Action regulation theory (or Activity regulation theory) was jointly developed by Winfried Hacker.
[>Hacker, W. (1986). Arbeitspsychologie. Stuttgart: Huber.] in the 1980s. The Theory serves as a basis for modelling working conditions. As a process model it has its roots in the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
psychological
activity theory
Activity theory (AT; russian: link=no, Теория деятельности) is an umbrella term for a line of eclectic social-sciences theories and research with its roots in the Soviet psychological activity theory pioneered by Sergei Rubinste ...
[>Ulich, E. (2001).Arbeitspsychologie (5., neubearbeitete Auflage).Stuttgart.] on the one side and on the other side it is based on the T.O.T.E. Model (Test-Operation-Test-Exit) from Miller,
Galanter and
Pribram.
[>Miller, G.A., Galanter, E. & Pribram, K.H. (1960). Plans and the structure of behavior. New York (dt. 1973, 1991).]
The pursued approach of the Action-
Regulation
Regulation is the management of complex systems according to a set of rules and trends. In systems theory, these types of rules exist in various fields of biology and society, but the term has slightly different meanings according to context. For ...
-Theory is the integration of cognitive,
behaviourism
Behaviorism is a systematic approach to understanding the behavior of humans and animals. It assumes that behavior is either a reflex evoked by the pairing of certain antecedent stimuli in the environment, or a consequence of that individual ...
and social science orientated conceptions.
[>Wiendieck, G. (1994). Pesonalauswahl und -entwicklung (Kurseinheit 3-4). (Fernstudienkurs 04755). Hagen: FernUniversität.] This integration then is used to make explanatory and modelling statements about work conditions. Hacker talks in this context about the holistic work activity, which is an essential criteria for
personality development
Personality development encompasses the dynamic construction and deconstruction of integrative characteristics that distinguish an individual in terms of interpersonal behavioral traits. Personality development is ever-changing and subject to cont ...
.
[/>][>Hacker, W. (1993). Psychologische Arbeitsanalyse und -bewertung. (Fernstudienkurs 04766). Hagen: FernUniversität.] Through the above described should the partialization of work activity and the Taylorism be overcome. As a cybernetic
Cybernetics is a wide-ranging field concerned with circular causality, such as feedback, in regulatory and purposive systems. Cybernetics is named after an example of circular causal feedback, that of steering a ship, where the helmsperson ma ...
approach the ground idea of an action/ activity is the regulation.[>Schelten, A. (2002). Über den Nutzen der Handlungsregulationstheorie für Berufs- und Arbeitspädagogik. In:Pädagogische Rundschau, 56, 621-630.]
Between the visible work activity and the non visible cognitive processes is a gap, which the Action-Regulation-Theory promise to close.[>Oesterreich, R. (1987). Handlungspsychologie (Kurseinheit 1). (Fernstudienkurs 03275).Hagen: FernUniversität.][>Gerstner. Handlungsregulationstheorie. http://www2.ibw.uni-heidelberg.de/~gerstner/Lerntext4.pdf ] Through a hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
-sequential structured model, action steps are supposed to be accurately captured and analysed.
Underlying Anthropology
The individual
An individual is that which exists as a distinct entity. Individuality (or self-hood) is the state or quality of being an individual; particularly (in the case of humans) of being a person unique from other people and possessing one's own Maslow ...
deals consciously, planning and purposeful with his/her environment, appeals actively on the environment, which appeals back on the individual.[/> Through this interaction, not only does the environment change, but also the individual and his/her personality.][/>][>Hacker, W. (2005). Allgemeine Arbeitspsychologie. Psychische Regulation von Wissens-, Denk- und körperlicher Arbeit (2., überarbeitete Auflage). Bern: Huber.] The Action-Regulation-Theory emphasizes seeing the individual holistically.[0>Wiendieck, G. (1993). Einführung in die Arbeits und Organisationspsychologie. (Fernstudienkurs 04751). Hagen: FernUniversität.] On the other hand, accentuates the theory the conscious regulation of activities. With this reflexive aspect regarding the control of activity (T.O.T.E. Model) we have a strong rational layout of conception of man.[/>
]
Description of the Action-Regulation Model
The ground idea of the Action-Regulation-Theory is the regulation of the activity process.[/> The relevant aspect of the Action-Regulation-Theory is the combination of internal ]cognitive
Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thought, ...
processes with external activities.[/>][/> Actions or activities are based on goals, planning processes, execution processes, and control processes of which conscious decisions lead the flow of activities towards a certain direction.][/>][/> Goals as an anticipated desired condition are realised through concrete actions. Through a ]hierarchical
A hierarchy (from Greek: , from , 'president of sacred rites') is an arrangement of items (objects, names, values, categories, etc.) that are represented as being "above", "below", or "at the same level as" one another. Hierarchy is an important ...
-sequential structured model the mentioned process should be visualised and the goal setting and action planning as well as the sequential followed action steps are supposed to be accurately captured and analysed.[/>
]
At the intellectual regulation-level the orientation, goal setting and selection of goals happens as well as the planning of sub-goals and action-plans. This cognitive processes are awareness liable.[/>][/> Below that level the so-called perceptual-conceptual regulatory-level is found, which contains awareness able action plans in relation with judgment and classification processes. Actions are continuously monitored through a feedback-loop to ensure a positive outcome toward the planned goal.][/>][0/> Otherwise adjustments will be made. The controlling processes are described through the T.O.T.E. Model by Miller, Galanter and Pribram ][/> alternatively through Hackers VVR-Unit (Vergleichs-Veränderungs-Rückkoppelungs-Einheit/ Comparison-Modification-Feedback Unit).][/>][1>Mühlfelder, M. (2003). Das pädagogische Handlungsfeld. Ein psychologisches Konzept zur modelierung interpersonal koordinierten Handelns. Dissertationsschrift. Flensburg: Universität.] As the lowest level counts the sensory-motor regulatory level, which does not have its own goal but stands in dependency of the higher levels.[/> This level contains the single operations or activities, which sequentially follow each other ][0/> Most actions are non-awareness liable ][/> Sufficient practice and repetition of single actions can lead to automated and so called habitualised actions.][/>
The process of ]socialisation
In sociology, socialization or socialisation (see spelling differences) is the process of internalizing the norms and ideologies of society. Socialization encompasses both learning and teaching and is thus "the means by which social and cultura ...
, the internalisation of norms and values, constitutes a relief regarding the goal definition at the intellectual regulatory-level [/> on the one hand and on the other hand habitualisation constitutes a relief from below.][/> Through the named processes intellectual capacity is freed up to concentrate on the progress toward the desired goal and efficacy can be increased.][/>
The in both-directing arrows symbolize a continuous control of the own behaviour with the anticipated goal (target-actual comparison).
]
Regular feedbacks are essential for Hackers model to guarantee purposeful behaviour. He talks about control loops.
At the lowest level the first triangle shows the classical circular processes. G is a goal or sub-goal and T1-T4 describe the single operations, transformations or actions which are needed to reach the goal.[/> Although the number of operations shown are just an example. Depending on many aspects, like complexity of the task, the number of operations on each level can vary.][/>
]
Triangle two is the supplement to number one by adding additional arrows, which emphasise the constant feedback, which is given during an action.[2/>
Important to mention is that the generation and performance of activities can be almost simultaneously. Language would be an example of that.][/>][1/> This aspect clarifies that in general action plans often are not completely defined in detail.][/>
]
As an illustration
An illustration is a decoration, interpretation or visual explanation of a text, concept or process, designed for integration in print and digital published media, such as posters, flyers, magazines, books, teaching materials, animations, vid ...
take “losing weight” as a super-ordinate goal on the higher regulatory level. That has to be followed down to the lowest sensory-motor regulatory level [/> by an explicit concretion of the required actions. The goal definition requires an increased specification in order to become effective ][3>Wing, R.R. (2004). Behavioral approaches to the treatment of obesity. In: G.A. Bray, C. Bouchard & P.T. James (eds.), Handbook of obesity (2nd Ed.), (p.855-874). New York: Marcel Dekker.][4>Locke, E. & Latham, G. (1990). A Theory of Goal Setting and Task Performance. Englewood Cliffs. N.J.: Prentice Hall.]
The next triangles below could be “eating healthier” and “doing more exercises”. By looking just at “eating healthier” next sub-goals would be “planning meals”, “writing shopping list”, “go to the shop”, etc. If somewhere in the process an interruption happens a reconsideration of the task will be initiated through the feedback-loops and alternative strategies will put into place.
The fact that different people come to different ways of acting is owed the fact that people have e.g. different backgrounds, socialization and knowledge, which all leads to different cognitive processes and so to different outcomes by reaching the same goal.
Criticism
The strongest criticism regarding the Action-Regulation Theory concerns the insufficient involvement of “motivation
Motivation is the reason for which humans and other animals initiate, continue, or terminate a behavior at a given time. Motivational states are commonly understood as forces acting within the agent that create a disposition to engage in goal-dire ...
”.[/>][0/>
]
See also
* , German psychologist and one of the founders of the action regulation theory ()
References
{{reflist
Motivational theories