The difference between individual action and

According to Engeström (2001), the activity theory has evolved through three

generations of research. The first generation activity system is Vygotsky‟s triangular

model, which depicts the structure of the „mediated act‟. Vygotsky‟s idea of

mediation is explained in the following quotation:

„Every elementary form of behaviour presupposes direct reaction to the task

set before the organism (which can be expressed with the simple S-R formula). But the structure of sign operations requires an intermediate link between the stimulus and the response. This intermediate link is a second order stimulus (sign) that is drawn into the operation where it fulfils a

special function; it creates a new relation between S and R. The term „drawn into‟ indicates that an individual must be actively engaged in establishing

such a link. The sign also possesses the important characteristic of reverse action (that is, it operates on the individual, not the environment). Consequently, the simple stimulus response process is replaced by a

82 inhibited, and an auxiliary stimulus that facilitates the completion of the

operation by indirect means is incorporated‟ (Vygotsky, 1978,p. 39-40).

The auxiliary stimulus (sign) possesses the specific function of reverse action. It

transfers the psychological operation to higher and qualitatively new forms and

permits humans, by the aid of extrinsic stimuli, to control their behaviour from the

outside. The use of signs leads humans to a specific structure of behaviour and creates

new forms of a culturally based psychological process (Vygotsky, 1978). This idea of

cultural mediation of artefacts is generally presented as a triad of subject, object and

mediating artefact (Figure 2).

S R Mediating artefact

X Subject Object

Figure 2: „Mediated Act‟ (Engeström, 2001, p. 134)

To explain the role of cultural historical factors on the development of the human

mind, Vygotsky proposed the concept of zone of proximal development (ZPD). ZPD

is the distance between what an individual can achieve on his own (actual level of

cognitive development) and what he can achieve with guidance from more capable

peers or adults. Vygotsky posited his “genetic law of cultural development” as

follows:

„Every function in the child‟s cultural development appears twice: first

on the societal level, and later on the individual level; first between

individuals (intermental) and then inside the child (intramental).‟

83 The inter-mental plane is where the shared cognition emerges through interaction

between individuals and the intra-mental plane is where this shared cognition is

internalised. Therefore, learning occurs in collaboration with others in a cultural and

social environment. The learner is actively constructing meaning in a social and

cultural context (Vygotsky, 1978; Barab et al , 2004)

According to Engeström (2001), the introduction of cultural artefacts into human

actions by Vygotsky has helped to overcome the dualism between structure and

agency. „The individual could no longer be understood without his or her cultural means; and the society could no longer be understood without the agency of

individuals who use and produce artefacts‟ (Engeström, 2001, p.134). Objects are not

just raw materials for the formation of logical operations in the subject, but cultural

entities. The object-orientedness of action is the key to understanding human psyche.

(Engeström, 2001).

Although the unit of analysis of the cultural historical school of psychology developed by Vygotsky was an object-oriented action mediated by cultural tools and signs, important notions of mediation by other human beings and social relations were not integral to his „mediated act‟. The limitation of this first generation activity system was its unit of analysis, which is the individual (Engeström, 2001). This is addressed in the second-generation activity system, which clarified the difference between individual action and collective activity (Figure 3).

84

Tools

Subjects Object Outcomes

Rules Division of Labour

Community

Figure 3: The basic structure of an activity system

According to Engeström and Miettinen (1999), in order to integrate the mediation by

social relations and other human beings to the model presented by Vygotsky, it is

necessary to understand the concept of activity by distinguishing between collective

activity and individual action. They use the famous example of „hunting‟ by Leont‟ev

to illustrate the relationship between collective activity and individual action as

follows:

„A beater, for example, taking part in a primeval collective hunt, was

stimulated by a need for food or, perhaps, a need for clothing, which the skin of the dead animal would meet for him. At what, however, was his activity directly aimed? It may have been directed, for example, for frightening a herd of animals and sending them towards other hunters, hiding in ambush. That, properly speaking, is what should be the result of the activity of this man. And the activity of this individual member of the hunt ends with that. The rest is completed by other members. This result, i.e., the frightening of game, etc., understandably does not in itself lead to satisfaction of the

beater‟s need for food, or the skin of the animal. What the processes of his

activity were directed to do did not, consequently, coincide with what stimulated them, i.e., did not coincide with one another in this instance. Processes, the object and motive of which do not coincide with one another,

we shall call “actions”. We can say, for example, that the beater‟s activity is the hunt, and the frightening of the game his action.‟ (Leont‟ev, cited in

85 According to Engeström and Miettinen (1999) Leont‟ev‟s three-level model of activity is based on the distinctions made in the above quotation, between activity and

action. The uppermost level consists of collective activity which is guided by object

oriented motive, the middle level consists of individual (or group) action which is

guided by a goal and the bottom level consists of automatic operations which are

guided by the conditions and tools of actions at hand (Engeström and Miettinen,

1999). Thus, an activity system has a multi-layered structure consists of culturally

mediated, object oriented collective activity, goal oriented individual actions and

automatic operations. Activities are realised by goal directed actions, subordinated to

conscious purposes. These actions are the typical objects of the cognitive psychology

motor or mental skills and performances. The hunting example cited in the above

implicates that development of actions from the activity is a result of the division of

labour (Engeström, 1987).

For Leont‟ev (see Engeström, 1987), human activity does not exist except in the form

of action or a chain of actions. One and the same action may involve various activities

and may be transformed from one activity to another. One motive may find

expression in different goals and actions. Actions are carried out in different concrete

circumstances. The methods, by which the action is carried out, are called operations.

Operations are related to conditions not often consciously reflected by the subjects

(Engeström, 1987).

86

„These are the ordinary cases when a person undertakes to perform some

actions under the influence of a certain motive, and then performs them for their own sake because the motive seems to have been displaced to their objective. And that means that the actions are transformed into activity. „(Leont‟ev, cited in Engeström, 1987, p.45).

The motive of the activity is to transform the object into outcome (Engeström, 1987).

This motive, no matter how vaguely defined, gives broader meanings to the

individual‟s actions. Furthermore, what distinguishes one activity from another is its object. According to Leont‟ev (see Engeström, 1987), the object of an activity is its

true motive. The implication is that the concept of activity is necessarily connected

with the concept of motive. According to Engeström (1987), it is possible under the

condition of the division of labour, for individuals to participate in activities without

being fully conscious of their objects or motives.