Russian Activity Theory: Shedding Light on a Dark Corner

This book (see record 1997-08883-000) is, according to coauthor David Meister, the first comprehensive, systematic description of the Russian theory of activity in the English language which integrates cognitive, motivational, and behavioral components into a holistic system. The reviewer notes that this text is difficult and slow to read for a few reasons, such as the fact that some terms and concepts use familiar words in unfamiliar ways. This book sheds light on what was a dark corner of psychology, namely the work of the Russian ergonomists and systems designers. The flaws are more than compensated for by the exposition of the emphasis on the human operator as the preeminent component in any system, rather than the hardware. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)