1.6 human activity and its main forms. Human activity. How are activities and needs related?

The man of modern society is engaged in a variety of activities. In order to describe all types of human activity, it is necessary to list the most important needs for a given person, and the number of needs is very large.

The emergence of various types of activity is associated with the socio-historical development of man. The fundamental activities in which a person is included in the process of his individual development are communication, play, study, work.

* communication - the interaction of two or more people in the process of exchanging information of a cognitive or affective-evaluative nature;
* game - a type of activity in conditional situations that imitate real ones, in which social experience is assimilated;
* learning -- the process of systematic mastery of knowledge, skills, abilities necessary to perform work;
* labor-an activity aimed at creating a socially useful product that satisfies the material and spiritual needs of people.

Communication is a type of activity consisting in the exchange of information between people. Depending on the age stage of human development, the specifics of the activity, the nature of communication changes. Each age stage is characterized by a specific type of communication. In infancy, an adult exchanges an emotional state with a child, helps to navigate in the world around. At an early age, communication between an adult and a child is carried out in connection with object manipulation, the properties of objects are actively mastered, and the child's speech is formed. In the preschool period of childhood, a role-playing game develops interpersonal communication skills with peers. The younger student is busy with educational activities, respectively, and communication is included in this process. In adolescence, in addition to communication, a lot of time is devoted to preparing for professional activities. The specificity of the professional activity of an adult leaves an imprint on the nature of communication, demeanor and speech. Communication in professional activity not only organizes, but also enriches it, new connections and relationships between people arise in it.

The game is a kind of activity, the result of which is not the production of any material product. She is the leading activity of a preschooler, because through her he accepts the norms of society, learns interpersonal communication with peers. Among the varieties of games, one can single out individual and group, subject and plot, role-playing and games with rules. Games are of great importance in people's lives: for children they are mainly of a developmental nature, for adults they are a means of communication and recreation.

Teaching is a type of activity, its purpose is to acquire knowledge, skills and abilities. In the process of historical development, knowledge was accumulated in various fields of science and practice, therefore, in order to master this knowledge, teaching became a special type of activity. Teaching affects the mental development of the individual. It consists of assimilation of information about the properties of surrounding objects and phenomena (knowledge), the correct choice of techniques and operations in accordance with the goals and conditions of activity (skill).

Labor is historically one of the first types of human activity. The subject of psychological study is not labor itself as a whole, but its psychological components. Usually labor is characterized as a conscious activity, which is aimed at the implementation of the result and is regulated by the will in accordance with its conscious purpose. Labor performs an important formative function in the development of the individual, as it influences the formation of his abilities and character.

The attitude to work is laid in early childhood, knowledge and skills are formed in the process of education, special training, and work experience. To work means to show oneself in activity. Work in a certain field of human activity is associated with a profession.

Thus, each of the above types of activity is the most characteristic for certain age stages of personality development. The current type of activity, as it were, prepares the next one, since it develops the corresponding needs, cognitive capabilities and behavioral characteristics.

Depending on the characteristics of a person's relationship to the world around him, activities are divided into practical and spiritual.

Practical activity is aimed at changing the surrounding world. Since the surrounding world consists of nature and society, it can be productive (changing nature) and socially transformative (changing the structure of society).

Spiritual activity is aimed at changing individual and social consciousness. It is realized in the spheres of art, religion, scientific creativity, in moral deeds, organizing collective life and orienting a person towards solving the problems of the meaning of life, happiness, well-being.

Spiritual activity includes cognitive activity (obtaining knowledge about the world), value activity (determining the norms and principles of life), prognostic activity (building models of the future), etc.

The division of activity into spiritual and material is conditional. In reality, the spiritual and the material cannot be separated from each other. Any activity has a material side, since in one way or another it correlates with the outside world, and an ideal side, since it involves goal setting, planning, choice of means, etc.

By spheres of public life - economic, social, political and spiritual.

Traditionally, there are four main areas of public life:

§ social (peoples, nations, classes, gender and age groups, etc.)
§ economic (productive forces, production relations)
§ political (state, parties, socio-political movements)
§ spiritual (religion, morality, science, art, education).

It is important to understand that people are simultaneously in different relationships with each other, connected with someone, isolated from someone when solving their life issues. Therefore, the spheres of the life of society are not geometric spaces where different people live, but the relations of the same people in connection with various aspects of their lives.

The social sphere is the relationship that arises in the production of direct human life and man as a social being. The social sphere includes various social communities and relations between them. A person, occupying a certain position in society, is inscribed in various communities: he can be a man, a worker, a father of a family, a city dweller, etc.

The economic sphere is a set of people's relations arising from the creation and movement of material goods. The economic sphere is the area of production, exchange, distribution, consumption of goods and services. The relations of production and productive forces together constitute the economic sphere of the life of society.

The political sphere is the relations of people connected with power, which provide joint security.

The elements of the political sphere can be represented as follows:

§ political organizations and institutions - social groups, revolutionary movements, parliamentarism, parties, citizenship, presidency, etc.;
§ political norms - political, legal and moral norms, customs and traditions;
§ political communications - relations, connections and forms of interaction between participants in the political process, as well as between the political system as a whole and society;
§ political culture and ideology - political ideas, ideology, political culture, political psychology.

The spiritual sphere is the sphere of relations that arise during the production, transfer and development of spiritual values (knowledge, beliefs, norms of behavior, artistic images, etc.).

If the material life of a person is connected with the satisfaction of specific daily needs (for food, clothing, drink, etc.). then the spiritual sphere of human life is aimed at meeting the needs for the development of consciousness, worldview, and various spiritual qualities.

The inclusion of society - mass, collective, individual.

In connection with the social forms of association of people in order to carry out activities, collective, mass, and individual activities are distinguished. Collective, mass, individual forms of activity are determined by the essence of the acting subject (a person, a group of people, a public organization, etc.). Depending on the social forms of association of people in order to perform activities, they establish individual (for example: management of a region or country), collective (ship management systems, work in a team), mass (an example of mass media is the death of Michael Jackson).

Dependence on social norms - moral, immoral, legal, illegal.

Conditionality from the conformity of activities to existing general cultural traditions, social norms differentiate legal and illegal, as well as moral and immoral activities. Illegal activity is everything that is prohibited by law, the constitution. Take, for example, the manufacture and production of weapons, explosives, the distribution of drugs, all of this is an illegal activity. Naturally, many try to adhere to moral activity, that is, to study conscientiously, to be polite, to value relatives, to help the old and the homeless. There is a vivid example of moral activity - the whole life of Mother Teresa.

The potential of the new in activity is innovative, inventive, creative, routine.

When human activity affects the historical course of events, with social growth, then progressive or reactionary, as well as creative and destructive activities are distributed. For example: The progressive role of the industrial activity of Peter 1 or the progressive activity of Pyotr Arkadyevich Stolypin.

Depending on the absence or presence of any goals, the success of the activity and the ways to accomplish it, they reveal a monotonous, monotonous, patterned activity, which in turn proceeds strictly according to certain requirements, and a new one is most often not given (Manufacturing of any product, substance according to the scheme at the plant or factory). But the activity is creative, inventive, on the contrary, it carries the character of the originality of the new, previously unknown. It is distinguished by specificity, exclusivity, originality. And elements of creativity can be applied in any of the activities. An example is dancing, music, painting, there are no rules or instructions, here is the embodiment of fantasy, and its implementation.

Types of human cognitive activity

Teaching or cognitive activity refers to the spiritual spheres of human life and society. There are four types of cognitive activity:

ordinary - consists in the exchange of experience and the images that people carry in themselves and share with the outside world;
scientific - characterized by the study and use of various laws and patterns. The main goal of scientific cognitive activity is to create an ideal system of the material world;
Artistic cognitive activity consists in the attempt of creators and artists to assess the surrounding reality and find shades of beauty and ugliness in it;
Religious. Its subject is the man himself. His actions are judged from the point of view of pleasing God. This also includes moral norms and moral aspects of actions. Given that the whole life of a person consists of actions, spiritual activity plays an important role in their formation.

Types of human spiritual activity

The spiritual life of a person and society corresponds to such activities as religious, scientific and creative. Knowing the essence of scientific and religious activity, it is worth considering in more detail the types of human creative activity. This includes artistic or musical direction, literature and architecture, directing and acting. Every person has the makings of creativity, but in order to reveal them, you need to work long and hard.

Types of human labor activity

In the process of labor, a person's worldview and his life principles develop. Labor activity requires planning and discipline from the individual. Types of labor activity are both mental and physical. There is a stereotype in society that physical labor is much more difficult than mental work. Although outwardly the work of the intellect does not manifest itself, in fact these types of labor activity are almost equal. Once again, this fact proves the diversity of professions that exist today.

Types of professional activity of a person

In a broad sense, the concept of a profession means a diverse form of activity performed for the benefit of society. Simply put, the essence of professional activity is that people work for people and for the benefit of the whole society. There are 5 types of professional activity.

1. Man-nature. The essence of this activity is in interaction with living beings: plants, animals and microorganisms.
2. Man-man. This type includes professions in one way or another related to interaction with people. The activity here is to educate, guide people, and provide them with information, trade and consumer services.
3. Man-technique. A type of activity characterized by the interaction of a person and technical structures and mechanisms. This includes everything related to automatic and mechanical systems, materials and types of energy.
4. Man - sign systems. The activity of this type consists in interaction with numbers, signs, natural and artificial languages.
5. Man is an artistic image. This type includes all creative professions related to music, literature, acting, and visual arts.

Types of economic activities of people

Human economic activity has recently been strongly contested by environmentalists, since it is based on natural reserves, which will soon exhaust themselves. The types of human economic activity include the extraction of minerals, such as oil, metals, stones, and everything that can benefit a person and cause damage not only to nature, but to the entire planet.

Types of human information activity

Information is an integral part of human interaction with the outside world. The types of information activities include the receipt, use, dissemination and storage of information. Information activity often becomes a threat to life, because there are always people who do not want third parties to know and disclose any facts. Also, this type of activity can be provocative in nature, and also be a means of manipulating the consciousness of society.

Types of human mental activity

Mental activity affects the state of the individual and the productivity of his life. The simplest type of mental activity is a reflex. These are habits and skills established through constant repetition. They are almost imperceptible, in comparison with the most complex type of mental activity - creativity. It is distinguished by constant diversity and originality, originality and uniqueness. Therefore, creative people are so often emotionally unstable, and professions related to creativity are considered the most difficult. That is why creative people are called talents that can transform this world and instill cultural skills in society.

Culture includes all types of transformative human activity. There are only two kinds of this activity - creation and destruction. The latter, unfortunately, is more common. Many years of man's transforming activity in nature have led to troubles and catastrophes.

Only creation can come to the rescue here, which means at least the restoration of natural resources.

Action distinguishes us from animals. Some of its types are beneficial to the development and formation of the personality, others are destructive. Knowing what qualities are inherent in us, we can avoid the deplorable consequences of our own activities. This will not only benefit the world around us, but will also allow us to do what we love with a clear conscience and consider ourselves people with a capital letter.

1.4 Human activities

Activity is understood as a manifestation of human activity in any sphere of his existence.

In the process of activity there is an interaction with the environment. Unlike animals, man not only adapts to the environment, but also seeks to transform it. The actions of animals associated with obtaining food, arranging burrows and nests, and raising cubs are based on instincts, while a person uses the experience of his predecessors, ponders his actions, and predicts their consequences. Thus, human activity is built on a preliminary understanding of all its stages. In this regard, they distinguish such a type of activity as thinking.

Subject of activity, i.e. those who carry it out are a person, a group of people, a state, commercial or public organization. The subject in his activity affects the object, which can be various objects of both natural and artificial origin, plants and animals, and even relations between people. So, metal is produced from ore, dishes from clay, a house from bricks. The farmer cultivates the land, growing crops on it, raising cows and pigs. A man and a woman enter into marriage, registering their personal relationship.

In many areas of activity, a person cannot perform actions without the use of guns. These can be tools, household items, means of transport, various media (books, television, computers, etc.). Moreover, many tools are adapted only to a certain type of human activity.

The subject, object and instruments of activity represent in aggregate its structure. An activity cannot be complete without some element of structure. The absence of an object makes any manifestation of activity aimless. In most cases, it is impossible to achieve the expected result with bare hands - it is necessary to use certain tools. And without a subject, activity is generally impossible.

Activities must be purposeful. Setting the goal of activity activates the desire of a person to achieve the desired result. Target- this is a mental model of the future result, which the subject strives for in the course of his activity. The goal can be formulated orally or in writing, expressed graphically, contained in the mind of a person, but the main thing is that a person clearly understands what he wants to achieve. At the same time, the goal must be realistic. You can set yourself the goal of inventing a perpetual motion machine, flying to the moon, finding a treasure, or, for example, becoming president, but such desires do not always coincide with the real conditions of the surrounding world and the capabilities of the person himself. Undoubtedly, the desire to achieve something is of great importance for achieving the goal. However, it often happens that one desire is not enough. Success in achieving the goal largely depends on the means, which can include tools, materials used, knowledge, experience, specific actions of a person on the way to the desired. Moreover, the means must correspond to both the goal and the object of activity. We can't dig a hole with our hands. But if sometimes a simple shovel is enough for this, then an excavator will have to be used to dig a pit. You can walk for several hours to your destination on foot, or you can drive in a few minutes by car.

If human actions act as means, then they should not infringe on the interests of other people. Suppose a person has set a goal to buy a car. He can choose two paths. The first is to buy a car, the second is to steal it. In both cases, the goal of purchasing a car will be achieved. But stealing a car violates the rights of the rightful owner and, moreover, is a criminal offense. You can achieve a promotion through hard work, or you can by eliminating rivals with the help of intrigue and slander. But even if intrigues help you, in the eyes of your colleagues you will be a dishonest person with whom you should not deal. Thus, acting on the principle "the end justifies the means", the subject harms others and inevitably creates problems for himself.

Activity is not a homogeneous process. For example, to prepare homework, a student reads a textbook, answers questions for a paragraph, completes a task in a notebook, etc. He performs a series of sequential actions that eventually lead him to achieve his goal - doing his homework.

Different people perform the same activities in different ways. External manifestations of activity are called behavior. Behavior reflects the attitude of a person towards other people. One person is respectful with people, the other is arrogant. Someone is responsible for the performance of work, and someone shirks. What determines human behavior? How to determine if it is good or bad? The criteria for evaluating behavior are the rules established in society. If behavior does not meet these standards, it is condemned by members of society.

An important role in the implementation of activities is played by its motivation, i.e. what motivates a person to act. motive called a conscious impulse that guides the subject when performing an action. Motivating causes can be both material and non-material conditions of human life. The feeling of a lack of something, material and spiritual discomfort activate a person's activity. In this case, the motive is needs- perceived and experienced by a person dependence on the conditions of his existence. The appearance of a feeling of dissatisfaction forces a person to be active in order to return to a state of equilibrium, which happens after the satisfaction of the need (Scheme 3).

The classification of needs was proposed by the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908 - 1970). He arranged needs in a hierarchical order from lowest to highest. Maslow classified physiological and security needs as lower (or primary, innate), and social, prestigious and spiritual needs as higher (or secondary, acquired) needs (Scheme 3).

Scheme 3. Classification of needs according to A. Maslow

Physiological(or vital, that is, associated with the preservation of human life) needs arise in a person from birth. A person needs food, sleep, warmth. The need to reproduce their own kind, the birth of children, is also referred to as physiological, or rather, sexual needs.

Security Needs (existential needs) are expressed in the desire of a person to protect his life and the lives of his loved ones from any encroachment, to avoid violence, to maintain health, to be confident in the future. The latter concerns not only physical security, but also the economic foundations of existence - a decent standard of living, social guarantees.

Social (communicative) needs realized in the process of communication between people. A person cannot live outside society. He interacts with other people at home, at school, at work, and elsewhere. He needs love, friendship, care from others and he himself is ready to respond in kind.

prestige needs expressed in the desire of a person to stand out among others. He strives to study better, get a prestigious job, move up the career ladder. In satisfying prestigious needs, a person's self-esteem, the desire to achieve success, and the comparison of goals and real opportunities for achieving them play an important role. Therefore, such needs are also called selfish.

spiritual needs associated with the creative activity of a person, his desire for self-realization. They are multifaceted and depend on a number of factors. Some people satisfy their spiritual needs by watching television programs, others go to the cinema, theaters, museums, others create works of literature and art.

Primary needs equalize man with animals. Needs for food, sleep, security often manifest themselves in people at the level of instincts. But unlike animals, the primary needs of man are social. A person can give the last piece of bread to the needy, not close his eyes at the bedside of the sick. History knows many cases of self-sacrifice, when people went to death for the sake of the lives of loved ones, the freedom of their people. We can satisfy the need for food by swallowing a sandwich, or we can set the table well, light candles, turn on pleasant music.

Primary needs are inherent to one degree or another in all people. Secondaries do not appear in everyone. Someone loves noisy companies, is always ready to keep up the conversation, someone is closed and prefers to communicate only when necessary, at school or at work, because he simply cannot avoid this communication. Some people rush forward, strive to become leaders in the company, leaders at work. Others, having taken a certain position in society, stop there, leaving their intentions to continue their careers.

Sociologists have proven that a person is motivated to action only unmet needs. If we are hungry, we will look for an opportunity to satisfy our hunger. If we want to chat with friends, we will definitely meet them. If we want to climb the corporate ladder, we will gain new knowledge, learn from experience, and responsibly carry out the instructions of the boss.

At the same time, we cannot begin to satisfy prestigious needs without satisfying social ones, and social ones will not be relevant without satisfying primary needs. After all, a hungry person will think more about finding food than about communication and a career. This fully manifests the principle of the hierarchy of needs.

The exception to this rule is in some cases spiritual needs. Experiencing a lack of food, warmth, communication, a person nevertheless reaches for the beautiful. He reads books, listens to music, follows the events taking place in the country and the world. There are many examples in history when creative individuals, living in poverty, created immortal works of art. On the other hand, among financially well-to-do people, there are sometimes those who do not care about their spiritual development, spending their energy in pursuit of career success and money. Thus, the spiritual sphere develops regardless of the material well-being of a person.

In meeting needs, as well as in the process of all his activities, a person is guided by a system of values and ideals accepted in society. These can be ideas about happiness and the meaning of life, the concepts of honor, duty, kindness and justice (values of interpersonal communication), issues of prestige of material and official position, democratic rights and freedoms, moral values. The system of values is formed in society gradually. Society discards relations alien to it and defends positive manifestations, turning them into values and ideals enshrined in various norms (rules of conduct) - moral, ethical, corporate, legal, etc. People's activity manifests itself in various spheres of society. In this regard, allocate activities(scheme 4).

Scheme 4. Types of activities

First of all, activities can be divided into practical and spiritual. Practical activity aimed at transforming the environment. Depending on the object of influence, practical activities are divided into material and production changing nature, and social influencing society. Spiritual activity is connected with human consciousness. It consists of cognitive activity, manifested in the awareness of all elements of the surrounding world, evaluation activity, during which priorities are determined, and all phenomena are considered from a positive or negative side, and prognostic activity related to the consideration of possible development options and planning their actions.

Depending on the results, activities can be divided into creative and destructive. Most of mankind's achievements are the result of its creative activity. But many of these achievements were lost during wars and revolutions, which were manifestations of destructive activity. At the same time, the question arises: from what position should the creation of new types of military equipment be considered? From the point of view of the scientific and technological development of society, this is undoubtedly a manifestation of creative activity, during which something new is created. But military equipment is initially aimed at destruction. Therefore, in the assessment of this type of human activity, a contradiction arises.

Depending on the form of activity, there are labor, leisure, educational, creative, scientific, political, teaching and other activities.

The highest form of human activity is creativity, directly related to spiritual needs. As a result of creative activity, new, previously non-existent cultural values are created. Elements of creativity are found in almost every kind of human activity. However, creativity is most clearly manifested in science and art. The basis of creativity is the idea, that is, the formulation of the problem, the designation of the stages of work. The idea realized by the creator is accumulated in his imagination, prompting him to take concrete steps to implement it. Upon reaching the result, the author evaluates the novelty of his work and its practical significance. Moreover, the result of creative activity must be recognized by society. In practice, there were cases when the recognition of achievements was delayed for many years and even centuries. Let us recall at least Copernicus and Bruno.

One of the forms of activity is labor.

Work- this is an activity to transform the surrounding reality and meet the needs, which distinguishes man from animals. It was labor, according to F. Engels, that contributed to the formation of man as a social being.

Labor activity manifests itself in various spheres of human life. He works not only at work, but also at home, at their summer cottage, and in other places. Depending on the result, labor is divided into productive and unproductive. Productive labor associated with the creation of various material objects. For example, a person works in a factory, manufactures parts, from which some product is then assembled (TV, vacuum cleaner, car, etc.). At the end of the working day, he comes home, cooks food and devotes his free time to his favorite business (hobby), for example, assembling a radio. On weekends in the summer at the dacha, he cultivates a garden and harvests in the fall. All these are examples of productive labor.

unproductive labor is directed not at the creation, but at the maintenance of material objects. In the economic sphere, unproductive labor is associated with the provision of services: transportation of goods, warranty service, etc. In the domestic sphere, unproductive labor includes, for example, cleaning the apartment, washing dishes, and current repairs.

Both productive and unproductive labor are equally important. If there were only industrial production, but there were no services for its repair, then landfills would be filled with broken household appliances, cars, furniture, etc. But why buy a new thing if it is more expedient to fix the old one?

However, humanity creates not only material objects. It has accumulated a huge cultural experience in literature, science and art. How to classify this type of work? In this case, one speaks of intellectual labor, or spiritual production. To isolate this type of labor, a special classification was required, namely, the division of labor into mental and physical.

Mankind for many centuries of its history knew mainly only physical labor. Many works were carried out with the help of human muscular strength. Sometimes it was replaced by animals. Mental labor was the prerogative of monarchs, priests and philosophers.

With the development of science and technology, the appearance of machines in industrial production, physical labor was increasingly replaced by mental labor. The proportion of workers engaged in mental work has been constantly increasing. These are scientists, engineers, managers, etc. In the XX century. not without reason, they started talking about the objective fusion of mental and physical labor. After all, even the simplest work now requires a certain amount of knowledge.

In finished form, nature gives us very little. Without the application of labor, it is impossible to pick even mushrooms and berries in the forest. In most cases, natural materials are subjected to complex processing. Thus, labor activity is necessary in order to adapt the products of nature to the needs of man.

Satisfaction of needs is the goal of labor activity. It is necessary not only to realize the need itself, but also to comprehend the ways to satisfy it and the efforts that are required to make it.

A variety of means are used to achieve the goals of labor activity. These are various tools of labor adapted to perform a particular job. Starting any work, one must have an idea of the most effective ways of influencing the object of labor, i.e. to something that undergoes transformation in the process of labor activity. Various ways of influencing the object of labor are called technologies, and a set of operations to transform the initial product into the final product is called a technological process.

The more perfect instruments of labor and the more correct technology are used, the higher will be the productivity of labor. It is expressed in terms of the number of products produced per unit of time.

Each type of labor activity consists of separate operations, actions, movements. Their nature depends on the technical equipment of the labor process, the qualifications of the employee, and in a broad sense, on the level of development of science and technology. In our time of scientific and technological progress, the level of technical equipment of labor is constantly increasing, but this does not exclude the use of human physical labor in some cases. The fact is that not all labor operations can be mechanized. The technique is not always applicable, for example, when loading and unloading goods, during construction, and when assembling the final product.

Labor activity, depending on its nature, goals, expenditure of effort and energy, can be individual and collective. The work of a craftsman, a housewife, a writer and an artist is individual. They independently perform all labor operations until the final result is obtained. In most cases, labor operations are somehow divided between individual subjects of the labor process: workers at the factory, builders at the construction of a house, scientists at a research institute. Even initially seemingly individual, labor activity can be part of the totality of the labor operations of many people. So, a farmer buys fertilizers produced by other people to improve the land, and then sells the crop through wholesale depots. This situation is called specialization or division of labor. For a more effective organization of the labor process, communication of its participants is necessary. Through communication, information is transmitted, coordination of joint activities takes place.

The concept of "work" is a synonym for the concept of "work". In a broad sense, they do coincide. However, if we can attribute to labor any activity to transform the surrounding reality and satisfy needs, then work is most often called an activity that is carried out for remuneration. Thus, work is a kind of labor activity.

The complication of labor activity, the emergence of its new types has led to the emergence of many professions. Their number is increasing with the development of science and technology. A profession is a type of labor activity with a specific nature and purpose of labor functions, for example, a doctor, teacher, lawyer. The presence of special, more in-depth skills and knowledge in this profession is called a specialty. Even at the stage of training in a specialty, specialization can be carried out, for example, a surgeon or a general practitioner, a physics teacher or a mathematics teacher.

However, it is not enough to have a certain specialty. You need to get hands-on experience with it. The level of training, experience, knowledge in this specialty is called qualification. It is determined by rank or rank. Discharges exist among industrial workers, school teachers. Titles are awarded to workers of science and culture, higher education.

The higher the qualification of the worker, the higher the pay for his work. In the event of a job change, it is easier for him to find a good job. If they say about a person: “This is a highly qualified worker, a professional in his field”, then they mean the high quality of the work he performs. Professionalism requires from the employee not just the mechanical implementation of the instructions of the head. Having received an order, a person should think about how best to carry it out. In the rules, orders, instructions, it is impossible to foresee all the situations that arise in the labor process. The employee must find the optimal solution that allows him to fulfill the assignment given to him in a quality and timely manner. This creative approach to completing tasks is called initiative.

Any labor activity, whether it is chopping firewood in a country house or performing complex production processes at a factory, requires the implementation of special rules. Some of them are related to the technological process, i.e. consistency and accuracy of all labor operations performed by the employee. Others are based on compliance with safety regulations. Everyone knows that you can not disassemble electrical appliances if they are not disconnected from the mains, make fires near wooden buildings, drive a car with a faulty engine cooling system. Failure to comply with the rules can lead to both a breakdown of a thing that has been improperly exploited, and to harm to the life and health of a person and the people around him.

Working conditions play an important role in the process of labor activity. These include workplace equipment, noise level, temperature, vibration, room ventilation, etc. Particularly harmful, extreme working conditions cause major accidents, serious occupational diseases, serious injuries and even death.

During the formation and development of industrial production, the worker was considered as part of the production process, as an appendage of the machine. Such an approach excluded initiative in the performance of labor duties. Workers felt that they were being dominated by machines as individuals. Accordingly, a negative attitude to work appeared as something forced, performed only out of necessity. This phenomenon of industrial production is called the dehumanization of labor.

At present, the problem of humanization of labor has arisen, i.e. his humanization. First of all, it is necessary to eliminate factors that threaten human health, to replace heavy monotonous physical labor with the work of machines. It is necessary to prepare educated, comprehensively developed workers who are able to creatively approach the labor functions they perform; to raise the level of work culture, i.e., to improve all components of the labor process (working conditions, relationships between people in a team, etc.). The employee should not be limited to the narrow scope of the labor functions performed by him. He should know the content of the labor process of the entire team, understand the features of production at the theoretical and technological level. Only in this case, labor activity will become the basis for self-realization of a person.

The opposite of work activity is leisure activity. Scientists call all free time from work time of rest. This does not mean that during such periods a person does nothing. He can work doing housework, he can go for a walk or go on a trip. All of these ways of spending free time involve taking active actions.

What is human activity? How is it different from the actions of animals?
Describe the subject, object, tools of activity. Illustrate these concepts with examples.
How are goals and means related?
What is behavior? What are its criteria?
What role does motive play in activity?
What are the needs of a person? What is a Hierarchy of Needs?
Determine the ratio of primary and secondary needs. Why is it that only unsatisfied needs have the power to act?
What are the characteristics of spiritual needs? Why are they often independent of other kinds of needs?
What values and ideals exist in modern society? What are your values and ideals?
What activities do you know? What is the nature of creative activity?
How did labor affect the processes of anthropogenesis and sociogenesis?
In what areas of human life and how is labor activity manifested?
What is the difference between productive and unproductive labor?
What is intellectual work? What is the relationship between mental and physical labor?
What are the goals of work?
What role does specialization play in the workplace?
Explain the concepts of "profession", "specialty", "qualification".
Who is called a professional? What is meant by professionalism? Give examples of high professionalism.
What rules must be followed in the course of work? Why is it important to follow the rules?
What is the problem of humanization of labor?

Read the statements below. What do the authors say about the relationship between goals and means of activity? Express your opinion.

The animal believes that his whole business is to live, and a person takes life only for the opportunity to do something (A. I. Herzen).

If there is no goal, you do nothing, and you do nothing great if the goal is insignificant (D. Diderot).

Taking the means for the end, people are disappointed in themselves and others, due to which nothing comes out of all activities or the opposite of what they strive for (J. W. Goethe).

He compared those who sought small benefits at the cost of great dangers to a fisherman who fishes on a golden hook: tear off the hook - and no catch will compensate for the loss (Suetonius).

Behavior is a mirror in which everyone shows his face (JV Goethe).

No ethic in the world gets around the fact that the achievement of "good" goals in many cases involves the need to put up with the use of morally dubious or at least dangerous means, and the possibility or even the likelihood of bad side effects: and none ethics in the world cannot say when and to what extent an ethically positive goal "sanctifies" ethically dangerous means and side effects (M. Weber).

What labor issues are raised in the following statements?

It is necessary to put your life in such conditions that labor is necessary. There can be no pure and joyful life without labor (A.P. Chekhov).

Each must learn to give up his individual methods of work, adapt them to a number of novel forms, and become accustomed to receiving and carrying out directives concerning all small and large methods of work, which were previously left to his own discretion (F. W. Taylor).

Every life, every activity, every art must be preceded by a craft, which can only be mastered with a certain specialization. The acquisition of complete knowledge, complete skill in the field of any one subject gives a greater education than the assimilation of half a hundred different subjects (J. W. Goethe).

Bodily labor not only does not exclude the possibility of mental activity, not only does not degrade its dignity, but also encourages it (L. N. Tolstoy).

All my life I have loved and love mental labor and physical labor, and perhaps even more than the latter. I especially felt satisfied when I introduced some good guess into the latter, i.e. connected the “head with the hands” (I. P. Pavlov).

Activity- active interaction of a person with the environment, the result of which should be its usefulness, requiring from a person high mobility of nervous processes, fast and accurate movements, increased activity of perception, attention, memory, thinking, emotional stability. The structure of activity is usually presented in a linear form, where each component follows the other in time: Need - Motive - Purpose - Means - Action - Result.

Need- this is a need, dissatisfaction, a feeling of lack of something necessary for a normal existence. In order for a person to begin to act, an awareness of this need and its nature is necessary. A motive is a need-based, conscious motivation that justifies and justifies an activity. The need will become a motive if it is realized not just as a need, but as a guide to action.

Target- this is a conscious idea of the result of activity, anticipation of the future. Any activity involves goal setting, i.e. the ability to set goals independently. Animals, unlike humans, cannot set goals themselves: their program of activity is predetermined and expressed in instincts. Man is able to form his own programs, creating something that has never been in nature. Since there is no goal-setting in animal activity, it is not an activity. Moreover, if the animal never presents the results of its activity in advance, then the person, starting the activity, keeps in mind the image of the expected object: before creating something in reality, he creates it in his mind.

Facilities- these are techniques used in the course of activity, methods of action, objects, etc. For example, to learn social science, you need lectures, textbooks, assignments. To be a good specialist, you need to get a professional education, have work experience, constantly practice in your work, etc.

Action- an element of activity that has a relatively independent and conscious task. An activity is made up of individual actions. For example, teaching activity consists of preparing and giving lectures, conducting seminars, preparing assignments, etc.

Result- this is the final result, the state in which the need is satisfied (in whole or in part). For example, the result of study can be knowledge, skills, the result of labor - goods, the result of scientific activity - ideas and inventions. The result of activity can be the person himself, because in the course of activity he develops and changes.

Types of activities in which each person inevitably joins in the process of his individual development: game, communication, teaching, work.

A game- this is a special type of activity, the purpose of which is not the production of any material product, but the process itself - entertainment, recreation.

Communication is an activity in which ideas and emotions are exchanged. It is often expanded to include the exchange of material items. This broader exchange is communication [material or spiritual (informational)].

Doctrine is a type of activity, the purpose of which is the acquisition of knowledge, skills and abilities by a person.

Work is a type of activity that is aimed at achieving a practically useful result.

Characteristic features of labor: expediency; focus on achieving the programmed, expected results; availability of skills, abilities, knowledge; practical usefulness; getting a result; personal development; transformation of the human environment.

Activity- this is a specifically human activity, regulated by consciousness, generated by needs and aimed at the knowledge and transformation of the external world and the person himself.

The main feature of activity is that its content is not entirely determined by the need that gave rise to it. The need as a motive (motivation) gives impetus to activity, but the very forms and content of activity determined by public goals, requirements and experience.

Distinguish three main activities: play, teaching and work. aim games is the "activity" itself, not its results. Human activity aimed at acquiring knowledge, skills and abilities is called teaching. is an activity whose purpose is the production of socially necessary products.

Activity characteristics

Activity is understood as a specifically human way of an active relationship to the world - a process during which a person creatively transforms the world around him, turning himself into an active subject, and the phenomena being mastered into an object of his activity.

Under subject here we mean the source of activity, the actor. Since, as a rule, a person shows activity, then most often it is he who is called the subject.

object call the passive, passive, inert side of the relationship, on which the activity is carried out. The object of activity can be a natural material or object (land in agricultural activities), another person (a student as an object of study) or the subject himself (in the case of self-education, sports training).

To understand the activity, several important characteristics of it should be taken into account.

Man and activity are inextricably linked. Activity is an indispensable condition for human life: it created man himself, preserved him in history and predetermined the progressive development of culture. Therefore, a person does not exist outside of activity. The reverse is also true: there is no activity without a person. Only man is capable of labor, spiritual and other transformative activity.

Activity is the transformation of the environment. Animals adapt to natural conditions. Man is able to actively change these conditions. For example, he is not limited to collecting plants for food, but grows them in the course of agricultural activities.

Activity acts as a creative, constructive activity: a person in the process of his activity goes beyond the boundaries of natural possibilities, creating something new that did not previously exist in nature.

Thus, in the process of activity, a person creatively transforms reality, himself and his social ties.

The essence of activity is revealed in more detail in the course of its structural analysis.

The main forms of human activity

Human activity is carried out in (industrial, household, natural environment).

Activity- active interaction of a person with the environment, the result of which should be its usefulness, requiring from a person high mobility of nervous processes, fast and accurate movements, increased activity of perception, emotional stability.

The study of a person in the process is carried out by ergonomics, the purpose of which is the optimization of labor activity on the basis of rational consideration of human capabilities.

The whole variety of forms of human activity can be divided into two main groups according to the nature of the functions performed by a person - physical and mental labor.

Physical work

Physical work requires significant muscle activity, is characterized by a load on the musculoskeletal system and functional systems of the body (cardiovascular, respiratory, neuromuscular, etc.), and also requires increased energy costs from 17 to 25 mJ (4,000-6,000 kcal) and more per day.

Brainwork

Brainwork(intellectual activity) is a work that combines work related to the reception and processing of information, requiring tension of attention, memory, and activation of thinking processes. Daily energy consumption during mental work is 10-11.7 mJ (2000-2400 kcal).

The structure of human activity

The structure of activity is usually represented in a linear way, where each component follows the other in time.

Need → Motive → Purpose → Means → Action → Result

Let's consider each component of the activity one by one.

Need for action

Need- this is a need, dissatisfaction, a feeling of lack of something necessary for a normal existence. In order for a person to begin to act, an awareness of this need and its nature is necessary.

The most developed classification belongs to the American psychologist Abraham Maslow (1908-1970) and is known as the pyramid of needs (Fig. 2.2).

Maslow divided needs into primary, or innate, and secondary, or acquired. These, in turn, include:

physiological - in food, water, air, clothing, warmth, sleep, cleanliness, shelter, physical recreation, etc.;
existential- safety and security, inviolability of personal property, guaranteed employment, confidence in the future, etc.;
social - desire for belonging and belonging to any social group, team, etc. The values of affection, friendship, love are based on these needs;
prestigious - based on the desire for respect, recognition by others of personal achievements, on the values of self-affirmation, leadership;
spiritual - focused on self-expression, self-actualization, creative development and the use of their skills, abilities and knowledge.
The hierarchy of needs has been changed many times and supplemented by various psychologists. Maslow himself, in the later stages of his research, added three additional groups of needs to it:
cognitive- in knowledge, skill, understanding, research. These include the desire to discover new things, curiosity, the desire for self-knowledge;
aesthetic- the desire for harmony, order, beauty;
transcending— a selfless desire to help others in spiritual self-improvement, in their desire for self-expression.

According to Maslow, in order to satisfy higher, spiritual needs, it is necessary to first satisfy those needs that occupy a place in the pyramid below them. If the needs of any level are fully satisfied, a person has a natural need to satisfy the needs of a higher level.

Motives of activity

Motive - a need-based, conscious drive that justifies and justifies activity. The need will become a motive if it is realized not just as, but as a guide to action.

In the process of forming a motive, not only needs, but also other motives are involved. As a rule, needs are mediated by interests, traditions, beliefs, social attitudes, etc.

Interest is a specific reason for action that determines. Although the needs of all people are the same, different social groups have their own interests. For example, the interests of workers and factory owners, men and women, youth and pensioners are different. So, innovations are more important for pensioners, traditions are more important for pensioners; Entrepreneurs have rather material interests, while people of art have spiritual ones. Each person also has his own personal interests, based on individual inclinations, sympathies (people listen to different music, go in for different sports, etc.).

Traditions represent a social and cultural heritage passed down from generation to generation. We can talk about religious, professional, corporate, national (for example, French or Russian) traditions, etc. For the sake of some traditions (for example, military ones), a person may limit his primary needs (changing safety and security for high-risk activities).

Beliefs- firm, principled views of the world, based on the worldview ideals of a person and implying a person’s willingness to give up a number of needs (for example, comfort and money) for the sake of what he considers right (for the sake of honor and dignity).

Settings- the predominant orientation of a person to certain institutions of society, which are superimposed on needs. For example, a person may be oriented towards religious values, or towards material enrichment, or towards public opinion. Accordingly, he will act differently in each case.

In complex activities, it is usually possible to identify not one motive, but several. In this case, the main motive is singled out, which is considered to be driving.

Activity goals

Target - it is a conscious idea of the result of activity, anticipation of the future. Any activity involves goal setting, i.e. the ability to set goals independently. Animals, unlike humans, cannot set goals themselves: their program of activity is predetermined and expressed in instincts. Man is able to form his own programs, creating something that has never been in nature. Since there is no goal-setting in animal activity, it is not an activity. Moreover, if the animal never presents the results of its activity in advance, then the person, starting the activity, keeps in mind the image of the expected object: before creating something in reality, he creates it in his mind.

However, the goal can be complex and sometimes requires a series of intermediate steps to achieve it. For example, to plant a tree, you need to purchase a seedling, find a suitable place, take a shovel, dig a hole, place the seedling in it, water it, etc. Ideas about intermediate results are called tasks. Thus, the goal is broken down into specific tasks: if all these tasks are solved, then the overall goal will be achieved.

Funds used in activities

Facilities - these are techniques used in the course of activity, methods of action, objects, etc. For example, to learn social science, you need lectures, textbooks, assignments. To be a good specialist, you need to get a professional education, have work experience, constantly practice in your work, etc.

The means must match the ends in two senses. First, the means must be proportionate to the end. In other words, they cannot be insufficient (otherwise the activity will be fruitless) or excessive (otherwise energy and resources will be wasted). For example, one cannot build a house if there are not enough materials for it; it is also pointless to buy materials several times more than you need to build it.

Secondly, the means must be moral: immoral means cannot be justified by the nobility of the end. If the goals are immoral, then all activity is immoral (on this occasion, the hero of F.M. Dostoevsky's novel "The Brothers Karamazov" Ivan asked if the kingdom of world harmony is worth one tear of a tortured child).

Action

Action - an element of activity that has a relatively independent and conscious task. An activity is made up of individual actions. For example, teaching activity consists of preparing and giving lectures, conducting seminars, preparing assignments, etc.

The German sociologist Max Weber (1865-1920) singled out the following types of social actions:

purposeful - actions aimed at achieving a reasonable sang. At the same time, a person clearly calculates all means and possible obstacles (a general planning a battle; a businessman organizing an enterprise; a teacher preparing a lecture);
value-rational- actions based on beliefs, principles, moral and aesthetic values (for example, the refusal of a prisoner to transfer valuable information to the enemy, saving a drowning person at the risk of his own life);
affective - actions committed under the influence of strong feelings - hatred, fear (for example, flight from the enemy or spontaneous aggression);
traditional- actions based on habit, often an automatic reaction developed on the basis of customs, beliefs, patterns, etc. (for example, following certain rituals in a wedding ceremony).

The basis of activity is the actions of the first two types, since only they have a conscious goal and are creative in nature. Affects and traditional actions can only exert some influence on the course of activity as auxiliary elements.

Special forms of action are: deeds - actions that have a value-rational, moral value, and deeds - actions that have a high positive social value. For example, helping a person is an act, winning an important battle is an act. Drinking a glass of water is a common action that is neither an act nor an act. The word "act" is often used in jurisprudence to refer to an action or omission that violates legal norms. For example, in the legislation "a crime is an illegal, socially dangerous, guilty act."

Result of activity

Result- this is the final result, the state in which the need is satisfied (in whole or in part). For example, the result of study can be knowledge, skills, the result -, the result of scientific activity - ideas and inventions. The result of activity can be itself, because in the course of activity it develops and changes.

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 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 a person of both material and intangible objects, in order to use them in the future to meet their needs. By the nature of the applied actions, labor activity is divided into:

practical activities(or productive activity - changing objects of nature, or changing society);
spiritual activity(intellectual, creativity, etc.).

It is this type of activity, according to most anthropologists, that is the driving force behind the evolution of people. Thus, in the process of labor, the purpose of which is the production of a product, the worker himself is formed. Perhaps labor is one of the main types of activity, but there would be no effective labor activity without one more of its types - teaching, or training.

Educational activity.

Learning activities ( training, education) is an activity aimed at obtaining 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 is not necessarily sitting out your pants at school at your desk. This includes sports training, and reading books, and 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 suddenly came in handy for you.

Game activity.

Game activity ( a game) - a type of activity, the purpose of which 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 kind of training, then its offshoot, because it, like training, is a preparation for work. A sort of spin-off of study, if you will. A game of dice, Cossack robbers, "Call of Duty" or "Who wants to become a millionaire" - all these games, to one degree or another, teach some kind of mental or physical activity, bring some skills, knowledge, abilities. Develop logic, erudition, reaction, physical condition of the body and so on. There are many types of games: individual and group, subject and story, role-playing, intellectual, etc.

Variety of activities.

The above classification of human activity is generally accepted, but not the only one. Sociologists single out some types of activity as the main ones, psychologists others, historians the third, and culturologists the fourth. They characterize activity in terms of its usefulness/uselessness, morality/immorality, creation/destruction, etc. Human activity can be labor and leisure, creative and consumer, creative and destructive, cognitive and value-oriented, and so on.