The theory was based on the dialectical principle of Marxist philosophy: "Being gives rise to consciousness." He asserted the primacy of matter and the secondary nature of consciousness. Leontiev, on the basis of this, believed that the psyche is special kind activities. Activity was understood as such an interaction with the environment, as a result of which perfect image this environment, which then begins to regulate behavior.

Key Points:- the main characteristic of human activity is its subject, i.e. the beginning of interaction with the object, and then with its image. The subject of activity is what the activity is aimed at. An object can be a material object or an ideal object (thoughts, feelings, experiences). - genetically initial is the subject Practical activities person. All other types of mental activity, cognitive, intellectual, and mental, arise from it. This happens due to the process of internalization, in which external practical actions become internal actions, pass into the internal plane of consciousness.

The structure of human activity. In any kind of activity, one can distinguish common structural components - goals, motives and actions. The goal acts as an image of the final result of the activity. The motive induces a person to activity and gives meaning to his activity. Action - a relatively completed element of activity aimed at achieving a certain intermediate conscious goal.

In the process of human development, activity becomes more complex, independent activity can turn into action, and individual actions can turn into independent activity.

P. K. Anokhin, N. A. Bernshtein, E. A. Asratyap, B. G. Ananiev and others, exploring the mechanisms of planning, control and regulation of actions, found that the goal of any action is represented in the mind in the form of a mental image, based on a kind of neuropsychic model. Feedback- information about the results of the action being performed and comparing them with a given model - provides an adjustment of the action in the course of its implementation. This mechanism is called the action acceptor.

Ways to perform actions that make up this species activities are commonly referred to as actions. Each action consists, as a rule, of a system of movements, or operations, subordinate to the task being solved in certain specific conditions.

Actions aimed at changing the state or properties of objects in the external world are called objective. They consist of certain movements, in most cases - of relatively simple sins: take (raise), move, lower. Other types of movements are also distinguished: speech, somatic, expressive, locomotor, etc. In all cases, coordination and consistency of movements are necessary.

A variety of human actions performed in internal plan consciousness are called mental. It has been experimentally established that mental actions necessarily include motor motor components.

There are four types of mental activity: perceptual, mnemonic. thoughtful and imaginative.

Any activity includes internal and external components. By its origin, internal (mental, psychic) ​​activity is derived from external (objective) activity. With the accumulation of experience, the ability to perform the same actions in the mind is acquired (internalization, thanks to which the human psyche is able to perform operations with images of objects that are out of sight). Then the actions in the mind, aimed at the transformation of objective activity, are themselves subjected to the reverse transformation (examination realized in the form of movements, influences on objects, manipulation with them).

With all the variety specific types activities in each of them it is possible to identify some common structural elements. General structure of activity : - goal - - subject - actions and operations - control - evaluation - result t.

Essence of activity

Actions- relatively complete elements of activity aimed at achieving intermediate goals, subordinate to the general y.

Distinguish between sensory actions (actions to perceive an object), motor (motor actions), volitional, mental, mnemonic (memory actions), external object (actions aimed at changing the state or properties of objects in the external world), and mental (actions performed in the internal plan consciousness).

Based on the history of the concept of "action" as the main element of the analysis of activity, the fundamental principles psychological theory activities:

1. Consciousness cannot be considered as closed in itself: it must manifest itself in activity (the principle of “blurring” the circle of consciousness).

2. Behavior cannot be considered in isolation from human consciousness (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; their goals are social (the principle of objective human activity and the principle of its social conditioning).

In itself, the action cannot be considered as the element of the initial level from which the activity is formed. An action is a complex element that often itself consists of many smaller ones. This situation is explained by the fact that every action is conditioned by a goal. Human goals are not only diverse, but also of different scales. There are large goals that are divided into smaller private goals, and those, in turn, can be divided into even smaller private goals, and so on.

Each action can be performed in different ways, i.e. using various ways. The way in which an action is performed is called operation.

Interiorization- the process of transition from external material action to internal, ideal action.

Thanks to internalization, a person acquires the ability to operate with images of objects that, in this moment not in his field of vision. A person goes beyond the given moment, freely "in the mind" moves into the past and into the future, in time and space.

exteriorization- the process of transforming an internal mental action into an external action.

The main activities are common to all people. They correspond to the types of special human activity in which each person inevitably joins in the process of his mental development.

Main types of human activity

When they talk about the development of human activity, they mean:

Phylogenetic development of the human activity system;

The inclusion of a person in various activities in the process of his mental development (ontogenesis);

Changes occurring within individual activities as they develop;

activity differentiation.

Automated, consciously, semiconsciously and unconsciously controlled components of activity are called respectively:

Skills

Skills

Habits

Skills- ways of successful implementation of the action corresponding to the goals, conditions of activity. Consciously controlled.

Skills- fully automated, instinct-like components of skills, implemented at the level of unconscious control.

Conditions and stages of skill formation

Skills and abilities acquired by a person influence the formation of new skills and abilities.

Positive influence - transfer.

Negative influence - interference.

Exercises are of great importance for the formation of all types of skills and abilities.

Habit- sustainable ways of human action, the implementation of which in a certain situation acquires for aneeds , which "encourage to do some

Human activity is carried out through actions various kinds and levels. Usually distinguish between reflex, instinctive, impulsive and volitional actions.

According to the degree of awareness of the goals (“why am I doing this”) and consequences (“what can this lead to”), actions are divided into impulsive and volitional. The main difference between impulsive action and volitional action is the absence of conscious control in the first and the presence of conscious control in the second. Impulsive action arises predominantly when the drive has been switched off from the instinctive action, and volitional action not yet organized or already disorganized. Impulsive actions are characterized by a low degree of awareness of goals and possible consequences. The image or word that has arisen in the mind, the command immediately causes an action. Volitional actions involve thoughtfulness of goals and possible consequences. Dynamic relations play an essential role in impulsive action. Impulsive action is affective discharge. It is connected with affective experience. An impulsive-affective action is a passionate outburst of an enthusiastic or affective attack by an irritated person who is unable to control his act; in the purest, naked impulsive actions are observed in pathological cases or conditions in which normal volitional action is impossible.

Volitional actions are experienced by the subject as requiring internal effort. They are characterized by the subordination of one motive to another, while these two motives have opposite signs.

Each action consists of a system of movements or operations, which are divided into external (objective) and internal (mental, mental). Depending on the mental acts that dominate in the methods of action, the following components of action are distinguished: sensory (sensory), central (mental) and motor (motor) (Fig. 1).

Rice. one.

External actions include motor (motor) actions of a person, actions to move objects, movements of speech organs, facial expressions and pantomime, internal ones include perceptual actions, through which a holistic image of objects and phenomena is formed, mnemonic movements that are part of the activity of memorizing some kind of or information and its subsequent recall, mental actions.

Sensory actions are actions to perceive an object, for example, determining the size of an object, its location and movement in space, its state. Among the sensory actions is the assessment of a person's mood by his facial expressions. Motor actions are actions aimed at changing the position of an object in space by directly moving it (with hands, feet) or directly using tools (speed switching when driving a car). Motor and sensory actions are most often combined in labor activity into a sensorimotor action, but for the purposes of training (in particular, exercises) they are distinguished as separate types of actions. A sensorimotor action aimed at changing the state or properties of objects in the external world is called an objective action. Any objective action consists of certain movements connected in space and time. Mental actions are a variety of human actions performed in the inner plane of consciousness. It has been experimentally established that mental action necessarily includes motor motor components. .

Studies by Soviet psychologists have shown that mental actions are formed at first as external, objective actions and are gradually transferred to the internal plane. The translation of an external action into an internal plan is called internalization.

The mastery of mental activity leads to the fact that, before embarking on external activity aimed at achieving the desired goal, a person performs an action in the mind, operating with images and speech symbols. External activity in this case is prepared and proceeds on the basis of the performed mental activity. The realization of a mental action outside, in the form of actions with objects, is called exteriorization.

Action is the basic unit of analysis of activity and has a structure similar to activity: goal - motive, method - result. Action - a process aimed at the realization of a goal, where the goal is conscious image the desired result. We can say that action is the process of solving a problem, which includes the processes of goal formation, the processes of finding funds. Action differs from activity in that the object to which it is directed does not coincide with its motive. Motives give rise to actions. The conscious relation of the subject of activity to its motive is the meaning of the action; the form of experiencing the meaning of an action is the realization of its purpose. An action, unlike a habitual or impulsive behavioral act, directly determined by the objective situation, is always realized indirectly. Various signs, roles, values, norms, etc. can act as means; applying them, the subject masters the action, turns it into a personal, belonging to him.

According to the way of functioning, actions can be arbitrary and deliberate. The intentionality of an action arises by virtue of the subject's decision that the image of the future result of the action corresponds to the motive of his activity; then this mode of action acquires a personal meaning for him and acts as the goal of the action. If there is an intention, the subject has a setting to achieve the anticipated result of the action. It is connected with the image of the foreseen goal, which specifies only general direction construction of action, while the executive part of the action is determined by the specific conditions of the situation.

CONCEPT

This concept is most fully reflected in the psychological theory of activity, which is associated with the names of L.S. Vygotsky, SL. Rubinstein, A.N. Leontiev, A.R. Luria, P.Ya. Galperin and presented in the book by A.N.

Leontiev "Activity. Consciousness. Personality".

Activity is considered in psychology in two functions: as a subject of research and as an explanatory principle.

Activity as a subject of research involves considering it from the point of view of the concept and structure.

Activity is the external and internal activity of a person, regulated by a conscious goal. External activity is objective, material activity, and internal activity is the activity of memory, thinking, etc.

Considering activity as a subject of research, A.N. Leontiev singled out its structure, which includes:

1. Subject content:

a) need - need, a state of tension that prompts search activity, in the process of which the object of need is (fixed);

b) motive - the stimulus of activity. With the appearance of a motive, all behavior changes dramatically, it becomes directed;

c) the goal is what the activity is aimed at. The goal is always realized by the person before the beginning of the activity itself (anticipation);

d) conditions - external (material, subject) and internal (level of development cognitive processes), on which the result and quality of activity depend.

2. Operational part:

a) actions are relatively completed elements of activity aimed at achieving a specific, intermediate, conscious goal. The purpose of the action is usually understood. If this is not the case, then the action is called impulsive. Actions can be external (for example, motor, external speech) or internal (for example, mnemonic, mental, sensory, perceptual, etc.). External and internal actions are interconnected and can pass into each other.

The transition of an external action into an internal one is called internalization. For example, the action of addition child first pro-

It exhausts with the help of external actions, on sticks, and only then do they become internal mental actions. The transition of an internal action to an external one is called exteriorization. For example, the child's reasoning about how he performed the counting action is the translation of his internal actions (thoughts) into external ones (external speech). Importance to achieve the result of the activity, they have control and self-assessment actions;

b) actions consist of elements that are called operations - these are ways to perform actions. The goals of the operations are not understood. Operations can also be external and internal (external - take, move, omit; internal - analysis, synthesis, comparison, generalization, abstraction, concretization).

Activity is a property of all living things. The activity of the personality is manifested in its conscious, selective actions.

Activity is a specifically human activity regulated by consciousness, generated by needs and aimed at the knowledge and transformation of the external world and the person himself.

A goal is something that realizes a human need and acts as an image of the end result.

Anticipation is the representation of the result of an action in the mind of a person before it is actually carried out.

Action is a relatively completed element of activity aimed at achieving a certain intermediate, conscious goal.

The action can be both external, performed in an expanded form with the participation of the motor apparatus and sensory organs, and internal, performed in the mind.

Impulsive actions - actions performed involuntarily and insufficiently controlled by consciousness.

Perceptual actions are the main structural units of the process of perception, including the detection of an object of perception and its correlation with memory samples.

Mnemic actions are the actions of remembering, holding and recalling any material.

Control actions - actions of comparison with the sample.

Mental actions are various human actions performed in the inner plane of consciousness. It has been experimentally established that motor, motor components are necessarily included in mental actions.

Internalization is the process of transforming external, objective actions into internal, mental ones.

Exteriorization - the transition from the internal, mental plan of action to the external, implemented in the form of techniques and actions with objects.

ACTIVITY AS AN EXPLANATORY PRINCIPLE

The category of activity as an explanatory principle is used in the study of cognitive processes, motivation, will, emotions, personality, etc. This means that the psyche can be considered as a mental activity with all its building blocks and not just as a mental process. Thus, considering memory as mental activity, we must highlight: the purpose of this activity, motives, mnemonic actions, as well as actions of control and self-esteem. This allows us to consider memory from a completely different angle, and therefore, to single out other previously unknown aspects of it and to know this mental function deeper and more thoroughly. The explanatory principle underlies the principles of analysis of the psyche in psychology: 1) the principle of the unity of consciousness and activity; 2) the principle of the unity of the structure of external and internal activities; 3) the principle of internalization - externalization as a mechanism for the assimilation of socio-historical experience; 4) the principle of the dependence of mental reflection on the place of the reflected object in the structure of activity, etc.

The concept of activity extends to a wide range of problems (development, training, professional activity). However, in scientific world it still raises doubts as a defining principle of psychology.

Activity, on the one hand, is a condition for the development of personality and the manifestation of its qualities. On the other hand, the activity itself, in turn, depends on the level of development of the individual, acting as the subject of this activity.

PHYSIOLOGICAL BASES

The implementation of activities is carried out on the basis of psychophysiological mechanisms studied in line with the “physiology of activity” by N.A., Bernstein, the theory of “ functional systems» P.K. Anokhin and ideas about the systemic organization of higher cortical functions by A.R. Luria.

CLASSIFICATION OF SPECIES

There is a huge variety of human activities. In psychology, it is customary to distinguish the main types of activity: play, learning and work.

A game is a form of activity in conditional situations aimed at recreating and assimilating social experience, fixed in socially fixed ways of carrying out objective actions, in subjects of science and culture.

Game (children's) - a type of activity consisting in the reproduction by children of the actions of adults and the relationship between them, aimed at cognition surrounding reality. I. serves as one of the most important means of physical, mental and moral education.

A business game is a special kind of game used in vocational training. The essence of a business game is to recreate, with the help of simulation and game models, the subject, social and psychological content of the joint, professional labor specialist, a holistic context of his professional activity is set.

Teaching is the process of acquiring and consolidating knowledge and methods of activity by an individual. Teaching is a necessary component of any activity and is a process of changing its subject.

Labor is a purposeful human activity aimed at changing and transforming reality to meet their needs, creating material and spiritual values.

According to another classification, there are: individual, group activities and socio-historical practice.

Individual activity is the activity of an individual.

Group activity - Team work groups of people

Leading activity - the type of activity in which qualitative changes personality in this period, for example, the game during preschool childhood.

PROPERTIES AND REGULARITIES

The main characteristics of activity are objectivity and subjectivity. Objectivity means that the objects of the external world do not directly affect the subject, but only being transformed in the process of activity, due to which

a greater adequacy of their reflection in consciousness is achieved. Objectivity is characteristic exclusively of human activity. The subjectivity of activity is expressed: in the conditionality of the mental image by past experience, needs, attitudes, emotions, goals and motives that determine the direction and selectivity of activity, as well as in the personal sense attached to various events, actions and deeds.

Human activity is of a social, transformative nature and is not limited to the simple satisfaction of needs, but is largely determined by the goals and requirements of society.

DEVELOPMENT IN ONTOGENESIS

It has been established in psychology (P.Ya. Galperin and others) that, by its origin, internal activities(mental, mental) is derived from external (objective) activity. Initially, the child performs objective actions, and only then, as experience accumulates, does he acquire the ability to perform the same actions in his mind (interiorizes). However, then the actions in the mind undergo the reverse transformation (exteriorization) themselves. The process of forming a mental action takes place in several stages: 1) the stage of external, objective action, 2) external speech, 3) internal speech and 4) mental action.

VIOLATIONS

Violations of activity are associated with violations of its structural components (goal setting, motivation, conditions, lack of skills and abilities, etc.).

Violation of the target structure of activity can manifest itself in a mismatch between real and ideal goals or in their convergence.

Movement disorders can be the result of brain injuries.

DEVELOPMENT OF ACTIVITIES

Mastering the activity involves:

1) mastery of goal setting, which includes motivation;

2) mastery of actions specific to a particular activity. The formation of actions and operations occurs in two ways: with the help of imitation and by automating actions.

yours. Automation can be performed at different levels - at the level of skill, skill and habit. Skills, abilities and habits are formed in repeated exercises.

Depending on the nature of the activity in which the skills are used, they distinguish: household, industrial, sports, gaming, educational, labor, etc. According to the form of mental reflection, they distinguish: sensory, perceptual, mnemonic, mental, and other skills.

The process of developing skills in different people can pass with "positive" or "negative" acceleration. If the formation of a skill goes slowly at first, and then quickly, the skill is formed with a "positive" acceleration. If it is formed at first quickly, and then slows down, then they say that the skill is formed with a “negative” acceleration.

In the process of skill formation, old and new skills can interact. If the skills are similar, the old can help shape the new (transfer phenomenon). So, the skill of playing the piano helps to develop the skill of typing on a typewriter. If the skills are different, then the old skill interferes with the formation of a new one (the phenomenon of interference). Transferring the electric switch in the apartment to another wall makes it difficult to find it for some time. The indicators of skill development are the elements of the skill structure:

1) change in performance techniques (several actions are combined into one, the time for performing an action decreases, unnecessary movements disappear);

2) change in the method of control (visual is replaced by tactile, for example, when typing blindly);

3) changing the methods of central regulation (attention is shifted to the goal).

If a skill becomes a need, then it is called a habit.