Activity Theory in HCI: Fundamentals and Reflections PDF
Preview Activity Theory in HCI: Fundamentals and Reflections
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CCaararrrrorololl,ll l,S , SeSererireiiese sEs E Eddidtiiottororr Activity Theory in HCI FundamentalsandReflections Synthesis Lectures on Human-Centered Informatics Editor JohnM.Carroll,PennStateUniversity Human-CenteredInformatics(HCI)istheintersectionofthecultural,thesocial,thecognitive, andtheaestheticwithcomputingandinformationtechnology.Itencompassesahugerangeof issues,theories,technologies,designs,tools,environmentsandhumanexperiencesinknowledge work,recreationandleisureactivity,teachingandlearning,andthepotpourriofeverydaylife.The serieswillpublishstate-of-the-artsyntheses,casestudies,andtutorialsinkeyareas.Itwillshare thefocusofleadinginternationalconferencesinHCI. ActivityTheoryinHCI:FundamentalsandReflections VictorKaptelininandBonnieNardi 2012 ConceptualModels:CoretoGoodDesign JeffJohnsonandAustinHenderson 2011 GeographicalDesign:SpatialCognitionandGeographicalInformationScience StephenC.Hirtle 2011 User-CenteredAgileMethods HughBeyer 2010 Experience-CenteredDesign:Designers,Users,andCommunitiesinDialogue PeterWrightandJohnMcCarthy 2010 ExperienceDesign:TechnologyforAlltheRightReasons MarcHassenzahl 2010 iii DesigningandEvaluatingUsableTechnologyinIndustrialResearch:ThreeCaseStudies Clare-MarieKaratandJohnKarat 2010 InteractingwithInformation AnnBlandfordandSimonAttfield 2010 DesigningforUserEngagement:AestheticandAttractiveUserInterfaces AlistairSutcliffe 2009 Context-AwareMobileComputing:AffordancesofSpace,SocialAwareness,andSocial Influence GeriGay 2009 StudiesofWorkandtheWorkplaceinHCI:ConceptsandTechniques GrahamButtonandWesSharrock 2009 SemioticEngineeringMethodsforScientificResearchinHCI ClarisseSieckeniusdeSouzaandCarlaFariaLeitão 2009 CommonGroundinElectronicallyMediatedConversation AndrewMonk 2008 Copyright© 2012byMorgan&Claypool Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,ortransmittedin anyformorbyanymeans—electronic,mechanical,photocopy,recording,oranyotherexceptforbriefquotationsin printedreviews,withoutthepriorpermissionofthepublisher. ActivityTheoryinHCI:FundamentalsandReflections VictorKaptelininandBonnieNardi www.morganclaypool.com ISBN:9781608457045 paperback ISBN:9781608457052 ebook DOI10.2200/S00413ED1V01Y201203HCI013 APublicationintheMorgan&ClaypoolPublishersseries SYNTHESISLECTURESONHUMAN-CENTEREDINFORMATICS Lecture#13 SeriesEditor:JohnM.Carroll,PennStateUniversity SeriesISSN SynthesisLecturesonHuman-CenteredInformatics Print1946-7680 Electronic1946-7699 PartsofChapters2and3arebasedonChapters3and10,respectively,ofActingwithTechnology:ActivityTheory andInteractionDesign,byVictorKaptelininandBonnieA.Nardi.PublishedbytheMITPress,Copyright©2006, 2009,theMITPress.Usedwithpermission. Activity Theory in HCI FundamentalsandReflections Victor Kaptelinin UniversityofBergenandUmeåUniversity Bonnie Nardi UniversityofCalifornia,Irvine SYNTHESISLECTURESONHUMAN-CENTEREDINFORMATICS#13 M &C Morgan &cLaypool publishers ABSTRACT Activity theory—a conceptual framework originally developed by Aleksei Leontiev—has its roots in the socio-cultural tradition in Russian psychology.The foundational concept of the theory is humanactivity,whichisunderstoodaspurposeful,mediated,andtransformativeinteractionbetween humanbeingsandtheworld.Sincetheearly1990s,activitytheoryhasbeenavisiblelandmarkinthe theoreticallandscapeofHuman-ComputerInteraction(HCI).Alongwithsomeotherframeworks, suchasdistributedcognitionandphenomenology,itestablisheditselfasaleadingpost-cognitivist approach in HCI and interaction design. In this book we discuss the conceptual foundations of activity theory and its contribution to HCI research. After making the case for theory in HCI andbrieflydiscussingthecontributionofactivitytheorytothefield(Chapter1)weintroducethe historical roots, main ideas, and principles of activity theory (Chapter 2). After that we present in-depthanalysesofthreeissueswhichweconsiderofspecialimportancetocurrentdevelopments in HCI and interaction design,namely:agency (Chapter 3),experience (Chapter 4),and activity- centriccomputing(Chapter5).Weconcludethebookwithreflectionsonchallengesandprospects forfurtherdevelopmentofactivitytheoryinHCI(Chapter6). KEYWORDS activity theory, post-cognitivist theory, object-orientedness, hierarchical structure of activity,mediation,externalization,internalization,development,activitysystemmodel, agency,experience,activity-centriccomputing,hn-HC vii Contents Preface .................................................................viii 1 Introduction:Activity theoryandthechangingfaceofHCI ....................1 TheoryinHCI......................................................... 1 Theobjectivesofthebook ............................................... 2 Activity theoryinHCI:Selectedcontributions ............................. 5 Re-framingHCIconcepts ......................................... 6 Conceptualtoolsfordesignandevaluation ........................... 6 Theoreticallens .................................................. 8 Somereflectionsforstudents ....................................... 8 2 Basicconceptsandprinciplesofactivity theory ............................. 11 Introduction .......................................................... 11 Thegeneralnotionofactivity ........................................... 12 Theoriginsofactivity theory:Russianpsychologyofthe1920sand1930s ..... 13 LevVygotskyandthesocialnatureofhumanmind................... 14 Theindividual/collectivedimension:Thedynamicsofthesocial distributionofthemind...........................................17 Frominter-psychologicaltointra-psychological ...................... 18 SergeiRubinshteinandtheprincipleofunityandinseparabilityof consciousnessandactivity .........................................19 Theconceptofactivityandtheevolutionofpsyche ......................... 20 Thestructureofhumanactivity .......................................... 24 Needs,motives,andtheobjectofactivity............................ 24 Activities,actions,andoperations .................................. 26 Functionalorgans................................................ 28 BasicprinciplesofLeontiev’sactivity theory:Anoverview................... 29 Engeström’sactivitysystemmodel........................................ 33 Currentdiversityofactivity theoreticalframeworks......................... 36 viii 3 Agency................................................................. 37 ATypologyofAgents .................................................. 38 Artifacts ............................................................. 41 Conclusion ........................................................... 43 4 Activityandexperience................................................... 45 Introduction .......................................................... 45 Analysesofsubjectivephenomenainactivity theory ........................ 47 Activitytheoreticalvs.phenomenologicalperspectivesonexperienceinHCI ... 49 5 Activity-centriccomputing ............................................... 55 Ahistoricalaccountofactivity-centriccomputing .......................... 56 Activity-centriccomputingandactivity theory ............................ 59 Currentissuesandprospectsforfutureresearchinactivity-centriccomputing... 60 Avarietyofperspectivesinactivity-centriccomputing ................ 60 Designchallengesandsolutions ................................... 62 Evaluatingactivity-centrictechnologiesandenvironments............. 64 6 Activity theoryandthedevelopmentofHCI ............................... 65 Introduction .......................................................... 65 hn-HCI.............................................................. 67 Time,space,scope ..................................................... 69 Activity theoryandhn-HCI ............................................ 73 Conclusion ........................................................... 76 Bibliography............................................................ 79 Authors’Biographies .................................................... 95 ix Preface In graduate school,one of our professors once said,“Social theory should be judged according to standards of truth,beauty,and justice.”The authors judge activity theory highly,but we recall this statementtodrawattentiontotheburdenoftheprofessor’smessagewhichassertsthattheoryisa specialkindofartifactembodyingthehighesthumanvalues.Encounteringactivitytheoryprovides an opportunity not only to learn the specifics of the theory but to pause for reflections on the standardstowhichweholdscienceanddesign. Truthisnoeasything.Itislegitimatetobetroubledbysimplisticnotionsoftruth,tobelieve onlyinpartialtruths,toinsistonthewobblyprovisionalityofallknowledge.Butwecanstillrootfor thetruthbecauseinpractice,whetherthequotidianempiricsofeverydaylifeorthegrandlaborsof NobelPrize-winningscientificresearch,weprefertoknowratherthannottoknow.Truthintheory speakstoafundamentalhumanorientationtoreality. Thebeautyoftheoryisperhapslessapparent.Aestheticqualitiesare,however,apprehended readily enough when one immerses in theory.The revelatory experiences theory permits occur as momentsofalteredperceptionwhenweseewhatwedidnotseebefore,whenrefiguredideasand objectseducateustounderstandtheworldmorecomplexly.Thesemomentsmoveusasdeeplyasan artist’suniquevisions.Thestandardofbeautyintheoryispartofitsessenceasmuchastruth-seeking. Wepuzzledoverthe“justice”partoftheprofessor’sstatementforsomeyears.Finallywecame toseeitasthemostimportantqualityofatheoryofsociallife.Thisstandardseemsacontradiction though—perhaps the truth is not just and it would be disingenuous or delusional to pretend oth- erwise.But social theory inevitably weaves itself back into the practices of our lives.If we believe thatmanisarationalproblemsolver,maximizingutility,webegintodesigninstitutionsaroundthat notion,toliveasthoughitweretrue.Theinjusticesofthisviewneednotberetailedhere(butthey start with“man”).Activity theory is animated by an optimistic,positive,forward looking prospect in which imaginative reflexive activity always holds possibilities for just action.The caring notion of development foundational to activity theory proposed,from activity theory’s earliest beginnings, that we humans are responsible for one another’s development,and that growth and change con- tinuallyrenewourpotentialsashumanbeings.Earlyactivitytheoryresearchconcerningeducation forthelowerclasses,improvedservicesforthedisabled,andmorejustmeansofeducationaltesting deliberatelyfocusedonareasinwhichimportantaspectsofhumandevelopmentwereatstake. Nowaswedesignandanalyzedigitaltechnologiesthataffectbillionsofpeopleweareinpart responsible,through the agency of these powerful technologies,for broad swaths of the course of humandevelopment—education,sociallife,commerce,governance.Totheextentthattechnologies areinflectedbyfigurationsoftheory,consequentialactiondependsonthestandardsofthetheories weinvoke.
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