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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Towards a Neofunctionalist Theory of Psychology?

subject

description

The contemporary study of human activity comprises various levels of description. Three levels are distinguished for the purpose of the present paper: (1) single acts and interaction episodes; (2) individual activity structures; (3) life process. Regardless of the level of analysis the theoretical models correspond to each other. Activity is examined in relation to goals and conditions which include both situational and environmental inputs. It is suggested that different types of explanations are fruitful for each aspect of activity, but they do not exclude each other. The action-oriented approach represents a continuation to the functionalist tradition while emphasizing intentional activity and the organism-environment relationships. Systemic description of situations/environments is considered necessary for integrating the explanations from various levels of complexity.