Activity Theory
Activity theory was developed by Leont’ev (1981). He defined activity as: “…the unit of life that
is mediated by mental reflection. The real function of this unit is to orient the subjects in the
world of objects. In other words, activity is not a reaction or aggregate of reactions, but a system
with its own structure, its own internal transformations, and its own development.” (p.46). A
central assertion of activity theory is that our knowledge of the world is mediated by our
interaction with it, and thus, human behavior and thinking occur within meaningful contexts as
people conduct purposeful goal-directed activities. This theory strongly advocates socially
organized human activity as the major unit of analysis in psychological studies rather than mind
or behavior. Leont’ev (1981) identified several interrelated levels or abstractions in theory of
activity. Each level is associated with a special type of unit. The first most general level is
associated with the unit of activity that deals with specific real activities such as work, play, and
learning. The second level of analysis focuses on the unit of a goal-directed action that is the process