Activity Theory

This theory can be very useful for change agents who want to develop constructive learning environments and frameworks for action.

This is a difficult theory to understand in depth. This is beacuse learning is a multi-layered phenomenon. However, the principles on which it is based are simple and can provide valuable insights. It adopts a holistic view of activity, crossing the boundaries between process, structural and people change issues. It follows the thinking of Vygotsky that meaning is created by action and interaction - knowing is about doing.

Gregory Bateson talks about Learning 1, 2 and 3. Activity Theory focuses on Learning 3.

LEARNING 1 - conditioning, reinforced by automatic reactions - like a stimulus and response mechanism
LEARNING 2 - rules, that apply in a given context - like a culture that expects you to conform to certain behaviours, like bending the rules, cheating, etc.
LEARNING 3 - expansion, where you can see yourself, or a situation, in a bigger context - enabling you to think 'outside the box' and deal with dilemmas where both sides can be true at the same time. You can explore possibilities and create new knowledge.

Learning 1 and 2 are going on all the time, whereas Learning 3 is a rare event. It involves what might be seen as deep questioning and deviant behaviour. When people think differently from the group others think they are weird, but they should be valued for the insights they can bring.

It is this thinking that gave rise to:

Leadership Communities
Workplace Climate
Solution Labs

Basic Philosophy
Basically, the individual and their context are viewed as one system - say a learning system where the learning is not just about the individual. It would also be about the connections with other individuals (see Team Learning) and the resources they use (see Learning Tools).

The theory addresses the inside-out and outside-in dimensions of change in just one action. For example, people deliberately create a context through an activity that they generate to achieve a personal goal. That goal is of their own motivation. It does not come from outside, but is externalised by their actions and the engagement of things, other people in specific settings.

The motivation to change can then be be seen as both the stimulus and the vehicle. If someone has a personal desire to change something it influences their choices because they are goal directed. The energy for change is stronger because it is inner directed. If on the other hand the goal is being imposed from the outside, people must find actions that are meaningful to them personally to enable the externally imposed goal to be met.

Effective learning and performance is therefore about activators or tools that enable people to link the subject (person or group) and the object (sense of purpose or motivation). This enables them to deliver the energy needed to secure a shared outcome.

It also suggests that to secure change from the bottom-up the focus needs to be on conditions and tools for action that are available. It is doing the activity to the best of their ability to fit the current situation that motivates people. They want to improve their ability to do things that are important to them. They focus on the present moment and change dynamically as the local conditions change.

To secure change from the top-down people must be motivated by an objective or a bigger or longer-term purpose that they are contributing to. Teams for example, need to have clear outcomes or goals to be motivated.

Clearly both dimensions may be engaged in the same activity but their actions (contributions to the activity) may be different, and what motivates them may also be fifferent. However the outcome for both may be the same.

Philosophical background of Activity Theory

Summary of Basic Concepts

Activity Theory was developed by Russian psychologists Vygotsky, Rubinstein and Leontev in the 1920's. They argue that a unit of analysis is an activity directed at an object which motivates activity. When activated we are goal directed. We pay attention to our intention. These may be spiritually, intellectually, socially or culturally defined

Activities are composed of goal-directed or conscious
actions that must be undertaken to to fulfil a purpose or object.

Activities are 'object-orientated' in that they can be
observed or measured.

Activities can only be understood in their context.
The inside elements cannot be separated from outside
realities. When people work together their activities need
to be externalised in order to be co-ordinated.

Activities are mediated by tools that can both change
behaviour and mental functioning. and also evaluate it's impact.

Activities can create a complex adaptive systems
that are capable of evolving and self-organising. One action
can affect many others. There may be common rules being
applied or common data being used.

Basic Concepts and Applications of Activity Theory