whole.

One and the same object appears in systemic research as having simultaneously different characteristics, parameters, functions and even different principles of structure.

The study of a system object is inseparable from the study of the conditions of its existence.

Specific to the systems approach is the problem of generating the properties of the whole from the properties of the elements and, conversely, generating the properties of the elements from the characteristics of the whole.

In systems research, only causal explanations of the functioning of an object are not sufficient; A large class of systems is characterized by expediency as an integral feature of their behavior.

The source of transformations of a system or its functions usually lies in the system itself; it is a self-organizing system Yudin E.G. Systematic approach and operating principle. - M.: Education, 1978. - p.-102-103..

The possibilities of implementing a systems approach in psychology were discussed by B.F. Lomov. He formulated General requirements to a systematic analysis of mental phenomena:

Mental phenomena are multidimensional and must be considered in different measurement systems.

The system of mental phenomena should be studied as multi-level, built hierarchically.

When describing the mental properties of a person, it is necessary to keep in mind the multiplicity of the relationships in which he exists, i.e. represent the diversity of its properties.

The multidimensionality and multilevel nature of mental phenomena necessarily presuppose a system of their determinants.

Mental phenomena must be studied in development; in the course of development there is a change in its determinants, a change in systemic foundations Lomov B.F. On the systems approach in psychology // Issues of psychology. - 1975. - No. 2. - P.41--44..

The psychological theory of activity was created in Russian psychology thanks to the works of L. S. Vygotsky, S. L. Rubinstein, A. N. Leontiev, A. R. Luria, A. V. Zaporozhets, P. Ya. Galperin and many others. The theory of activity is most fully presented in the works of A. N. Leontiev, in particular in his last book “Activity. Consciousness. Personality” (1977).

Basic provisions or principles of activity theory, new compared to previous concepts:

1. Consciousness cannot be considered as closed in itself: it must be brought into the activity of the subject (“opening” the circle of consciousness).

2. Behavior cannot be considered in isolation from a person’s consciousness. When considering behavior, consciousness must not only be preserved, but also defined in its fundamental function (the principle of the unity of consciousness and behavior).

3. Activity is an active, purposeful process (the principle of activity).

4. Human actions are objective; they realize social - production and cultural - goals (the principle of the objectivity of human activity and the principle of its social conditionality).

Activity- this is an active interaction with the surrounding reality, during which a living being acts as a subject purposefully influencing an object and thus satisfying its needs.

The concept of activity is also used to characterize the indicative behavior of animals (indicative research activity). However, at all stages of their development, the activity of animals retains a narrowly adaptive instinctive character, and they are able to focus only on the external, directly perceived (or visually represented) side of surrounding objects and phenomena.

Distinctive features of human activity:

2) activity is also determined by the ways of achieving the goal;

3) activity controls human behavior in such a way as to stimulate and maintain activity that is not accompanied by direct reinforcement;

4) awareness of the goal and the conditioning of actions to achieve it by social experience.

Kinds human activities (according to S.L. Rubinstein): play, learning, work

Forms: external (subject-practical) and internal (hidden from observation)

Internal mental activity of a person is an activity that has the same structure as external activities, and differs from it only in the form of its flow. Internal activities originated from external, practical activity through a process of internalization. The latter, as mentioned above, means the transfer of external actions to the mental plane.

Ideas about the structure of activity, although they do not completely exhaust the theory of activity, form its basis. Human activity has a complex hierarchical structure. It consists of several “layers”, or levels: 1) types of activities; 2) level of action; 3) the level of operations and 4) the lowest - the level of psychophysiological functions.

Action- the basic unit of activity analysis is a process aimed at achieving a goal.

Target- this is an image of the desired result, i.e. the result that should be achieved during the execution of the action. It is worth noting that what is meant here is a conscious image of the result, which is retained in consciousness the entire time the action is carried out, so talking about a “conscious goal” does not make much sense: the goal is always conscious.

Characterizing the concept of “action”, we can highlight the following four points:

Action includes as a necessary component an act of consciousness (as discussed above) in the form of setting and maintaining a goal. But this act of consciousness is not closed in itself, as the psychology of consciousness actually asserted, but “reveals” in action;

Action is at the same time an act of behavior. Consequently, the theory of activity also preserves the achievements of behaviorism, making the external activity of animals and humans the object of study. However, unlike behaviorism, it considers external movements in inextricable unity with consciousness. After all, movement without a goal is more likely a failed behavior than its true essence.

So, the first two points on which the theory of activity differs from previous concepts are the recognition of the inextricable unity of consciousness and behavior. This unity is already contained in the main unit of analysis - action.

Through the concept of action, activity theory affirms the principle of activity, contrasting it with the principle of reactivity. The principle of activity and the principle of reactivity differ in where, according to each of them, the starting point of activity analysis should be placed: in external environment or inside the body (subject).

For J. Watson, the main thing was the concept of reaction. Reaction means “response action”. The active, initiating principle here belongs to the stimulus. But many behavioral acts, or actions, cannot be explained based on analysis alone. external conditions(stimuli). It is too typical for a person to act in a way that obeys not the logic of external influences, but the logic of his internal goal. These are not so much reactions to external stimuli as actions aimed at achieving a goal, taking into account external conditions. Action presupposes an active principle in the subject (in the form of a goal).

The concept of action “brings” human activity into the objective and social world. The “represented result” (goal) of an action can be anything, and not only and not even so much biological, such as, for example, obtaining food, avoiding danger, etc. This can be the production of some material product, establishing social contact, receiving knowledge, etc. Thus, the concept of action makes it possible to approach scientific analysis human life from the side of its human specificity. Such a possibility could not be provided by the concept of reaction, especially the innate reaction, from which J. Watson proceeded. Man, through the prism of Watson’s system, acted primarily as a biological being.

Operations form the next, underlying level in relation to actions. By definition, an operation is a way of performing an action. If the action meets the goal itself, then the operation meets the conditions under which this goal is given. In this case, “conditions” mean both external circumstances and the possibilities, or internal means, of the acting subject himself.

A goal given under certain conditions in activity theory is called task. When describing the process of solving a problem, it is necessary to indicate both the actions and operations that implement them. We can talk about action without operations, or about action abstracted from operations, only at the planning stage.

Operations are little or not realized. In this way, operations are fundamentally different from actions that require both a conscious goal and conscious control over the course of the action. Essentially, the operations level is filled with the automatic actions and skills already discussed earlier. There are two types of operations:

Some arise through adaptation, adjustment, and direct imitation; they are practically not realized and cannot be called into consciousness even with special efforts.

Other operations arise from actions through their automation and are located on the border of consciousness. They can easily become actually conscious.

Under psychophysiological functions in the theory of activity, the physiological support of mental processes is understood: the ability to form and record traces of past influences, motor ability, etc. This level also includes innate mechanisms fixed in the morphology of the nervous system, and those that mature during the first months of life. We can say that psychophysiological functions constitute the organic foundation of activity processes. Without relying on them, it would be impossible not only to carry out actions and operations, but also to set goals and objectives.

The initial form of activity of living organisms is - need. It is best to start analyzing needs with their organic forms. Certain states of tension periodically arise in a living organism; they are associated with an objective lack of substances (objects) that are necessary to continue the normal functioning of the body. States of the body's objective need for something that lies beyond its boundaries and is necessary for normal functioning are called needs. These are the needs for food, water, oxygen, etc.

When it comes to the needs with which a person is born (and not only humans, but also higher animals), then at least two more need to be added to the list of elementary biological needs. This is, firstly, the need for contacts with others like oneself, and, first of all, with adult individuals (social need). The second need with which a person is born and which is not organic is the need for external impressions, or, in a broad sense, a cognitive need. Studies have shown that already in the first hours of life, children react to visual, sound, auditory influences and not only react, but seem to explore them. In particular, they develop more animated reactions to new stimuli.

Organic needs ensure the existence of a person as a biological being, and contact with people and knowledge of the world are necessary for his formation as a human being.

Now let us turn to the connection between needs and activities. Here it is necessary to distinguish two stages in the life of each need. The first stage is the period before the first meeting with an object that satisfies the need; the second stage is after this meeting. At the first stage, the need, as a rule, is not presented to the subject and is not “deciphered” for him. He may experience a state of some kind of tension, dissatisfaction, but not know what caused this state. From the behavioral point of view, the state of need during this period is expressed in anxiety, searching, searching various items. The process of “recognition” by a need of its object is called the objectification of the need. In its elementary forms, it is known as the “imprinting mechanism” (i.e., imprinting). An example of imprinting is the awakening of a following reaction in a newborn gosling at the sight of any object moving past it, including an inanimate one: it begins to follow it, like its mother (K. Lorenz's experiments). In the process of objectification, two important features of need are revealed. The first is the initially very wide range of items that can satisfy a given need. The second feature is the quick fixation of a need on the first object that satisfies it.

So, at the moment the need meets the object, the need is objectified, its concretization is born motive. Motive is defined as an object of need or an objectified need. A motive is something for which an action is performed or, as a rule, a lot different actions. The set of actions that are caused by one motive is called activity or a special type of activity. A motive is a motivating reason for an activity, and the activity is usually multi-motivated.

Motives can be divided into two large classes: the first includes conscious motives, the second - unconscious. Examples of first-class motives include large life goals that guide a person’s activities over long periods of his life. These are motives-goals. The existence of such motives is typical for mature individuals. I. P. Pavlov in the preface to his work “Lectures on the work of the cortex cerebral hemispheres” wrote that she is the fruit of his “persistent twenty years of thinking.” The study of the laws of higher nervous activity was the leading motive of his life for several decades. Of course, this was a conscious motive, a motive-goal.

Another class includes unconscious motives. This class is much larger, and up to a certain age almost all motives are included in it. The work of understanding your own motives is very important, but at the same time very difficult. It requires not only great intellectual and life experience, but also great courage. Essentially this is special activity, which has its own motive - the motive of self-knowledge and moral self-improvement. If motives are not realized, then they manifest themselves in consciousness in a special form - these are emotions and personal meanings. If a person cares about something, then this “something” affects his motives. The psychoanalytic direction offers its methods for realizing unconscious impulses, which were discussed in the second chapter of this manual.

In the concept of B.G. Ananyev, labor, cognition and communication are distinguished as types of activity. Below is a diagram indicating the main levels of human activity as a subject of activity.

The structure of human activity as a subject of activity according to B.G. Ananiev

Man in the processes of labor, cognition and communication.

Activity Molar levels of activity in the system

Actions “subject-personality”

Macro movements Molecular levels of activity

Micromovements in the system

Spontaneous motor activity “subject-individual”

B.G. Ananyev paid great importance in the structure of activity to molecular levels, the study of which with the help of microstructural analysis made it possible to reach the mechanisms of mental regulation of human behavior and activity.

One of the most important characteristics of a person is that he is able to work, and any type of work is an activity. Activity is a dynamic system of interaction between a subject and the world. Any simple act of activity is a form of manifestation of the subject’s activity, which means that any activity has motivating reasons and is aimed at achieving certain results.

Activity theory was created during the Soviet period, was the central psychological theory and developed over more than 50 years. The development and development of this theory is associated with the names of such famous domestic psychologists as Vygotsky, Rubinstein, Leontiev, Luria, Zaporozhets, Galperin, etc.

The driving reasons for human activity are motives - a set of external and internal conditions that cause the activity of the subject and determine the direction of activity. It is the motive, inducing activity, that determines its direction, i.e. determines its goals and objectives.

The following types of activities are distinguished: PLAY, STUDY and WORK.

All components of a person’s hierarchical structure are involved in the implementation of activities: physiological, mental and social. Briefly, the structural diagram of the activity can be presented as follows:

Human activity has a complex hierarchical structure. It consists of several nonequilibrium levels. The top level is the level of special activities, then comes the level of actions, followed by the level of operations, and the lowest is the level of psychophysiological functions.

The central place is occupied by action, which is the basic unit of analysis of activity. Action is a process aimed at realizing a goal. We can say that action is a conscious manifestation of human activity. Exceptions are cases when a person, due to certain reasons or circumstances, has impaired adequacy of mental regulation of behavior, for example, during illness or in a state of passion. The action itself cannot be considered as that element entry level, from which activity is formed. Action is a complex element, which often itself consists of many smaller ones. This situation is explained by the fact that every action is determined by a goal. Each action can be performed in different ways, i.e. by using in various ways. The way an action is performed is called an operation. The main property of operations is that they are little realized. In this way, operations differ from actions, which presuppose both a conscious goal and conscious control over the course of the action. The lowest level of the structure of activity is psychophysiological functions (physiological mechanisms for ensuring mental processes).

Having considered the operational and technical aspects of activity, we must ask ourselves the question of why this or that action is performed, where do the goals come from? In order to answer this question, it is necessary to turn to such concepts as needs and motives.

Initially, the subject’s need turns out to be “undecipherable.” A person may experience a feeling of tension, but at the same time not be aware of what caused this condition. During the search activity, a need meets its subject, which ends the first stage of the “life” of the need. The process of “recognition” by a need of its object is called the objectification of the need. In the act of objectification, a motive is born. Motive is defined as an objectified need. It is through the motive that the need receives its concretization and becomes understandable to the subject. Following the objectification of a need and the emergence of a motive, a person’s behavior changes. If previously it was undirected, then with the appearance of a motive it receives its direction. As a rule, for the sake of something a person performs many separate actions. And this set of actions caused by one motive is called activity.

The activity approach in psychology began to take shape in Russia at approximately the same time as the cultural-historical approach, i.e. in the 20s XX century In contrast to the cultural-historical approach, which focuses on the mastery of sign systems as a mechanism for the development of the human psyche, representatives of the activity approach brought to the fore the motivational aspect (why and why development occurs). Vygotsky’s idea of ​​sign mediation was enriched by the position of its activity-based mediation, which introduced the idea of ​​development into the context of real life relationships person. The founders of the activity approach in psychology were S. L. Rubinstein(1889–1960) and (1903–1979), under whose leadership original versions of the theories were developed.

Rice. 2.8.

Pathos active approach to the psyche can be briefly summarized in the form of an excerpt from Rubinstein’s work: “The subject in his actions is not only revealed and manifested; he is created and determined in them. What he does can determine what he is; the direction of his activity can define and shape him." In his fundamental work “Fundamentals of General Psychology” (1946), Rubinstein asserts the primacy of practical human activity in relation to mental development:"... the child is surrounded from the very first day of his life by human objects - objects that are the product of human labor, and first of all practically masters human relationships to these objects, human ways of acting with them... The basis for the development of specifically human practical actions in a child is first of all the fact that the child enters into practical communication with other people, with the help of whom he can only satisfy his needs. It is this... that is the practical basis on which his very speech development is built" (Rubinstein, p. 127). In other words, it is the child's involvement in practical activities that is the prerequisite and reason for his "humanization" and entails the formation of consciousness . Activity is the productive basis of consciousness. Rubinstein formulated the principle unity of consciousness and activity, according to which consciousness does not control activity from the outside, but forms an inextricable unity with it, being both a prerequisite (motives, goals) and a result (images, states, skills, etc.) of activity. Subject and object (man and world) are conceived in the activity approach not as different opposing entities, but as moments of activity connecting them into a single whole. Subject and object in the process of activity transform into each other: the object transforms into a subjective image, and the image, in turn, transforms into products of activity. In this case, the mental image is a “cast” of the activity carried out by the subject.

In the method of reasoning proposed by activity psychology, the dualism of internal and external, ideal and material is overcome, and the psychophysiological problem is solved in the spirit of monism. The psyche does not exist in isolation, in abstraction from objectively oriented activity, does not “interact” with it, but is an integral part of activity.

The principle of the unity of consciousness and activity made it possible to distinguish activity, on the one hand, as independent subject psychological research (since activity is the form through which the subject reflects the world), and on the other hand, how explanatory principle. In other words, by explaining activity, we also explain the human psyche. As S. L. Rubinstein wrote: “Psychology studies the mental side of activity” (Rubinstein, 1946, p. 535). Activity, as opposed to reaction, is a process active a person’s relationship to reality, therefore, the theme of personality and motivation occupies a central place in the focus of interests of the activity approach.

The great merit of the activity approach is that it was the first to raise the question of the origin and development of the psyche in the animal world. To explain how and why the psyche arose in phylogenesis, a student of L. S. Vygotsky, and later the organizer of the Faculty of Psychology at Moscow state university expanded the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity, putting forward the thesis about unity of psyche (in her various forms) And activities. According to Λ. N. Leontiev, historically the psyche arises as a functional organ of activity. We can say that to solve the problem of adaptation to a changing environment, evolution “invents” a revolutionary method of mental reflection, which provides new opportunities compared to physical reflection. The essence of this method is to establish a connection between biologically significant stimuli for the body and signal stimuli. The ability to respond to connections encountered in experience similar type(not to the significant stimuli themselves, but to their signals) allows the body to flexibly adapt to changing living conditions and accordingly increases the survival potential of the species. The evolution of the psyche unfolds along the line of complication of the reflected connections between objects and, accordingly, brings the psyche ever closer to the creation of a holistic image of the world, which is embodied in human consciousness (see Chapter 3). It is worth noting that the psyche does not reflect the world as such, but only those aspects of it that are included in activity. For example, British researchers working on the Cityscape program discovered that residents' maps of Birmingham lacked the city's recognized tourist symbol, the Post Office Tower (after Gold, 1990). The reason for this was that, unlike tourists who visited Birmingham primarily with the intention of admiring the architectural beauty, city residents formed the image of their living space based on practically significant objects - transport routes, shops, institutions, truly “not noticing” the majestic tower structure. This feature of mental reflection is fixed in the idea of ​​the origin of the image as double assimilation. Its essence is that, on the one hand, the image represents the properties of the influencing object, and on the other, those states of the subject for the sake of which he entered into interaction with the object.

The key to the activity approach is the concept of activity. S. D. Smirnov, analyzing the content of this concept, points out that the movement from the pole of passivity to the pole of activity is associated with an increase in indicators in three parameters. Firstly, we speak of activity when an action is carried out proactively, i.e. The cause of action is the subject himself, and not the circumstances compelling him. Secondly, the more active the subject, the more transformative (rather than adaptive) his actions are. And thirdly, the temporal and spatial distance between the initiation of an act and its result can act as a measure of activity. From the point of view of all these three parameters, human activity is as active as possible: “Activity is one of the constitutive characteristics of human activity, expressing its ability for self-development, self-propulsion through the subject’s initiation of purposeful productive (i.e. transforming reality) objective actions” (Smirnov, 2006 ). V. A. Petrovsky interprets the relationship between the concepts of activity activity in a similar way. In his opinion, activity lies in the fact that “the subject, acting in the direction of realizing the initial relations of his activity, goes beyond the framework of these relations and transforms them” (Petrovsky, 1996). A. N. Leontyev gives a unique formula for activity: “The internal influences through the external and thereby transforms itself.” In other words, a person as an individual is capable of developing himself, shaping his qualities through the implementation of various activities. However, of course, we are not always able to fully realize our lives actively. Thus, in engineering psychology the term “professional deformation” is widely used. They talk about it when a person unconsciously transfers the logic of the subject to his professional activity to other areas of life, for example, a teacher begins to constantly “examine” his family, or a doctor begins to see in everyone around him only people suffering from various ailments.

Analyzing the initial principles of the general psychological theory of activity, A. G. Asmolov identifies the following among them:

1) The principle of objectivity, according to which a person interacts not with the stimuli of the natural environment, but with objects that contain, in a captured form, the history of human activity. Moreover, it is obvious that things as physical objects do not possess the qualities of objectivity in themselves, but are endowed with them in the process of human activity. For example, over the past decades, miners in South Africa have regularly recovered from mines mysterious metal spheres about 0.4 cm in diameter with three grooves around the equator (Fig. 2.9). The artifacts are clearly man-made, but their true purpose is unknown. For representatives of the culture in which these things were made and used, they undoubtedly acted as motives for activity (see below). But for modern people they have lost their objectivity and, accordingly, do not have a specific “character of requirements” for operating with them. Thus, activity is not fundamentally equivalent to behavior based on establishing stimulus-response connections, as behaviorists interpreted it. The reality behind the category of activity is not directly observable. As mentioned above, on the one hand, activity imitates the objective structure of the world, and on the other, it is determined by the tasks that the subject solves in this world.

Rice. 2.9.

2) The principle of systematic organization of units of activity, according to which the morphology of activity can be represented as functional system, which includes the dynamic interaction of three types of structural units or levels. As structural units of activity in the direction from the more general to the more specific, the following are distinguished: activities - actions - operations. The main thing that distinguishes one activity from another is its subject, i.e. activity is determined motive (WHY does a person act). By subject you can distinguish Various types activities, for example play activities, educational activities, work activities, etc. D. B. Elkonin(1904–1984) developed in his works the concept leading activities, those. activity that corresponds to the most significant motive in a particular age period or in a particular personally significant situation (see Chapter 10). It is the analysis of leading activity that is most important for understanding the essence of a given person: in leading activity, the main features of his personality are first formed and manifested. To paraphrase a famous saying, one can say: “Tell me what your leading activity is, and I will tell you what you are.” Activities can also be distinguished by directions: on an object in the external world, on another person, on oneself.

Activities are implemented in the system actions. Each action is defined purpose (WHAT the action is directed towards). A goal is a conscious image of the planned result of an action. In purposeful action, a person comes into contact with the world and tries to transform it in such a way as to obtain the intended effect. If in terms of development, as Leontyev said, “activity paves the way for the development of the psyche,” then in terms of developed activity, it is already the mental image (in particular, the image of the goal) that controls the course of the activity. The goal that we relate to the future (i.e., does not yet exist anywhere except in the mind) sets the way of our interaction with the world. However, since the action takes place in a real objective environment, its method depends on specific conditions. The operational level of actions (HOW a person performs an action) is a system of operations that must be performed in order to carry out the action. Each action can rely on a diverse set of operations. For example, if my goal is to find out what time it is, I can look at my wristwatch, I can call the time service, I can ask a passerby, or I can try to determine the time by the sun. If the operations are significantly different, I will perform essentially the same action. The level of operations is supported in turn by the psychophysical functions of the body.

Let's consider an example of a level organization of a specific activity. Let's say a student is preparing for an exam. Preparing for an exam is an action behind which there is a specific goal - to get a high mark. An activity within the scope of preparing for an exam can be reading a textbook, looking through notes, drinking coffee to stay awake, etc. It is clear that the way in which operations are performed is determined by the conditions: whether the desired book is available on the Internet, what time of day it is, whether the kettle has boiled, etc. But what activity is hidden behind the student's action? After all, his activity may be subordinated to a cognitive motive or a motive of preparation for professional work, or a motive of joining the intellectual elite, or a motive of communication with peers, or a motive of self-improvement, etc. In reality, each action usually corresponds to several motives (not either/or, but both/and), so they say that almost any action is multimotivated. In order to establish what the student we are mentally “spying” on is actually doing, what activities he is involved in given time, let's try to imagine that he was informed that the exam was cancelled. Will he continue to work in such conditions? If he puts the book aside with relief, it will become clear that cognitive motivation was not the leading one in this case. But look, he continues to read! Perhaps the point is that good mark will it allow him to raise his authority in the eyes of his classmates? Then we will inform him that he is participating in an educational experiment and the results of his answer will be kept secret. Will he continue his preparation now? By going through assumptions in this way regarding the most significant motivation for the action being performed, we will ultimately be able to get to the true content of the student’s activity.

The structural units of activity are mobile: what was an action yesterday can today develop into independent activity. For example, if now you are reading a textbook only in order to answer the teacher tomorrow, then later you can get so carried away that you re-read all the available psychological literature. She will become interesting to you on her own, without connection with yours. educational activities. Leontyev called this phenomenon "shift of motive to goal." It is also possible to move in the opposite direction - awareness of the motive of activity turns it into a motive-goal, i.e. there is a transformation of activity into action.

• 3) The principle of determining mental reflection by the place of the reflected object in the structure of activity. The essence of this principle is that the material of each of the structural levels of activity is reflected in the psyche in different ways. In numerous experimental studies it was shown that the material that the subject directly relates to the goal of his action is reflected most fully, for example, it is well remembered and actively used in solving the problem (see Chapters 7, 8, 9).
• 4) The principle of the super-adaptive nature of human activity, according to which, taken on a wide time scale, human activity does not direct it towards equilibrium with the environment (homeostasis), but is directed towards increasing tension (heterostasis), due to which self-development of activity is possible. The phenomena of super-adaptive characteristics of activity can be recorded in situations of “supra-situational activity” (the term and its factual content belong to V. A. Petrovsky), which are defined as “actions above the threshold of the requirements of the situation.” One of the first descriptions of this phenomenology was given by V.I. Asiin. In his experiment youngest child In front of his older child, he was solving a simple problem: he had to, without getting up from his chair, pull an object lying in the distance towards him. Since the child had a stick in his field of vision, he easily completed the task with its help. Then the older child was asked to solve a similar problem. Contrary to expectations, the older child, instead of repeating the decision of the younger one, began to fidget in his chair, showed obvious anxiety, but did not solve the problem. When the experimenter asked him what was the matter, he passionately explained: “Well, I can’t do it like a little kid! Anyone can do that!” It turns out that the child refused to respond to the demands of the situation, but independently formulated the conditions of the task for himself - not just to solve the problem, but to solve it in a new, original way. The phenomenon of “disinterested risk” was studied in detail in the works of V. A. Petrovsky. In experimental situations specially organized by him, where the subject could use either neutral or risky strategies (the threat of receiving an unpleasant electric shock or reprimand), regular attempts at risky decisions were observed, although the preference for “risky” choices over “neutral” ones did not give the subject any visible advantages. Three quarters of the subjects could not resist the “temptation” to make a risky move, and as the possible consequences of the risk increased, the number of such attempts not only did not decrease, but, on the contrary, increased!

In conclusion, we note that since both the cultural-historical and activity approaches were developed primarily by Russian psychologists, there is a relationship of methodological unity between them. Both the cultural-historical and activity-based approaches embody the paradigm of romantic science and are based on general principles. Perhaps in many ways anticipating the “activity turn” in Russian psychology, L. S. Vygotsky formulated this relationship as follows: “If at the beginning of development there is a deed, independent of the word, then at the end of it there is a word that becomes a deed. A word that makes a person’s action free "(Vygotsky, 1984, vol. 6, p. 90).

In the introduction to the fifteenth edition of one of the world's most popular psychology textbooks (Atkinson & Hilgard's Introduction to Psychology), the authors reflect on the prospects for psychological science in the 21st century. In their opinion, the most pressing problems for psychology in the near future will be the problems of correlating brain and cognitive processes (cognitive neuroscience), problems of the development of the human psyche in phylo- and anthropogenesis (evolutionary psychology) and problems of cultural conditioning of the psyche (cultural psychology). Time will tell whether this forecast turns out to be correct. But we are convinced that they will be able to adequately respond to the challenges of the future psychologist, only clearly understanding the fact that psychology itself as a science is in constant development and activity aimed at studying, perhaps, the most complex mystery of the Universe - the human psyche.

The current state of psychological science can be characterized as the coexistence of various research paradigms that open up the subject of psychology in their own way (Table 2.5).

Table 2.5

Directions of psychology

Psychology direction		Explanatory principle		Unit of Analysis
Classical psychology of consciousness	Consciousness as direct experience	Association	Introspection	Elements of conscious experience
Gestalt psychology	Phenomenal field	Gestalting	Phenomenological introspection	Gestalt
Psychoanalysis	Interaction of consciousness and unconsciousness	The principle of dynamic balance between consciousness and the unconscious	Psychoanalysis	The relationship between consciousness and the unconscious, manifested in errors, dreams, neurotic symptoms, etc.
Behaviorism	Behavior as an observable psyche	Stimulus-response association through reinforcement	Experiment
Cognitive psychology	Cognition Strategies	Process of information processing	Experimental verification of models	Cognitive operation, forms of representation
Humanistic psychology	Human personality development potential	Self-actualization	Phenomenological description	Meaningful Experience
Cultural-historical psychology	Development of higher mental functions	Sign mediation	Experimental genetic method	Psychological functional system
Activity psychology	Active interaction of the subject with the world	The principle of activity determination of the psyche In the activity approach, “object of activity” and “motive of activity” act as synonyms.