I/O Psychology and the bridging of A. N. Leont'ev's activity theory.

Soviet activity theory, largely developed by A. N. Leont'ev, can be seen as a European complement of American I/O psychology and an important current of action theories in general. This paper identifies the major strength of Leont'ev's theory as the bridging potential it achieves by situating activity between each of several major pairs of opposite poles: mind and matter or body (exemplified by thinking workers and their work tasks), subject and object, understanding and explanation, theory and practice, humanist psychology and behaviourism. Some implications of activity theory and its bridging potential are pursued in the contexts of I/O theory-construction and research methods, and in the substantive problem areas of job design,job analysis, organization development, and personnel training. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)