Activities are certain actions that are performed by a person in order to produce something meaningful for himself, or for those around him. This is a meaningful, multi-component and quite serious occupation, which is fundamentally different from recreation and entertainment.
Definition
The main discipline that explores human activities as part of the training course is social studies. The first thing you need to know to correctly answer the question on this topic is the basic definition of the concept being studied. However, there may be several such definitions. Another states that activity is a form of human activity that is aimed not only at adapting the body to the environment, but also at its qualitative transformation.
All living creatures interact with the outside world. However, animals tend to only adapt to the world and its conditions; they cannot change it in any way. But man differs from animals in that he has a special form of interaction with the environment, which is called activity.
Main components
Also, for a good answer to a question in social science about human activities, you need to know about the concepts of an object and a subject. The subject is directly the one who carries out the action. Not necessarily a single person. A subject can also be a group of people, an organization, or a country. The object of activity in social science is what exactly activity is directed at. It can be another person, and natural resources, and some areas of public life. The presence of a goal is one of the basic conditions under which human activity is possible. Social science, in addition to the goal, also highlights the component of action. It is carried out in accordance with the intended purpose.
Action types
Expediency of activity is an indicator of whether a person is moving towards the result that is important to him. The goal is the image of this result, to which the subject of activity strives, and the action is a direct step aimed at realizing the goal a person faces. The German scientist M. Weber identified several types of actions:
- Purposeful (in other words, rational). This action is carried out by a person in accordance with the goal. Means to achieve the desired result are chosen consciously, possible side effects of activity are taken into account.
- Value-rational. Actions of this kind occur in accordance with the beliefs that a person has.
- Affective is an action that is triggered by emotional experiences.
- Traditional - based on habit, or tradition.
Other components of activities
Describing human activities, social science also identifies the concepts of result, as well as means of achieving the goal. The result refers to the final product of the whole process carried out by the subject. Moreover, it can be of two types: positive and negative. Belonging to the first or second category is determined by the correspondence of the result of the goal.
The reasons why a person can get a negative result can be both external and internal. External include the change in environmental conditions for the worse. Internal factors include such factors as setting an initially unattainable goal, wrong choice of means, inferiority of actions or lack of necessary skills or knowledge.
Communication
One of the main types of human activities in social science is communication. The purpose of any type of communication is to obtain any result. Here, the main goal is often the exchange of necessary information, emotions or ideas. Communication is one of the main qualities of a person, as well as an indispensable condition for socialization. Without communication, a person becomes asocial.
The game
Another type of human activity in social science is the game. It is peculiar to both people and animals. In a children's game, situations of adult life are simulated. The main unit of children's play is the role - one of the main conditions for the development of consciousness and behavior of children. The game is a type of activity in which the recreation and assimilation of social experience takes place. It allows you to learn the methods of public action, as well as master the objects of human culture. Game therapy is widely used as a form of correctional work.
Work
It is also an important type of human activity. Without labor, socialization does not occur, but it is important not only for personal development. Labor is a necessary condition for the survival and further progress of human civilization. At the level of a single individual, labor is an opportunity to provide for one's own existence, to feed oneself and one's loved ones, and also an opportunity to realize natural inclinations, abilities.
Training
This is another important type of human activity. The topic of social science, devoted to activity, is interesting in that it considers its various types, allows you to consider the whole variety of types of human activity. Despite the fact that the process of human education originates in the womb, in a certain period of time this type of activity becomes focused.
For example, in the 50s of the last century, children began to be taught at the age of 7-8 years, in the 90s, mass education was introduced in schools from the age of six. However, even before the start of targeted education, the child absorbs a huge amount of information from the outside world. The great Russian writer L.N. Tolstoy emphasized that at the age of 5 years a small person assimilates much more than for the rest of his life. Of course, one can argue with this statement, but there is a fair amount of truth in it.
The main difference from other types of activity
Often, schoolchildren receive a social science question as their homework: “Activity is the way people live.” In the process of preparing for such a lesson, the most important thing to note is the characteristic difference between human activity and usual adaptation to the environment, which is characteristic of animals. One of these types of activities, which is aimed directly at transforming the world around us, is creativity. This type of occupation allows a person to create something completely new, qualitatively transforming the surrounding reality.
Types of Activities
The time when students go through the topic of social studies "Man and activity", according to GEF - grade 6. At this age, students, as a rule, are already old enough to distinguish between types of activity, as well as understand their importance for the full development of a person. In science, the following types are distinguished:
- Practical - aimed directly at transforming the external environment. This type, in turn, is divided into additional subcategories - material production activities, as well as social transformative ones.
- Spiritual - an activity that is aimed at changing the human mind. This type is also divided into additional categories: cognitive (science and art); value-orientation (determination of the negative or positive attitude of people to various phenomena of the world); as well as prognostic (planning of possible changes) activities.
All these types are in close contact with each other. For example, before conducting reforms (related to social transformative activities), it is necessary to analyze their possible consequences for the country (forecasting activity.