Activity theory
Activity theory (AT; ) 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 Lev Vygotsky , Alexei Leont'ev and Sergei Rubinstein. These scholars sought to understand human activities as systemic and socially situated phenomena and to go beyond paradigms of reflexology (the teaching of Vladimir Bekhterev and his followers) and classical conditioning (the teaching of Ivan Pavlov and his school), psychoanalysis and behaviorism. It became one of the major psychological approaches in the former USSR, being widely used in both theoretical and applied psychology, and in education, professional training, ergonomics, social psychology and work psychology.
Instrumental and value-rational action
Jürgen Habermas followed Parsons in using Weber's instrumental and value-rational action, under various labels, in a theory of human behavior. In his 1981 work," The Theory of Communicative Action", he sometimes called instrumental action "teleological" or simply "work". Value-rational action appeared as "normatively regulated". In later works he identified instrumental action as motivated by "nonpublic and actor-relative reasons," and value-rational action as motivated by "publicly defensible and actor-independent reasons".