All living things interact with their environment. Outwardly this manifests itself in physical activity. By adapting to their environment, animals can use natural objects as tools and even make them. But only human activity is inherent, which in the social sciences is understood as a form of activity aimed at transforming the world around us.
In the structure of any activity, it is customary to distinguish an object, a subject, a goal, means of achieving it and a result. The object is what the activity is aimed at; the subject is the one who implements it. Before starting to act, a person determines the goal of the activity, that is, he forms in his mind an ideal image of the result that he strives to achieve. Then, when the goal is determined, the individual decides what means he needs to use to achieve it. If the means are chosen correctly, then the result of the activity will be to obtain exactly the result that the subject was striving for.
The main motive that motivates a person to act is his desire to satisfy his needs. These needs can be physiological, social and ideal. Conscious by people to one degree or another, they become the main source of their activity. People's beliefs about the goals to be achieved and the main paths and means leading to them play a huge role. Sometimes in choosing the latter, people are guided by stereotypes that have developed in society, that is, by some general, simplified ideas about any social process (specifically, about the process of activity). Constant motivation tends to reproduce similar actions of people and, as a result, a similar social reality.
The basic unit of activity is action: any activity appears to us as a chain of actions. Action includes both goal setting (an act of consciousness) and an externally expressed act of behavior. The specific way(s) of performing actions is called an operation. The nature of the operations depends on the objective conditions in which the action is performed and the person’s existing experience - operations are usually little or not at all recognized by the person (performed at the level of automatic skills).
Distinguish between activities practical and spiritual. The first is aimed at transforming objects of nature and society that exist in reality. The varieties of practical activity are material-production (transformation of nature) and social-production (transformation of society). The content of spiritual activity is associated with changes in people's consciousness. It includes: cognitive, value-oriented and prognostic activities.
Another classification distinguishes labor, educational, and leisure activities. Depending on the results obtained, the activity can be characterized as destructive or creative.
Often, in order to achieve a set goal and obtain the necessary result, a person in the process of activity has to resort to interaction with other subjects and communicate with them. Communication is the process of exchanging information between equal subjects of activity. The subjects of communication can be both individual people and social groups, layers, communities and even all of humanity as a whole. There are several types of communication:
1) communication between real subjects (for example, between two people);
2) communication between a real subject and an illusory partner(for example, a person with an animal, which he endows with some qualities unusual for him);
3) communication between a real subject and an imaginary partner(for example, a person’s communication with his “inner voice”);
4) communication between imaginary partners(for example, literary characters).
The question of the relationship between activity and communication is debatable. Some scientists believe that these two concepts are identical to each other, because
any communication has signs of activity. Others believe that activity and communication are opposite concepts, since communication is only a condition for activity, but not activity itself. Still others consider communication in connection with activity, but consider it an independent phenomenon.
The most important type of practical activity is the material and production activity of people (or labor activity) - one of the forms of human activity aimed at transforming the natural world and creating material wealth. IN structure labor activity (in the narrow sense of the word) is distinguished:
1) consciously set goals - production of certain products, processing of natural materials, creation of machines and mechanisms, etc.;
2) objects of labor - those materials (metal, clay, stone, plastic, etc.) towards the transformation of which people’s activities are aimed;
3) means and tools of labor - all devices, instruments, mechanisms, appliances, energy systems with the help of which objects of labor are transformed;
4) technologies used - techniques and methods used in the production process.
The following parameters are usually used to characterize work activity:
1) labor productivity - the amount of products produced per unit of time;
2) labor efficiency - the ratio of material and labor costs, on the one hand, and the results obtained, on the other;
3) level of division of labor - distribution of specific production functions between participants in the labor process (on a societal scale and in specific labor processes).
The nature of the requirements for a participant in labor activity depends on many factors, primarily on the specific content of labor and place in the system of division of labor. The general requirements are:
1) the employee must master all the techniques and methods of production that make up the technological process (professionalism requirement);
2) the employee’s qualifications cannot be lower than the level determined by the nature of the work. The more complex the work, the higher the requirements for special training of a participant in the labor process (qualification requirement);
3) the employee is required to unconditionally comply with labor laws and internal labor regulations, comply with the specified parameters of the production process, and fulfill duties arising from the content of the employment contract (labor, technological, performance, contractual discipline requirements).
Spiritual activity is understood as the creative process of production and reproduction of spiritual values (ideas, knowledge, concepts, etc.), as well as their preservation, distribution, dissemination and consumption. In this regard, spiritual activity can be divided into spiritual-theoretical (production of spiritual values) and spiritual-practical (preservation, distribution, dissemination and development of created spiritual values). Specialized types of spiritual activity are science, art, religion, education.
Activity has a huge impact on personality, being the basis on which the latter develops. In the process of activity, the individual self-realizes and asserts himself as a person; it is the process of activity that underlies the socialization of the individual. Having a transformative effect on the world around us, a person not only adapts to the natural and social environment, but rebuilds and improves it. The entire history of human society is the history of human activity.
Types of human activities- a rather subjective concept, since if desired, they can be described on more than one page, but most psychologists and sociologists have decided on three main specific types: learning, play and work. Each age has its own main type of activity, but this does not mean that adults do not play and schoolchildren do not work.
Labor activity.
Labor activity ( work) is the transformation by man of both material and intangible objects in order to use them in the future to satisfy his needs. According to the nature of the actions taken, work activity is divided into:
- practical activities(or productive activity - changing natural objects, or changing society);
- spiritual activity(intellectual, creativity, etc.).
It is this type of activity, according to most anthropologists, that is the driving force behind human evolution. Thus, in the process of labor, the purpose of which is the production of any product, the worker himself is formed. Perhaps work is one of the main types of activity, but effective work activity would not exist without one more type of it - teaching, or training.
Educational activities.
Educational activities ( training, education) is an activity aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities. The value of this type of activity is that it prepares a person for work. Teaching is a broad concept that has many varieties. This doesn't have to be sitting at your desk at school. This includes sports training, reading books, movies, and TV shows (not all TV shows, of course). Self-education as a type of learning can take place in a passive, unconscious form throughout a person’s life. For example, you were flipping through channels on TV and accidentally heard a recipe on a cooking show, and then it unexpectedly came in handy.
Game activity.
Game activity ( a game) - a type of activity whose goal is the activity itself, and not the result. The case when the main thing is participation, that is, the process itself is important. This is the classic definition. Nevertheless, the game, in my opinion, is, if not a type of education, then its branch, because it, like education, is a preparation for work. A sort of spin-off of studies, if you like. Playing with cubes, Cossack robbers, “Call of Duty” or “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” - all these games, to one degree or another, teach some type of mental or physical activity, bring some skills, knowledge, abilities. They develop logic, erudition, reaction, physical condition of the body, and so on. There are many types of games: individual and group, subject and plot, role-playing, intellectual, etc.
Variety of activities.
The above classification of human activity is generally accepted, but not the only one. Sociologists highlight certain types of activity as the main ones, psychologists - others, historians - others, and cultural scientists - fourth. They characterize an activity in terms of its usefulness/uselessness, morality/immorality, creation/destruction, etc. Human activity can be labor and leisure, creative and consumer, constructive and destructive, cognitive and value-oriented, and so on.
Unlike other living beings that adapt to the environment, humans have the ability to qualitatively change it. As a result, a second human nature is created - a cultural environment. It involves creating comfortable living conditions for a person, which allows him to more fully satisfy emerging needs.
Human activity- a way of relating to the outside world, consisting in transformation and subordination of it to human goals (conscious, productive, transformative and social in nature).
Human activity has certain similarities with animal activity. For example, a man weaves a net to catch fish and a spider weaves a web to catch food, a man builds dams on a river and beavers build a dam on a stream, a bird builds a nest and a man weaves a basket. But these are only superficial similarities. After analyzing human activity and animal behavior, the following differences can be identified:
Table 7
End of table.
The main motive that motivates a person to act is his desire to satisfy his needs. These needs can be physiological, social and ideal. When realized by people, they become the main source of their activity.
In the structure of any activity, it is customary to distinguish the subject, object, goal, means of achieving it, actions and results.
- Subject activity is always animated: it is either one person, or a group of people, or the whole society as a whole. He is active and acts in accordance with his needs.
- Object is called what this activity is aimed at. An object undergoes the influence of the subject; it can be changed, transformed, even destroyed as a result of activity. An object can be inanimate, for example, a tree, a stone, or animate, for example, an animal, a person.
- Before starting to act, a person determines the goal of the activity, i.e. forms in the mind an ideal image of the result that he strives to achieve.
- Having identified a goal, the individual determines the means necessary to achieve it. At this stage, it is important to choose the right funds. They must correspond to the scale and nature of the goal. There is a good Russian folk saying about this - “Shoot sparrows from cannons.” It says that too powerful means were chosen for a meager goal. Man is a responsible being, therefore he must be aware of the consequences of his actions. No goal, even the most humane, should be achieved by immoral means. The end does not justify the means. Sometimes, when choosing means, people are guided by stereotypes that have developed in society, i.e., some general, simplified ideas about any social process (for example, a peasant cultivates the land the way his father, grandfather, and great-grandfather did).
- Actions- to achieve the set goal, the subject shows his activity. Actions can be classified as follows:
- goal-oriented (behavior is goal-oriented, the means and side effects of its actions are realized.);
- value-rational (the individual follows his beliefs about duty, dignity, beauty, piety, etc.);
- affective (determined by the emotional state of the individual. He acts under the influence of affect if he seeks to immediately satisfy his need for revenge, pleasure, devotion, etc.);
- traditional (based on a long-term habit. Often this is an automatic reaction to habitual irritation in the direction of a previously learned attitude).
- Result- the result of an activity, a goal realized in practice. It can exist in the form of objects, buildings, structures, works of art. The result will not always exactly match the goal; it may exceed it or be significantly worse. How not to remember the famous phrase of V.S. Chernomyrdin: “We wanted the best, it turned out as always...”.
Man lives in activity. Throughout life, at different age periods, a certain type of activity is predominant (Fig. 7):
- a game- its important characteristics are its conditional nature, the ability to change conditions, interrupt, start over; the process is important in it, not the result. Play takes up most of children’s time, helps them master social roles, develops the ability to cooperate, compete, teaches them to follow the rules, and develops imagination. Play occupies a certain place in the life of an adult, but is inferior to educational or work activities.
- doctrine- expedient activities to assimilate knowledge, skills, and abilities accumulated by previous generations. Occupies the largest volume in the total activity of a person aged 7 to 25 years. The acquisition of new knowledge, skills and abilities contributes to the development of personality, the formation of a professional ready for work;
- work- aimed at achieving a socially useful goal, it is characterized by practical usefulness and the ability to satisfy various needs of people. Labor activity is aimed at transforming the natural world and creating material wealth.
In the structure of labor activity (in the narrow sense of the word) there are:
- consciously set goals - production of certain products, processing of natural materials, creation of machines and mechanisms, etc.;
- objects of labor - those materials (metal, clay, stone, plastic, etc.) towards the transformation of which people’s activities are aimed;
- means and tools of labor - all devices, instruments, mechanisms, appliances, energy systems with the help of which objects of labor are transformed;
- technologies used - techniques and methods used in the production process.
The following parameters are usually used to characterize work activity:
- labor productivity - the amount of products produced per unit of time;
- labor efficiency - the ratio of material and labor costs, on the one hand, and the results obtained, on the other;
- level of division of labor - the distribution of specific production functions between participants in the labor process (on a societal scale and in specific labor processes).
The nature of the requirements for a participant in labor activity depends primarily on the specific content of labor and place in the system of division of labor. The general requirements are:
- the employee must master all the techniques and methods of production that make up the technological process (a requirement of professionalism);
- The employee’s qualifications cannot be lower than the level determined by the nature of the work. The more complex the work, the higher the requirements for special training of a participant in the labor process (qualification requirement);
- The employee is required to unconditionally comply with labor laws and internal labor regulations, comply with the specified parameters of the production process, and fulfill duties arising from the content of the employment contract (labor, technological, performance, contractual discipline requirements).
Human activity is a multifaceted phenomenon, therefore there are a large number of criteria for its classification (Fig. 8).
Activities happen:
^ Depending on the subject: individual and collective.
^ By nature: reproductive - creative (a type of activity that generates something qualitatively new, never existing before).
^ According to social norms: legal - illegal, moral - immoral.
^ In relation to social progress: progressive - reactionary, creative - destructive.
^ In the sphere of public life: economic, social, political, spiritual.
^ According to the characteristics of the manifestation of human activity: external - internal.
Activity is the main condition for the formation of personality. The process of activity underlies the socialization of the individual. By transforming the world around us, a person not only provides himself with everything he needs, but also improves himself and develops. The entire history of human society is the history of human activity.
The types of human activities are very diverse. Depending on various criteria, it is divided into practical, labor, educational, gaming, material, spiritual, moral, immoral, progressive, reactionary, and also includes creativity and communication.
It is known from the school social studies course that one of the main distinguishing features of humans, in comparison with highly organized animals, is considered to be purposeful activity as the constant fulfillment of certain tasks in order to change the world around us, which results in the creation of the so-called “second nature”.
Any activity is built on four main elements:
- object (an object that is subject to change);
- subject (the one who performs the activity);
- goals (the intended result of an action);
- motives (reflects what a person’s will to action is based on).
Main types of human activities
These include material and spiritual. The purpose of the first is to change the surrounding reality, including nature and society. In turn, it is divided into production (the goal is to change natural objects) and social-transformative (the goal is to change and improve the system of social relations).
An example of the first type is the creation of goods for public consumption.
Social transformation manifests itself in various socio-political phenomena, such as: government reforms, revolutions, the creation of parties, participation in elections.
Spiritual activity seeks to change human consciousness, both in the person of one person and the whole society. It is difficult to overestimate its influence on our lives. This type helps to unite people, orients each individual to find their own path and happiness.
- value (worldview);
- prognostic (future planning);
- cognitive (gaining knowledge about the world around us) activity.
The classification of material and spiritual activities into different categories is conditional.
In practice, these phenomena are nothing more than two sides of the same coin. Any of them involves material embodiment, and is based on planning, defining goals, methods and ways to achieve them.
Practical activities
It consists of transforming the entire surrounding world, including nature and society.
Social transformative activities
The main goal is to change the structure of society and social phenomena. The subject is a society, class, group or individual.
They carry out actions and tasks that are important for society, pursue public interests and goals, using economic, political, and ideological tools for this.
Spiritual activity
- impact on creative thought and scientific knowledge;
- formation, change of outlook on life;
- planning for future events.
A person’s spiritual life is based on:
- scientific;
- creative;
- religious activities.
The second includes artistic, musical, acting, architecture, and directing.
Social activity
One of its manifestations is political activity, which is based on public administration. The lives of people involved in social processes are necessarily influenced by political parties and government decisions.
They, in turn, are influenced by various forms of people’s participation in the political life of the country, with the help of which citizens express their will and civic position, and present their political demands to government officials.
Prognostic activity
It represents the construction of a model of future actions and events, an assumption about possible changes in reality. The source of this type of activity is human fantasy, which precedes reality and builds a model of the future.
The design results are:
- plans, tables, diagrams for inventions and various building structures;
- ideal models for social change;
- ideas of new forms of state and political structure.
The leading activities are play, communication and work.
The game is characterized by performing real actions through imaginary means.
Communication is the process of transmitting information as a result of interaction. People are forced to contact each other in order to satisfy the need for joint activities.
It consists not only in the exchange of information, but also in the transfer of emotions, experiences to each other, the manifestation of one or another attitude towards people and things, the expression of an assessment of the behavior of others, their actions.
Work is aimed at obtaining results that have practical benefits.
Types of human professional activity
Professional activity is characterized by organization, in most cases it is monotonous, and is regulated by standard rules. The person who carries it out has detailed, deep information and practical skills in a certain field of knowledge.
The results of such activities are of great social significance, as they affect the lives of many people.
The concept of “profession” includes various types of activity. In total, there are five types of professional activity:
- Man-technology. Human work with mechanisms, materials, energy.
- Man-man. Education, training, service, leadership.
- Man-nature. Interaction with the five kingdoms of living nature (animals, plants, fungi, viruses), as well as objects of inanimate nature (minerals, minerals, etc.).
- Man-signs. Working with numbers, languages, signs.
- Man is an artistic image. Creating music, literature, acting, painting, etc.
Progressive Activity Example
Depending on the consequences the activity had on the course of history, the development of the state and society, progressive (involves development, improvement, creation) and reactionary (destructive) activities are distinguished.
As an example of progressive activity, one can cite the industrial transformations of Peter I, the abolition of serfdom by Alexander II, as well as the reforms of P. A. Stolypin.
Reactionary activity
In contrast to the progressive one, which leads to development, the regressive (reactionary), on the contrary, leads to decline and destruction, for example:
- introduction of oprichnina;
- decree on the creation of Military settlements;
- introduction of a food embargo, etc.
Material activity
This is the result of changes and processing of the surrounding world, including natural objects and social phenomena.
The simplest examples of this type are: plant cultivation, land cultivation, fishing, construction, etc.
Collective activity and its examples
Activities are divided into separate groups depending on the number of subjects performing them. The opposite of collective activity is individual activity.
The first is based on the unification and coordination of the activities of each member of the team. The task of integration lies with the manager. Efficiency is assessed based on production results. In this case, an important role is played by the psychological factor, namely, the personal qualities of the manager, on which the labor efficiency of the team depends.
In addition, the effectiveness of the team’s activities depends on the quality of interpersonal relationships, well-coordinated work, and the psychological compatibility of participants in work activities.
A striking example of collective action is the construction of the Great Wall of China.
Conclusion
The presented types of human activity and the criteria for dividing them into various categories are generally accepted, but not universal. For psychologists, certain types of activity are basic, for historians - others, for sociologists - others.
Thus, there is a wide variety of classifications of human activities that characterize them from the standpoint: useful/harmful, progressive/regressive, moral/immoral, etc.
1. Human activity, its diversity.
2. Russia is on the way to a market economy.
In the social sciences, activity is understood as a form of human activity aimed at transforming the world around him.
In the structure of any activity, it is customary to distinguish an object, a subject, a goal, means of achieving it and a result. The object is what the activity is aimed at; the subject is the one who implements it. Before starting to act, a person determines the goal of the activity, that is, he forms in his mind an ideal image of the result that he strives to achieve. Then, when the goal is determined, the individual decides what means he needs to use to achieve the goal. If the means are chosen correctly, then the result of the activity will be to obtain exactly the result mama that the subject was striving for.
The main motive that motivates a person to act is his desire to satisfy
your needs. These needs can be physiological, social and ideal. Conscious to one degree or another by people, they become the main source of their activity. People’s beliefs about the goals that need to be achieved and the main paths and means leading to them also play a huge role. Sometimes in choosing the latter, people are guided by stereotypes that have developed in society, that is, by some general, simplified ideas about any social process (specifically, about the process of activity). Constant motivation tends to reproduce similar actions of people and, as a result, a similar social reality.
There is a distinction between practical and spiritual activities. The first is aimed at transforming objects of nature and society that exist in reality. The content of the second is changing the consciousness of people.
Practical activities are divided into:
a) material and production;
b) socially transformative.
Spiritual activities include:
a) cognitive activity;
b) value-prognostic activity;
c) predictive activity.
Depending on the results obtained, the activity may
be characterized as destructive or creative.
Activity has a huge impact on personality, being the basis on which the latter develops. In the process of activity, the individual self-realizes and asserts himself as a person; it is the process of activity that underlies the socialization of the individual. Having a transformative effect on the world around us, a person not only adapts to the natural and social environment, but rebuilds and improves it. The entire history of human society is the history of human activity.
The transition to a market model of economic development in Russia was launched by the Russian government in October 1991. At the same time, the first program of radical economic reforms was prepared. Its main directions were: the transition to free pricing, denationalization and privatization of state-owned enterprises in industry, trade and services. With the help of these measures, the authors of the program hoped, on the one hand, to ease the existing economic crisis, eliminate the deficit, and on the other hand, to create a new class in Russia - the class of owners.
The results of economic reforms are contradictory. The most serious problem that the government had to face at the beginning of reforms was the problem
mastering by the population a new system of values and developing in citizens the qualities necessary for successfully running their business in market conditions: initiative and responsibility.
In addition, the transition to free pricing, the so-called price liberalization, actually led to the confiscation of funds from the population and a sharp decline in living standards. The state refused to pursue a paternalistic social policy, providing support only to those segments of the population that were unable to take care of themselves: orphans, the disabled, and pensioners. However, despite numerous statements and efforts made, it is still not possible to provide these categories of citizens with a minimum standard of living.
Depriving the population of accumulated funds did not allow achieving efficiency in the implementation of the denationalization and privatization program. Denationalization refers to the process of narrowing the public sector in the economy, creating conditions for the development of other, non-state forms of ownership, and ultimately, a mixed economy. Privatization refers to the process of transferring state property into private hands.
Privatization can be carried out in various forms:
a) free distribution to citizens of part of state property;
ness; b) lease with subsequent purchase; c) transformation of state-owned enterprises into joint-stock companies; d) buyout of enterprises on a competitive basis. If at the first stage of privatization the first three forms prevailed, then recently active sales of enterprises at auctions have begun. However, the goal of privatization - the creation of a wide layer of private owners in the country - has not yet been achieved.
A positive result of the ongoing reforms can be considered the formation of a market infrastructure in the country, that is, a network of commercial banks, stock and commodity exchanges, auctions, without which the normal functioning of a market economy is impossible. The development of a legal framework regulating economic processes in the country is underway. A number of strategic tasks have also been resolved:
Inflation was stopped, relative financial stabilization was achieved, which made it possible to redenominate the ruble.
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