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[Xmca-l] [Fwd: Re: Activity Setting] from Cliff O'Donell

In case this didn't reach the list ...

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Re: Activity Setting
Date: 	Mon, 12 Aug 2013 20:01:55 -1000
From: 	Cliff O'Donnell <cliffo@hawaii.edu>
To: 	Lubomir Savov Popov <lspopov@bgsu.edu>
CC: ablunden@mira.net <ablunden@mira.net>, eXtended Mind, Culture, Activity <xmca-l@mailman.ucsd.edu>, Roland Tharp <tharp@hawaii.edu>
Thank you for your response, Lubomir. Roger Barker was an important influence on my thinking earlier in my career. His work is highly respected in community psychology. Quoting from our article, here is the distinction we see between behavior setting and activity setting: 

"The subjective focus of activity settings distinguishes
them from the behavior settings developed by Barker
(1960 , 1968 ). In behavior settings, the focus is on objective
molar behavior specified by time and place. Behaviors are
defined by the roles or positions of people in the setting and
activity is used to coordinate their behaviors. Suggestions
have been made to alter behavior setting theory to include a
wider range of individual behaviors, cognitions, and
interventions in the setting (e.g., Luke et al. 1991 ; Schoggen
1989 ; Wicker 1987 ). In contrast, activity setting theory
unifies the objective and subjective by showing how
activity is influenced and intersubjectivity developed.
Rather than a collection of individual behaviors and cognitions,
intersubjectivity develops as a setting characteristic
that becomes the shared meanings of culture and provides
the basis for cultural community psychology." (p. 24)
For a more thorough presentation of our use of the concept of activity setting, please see:
O'Donnell, C. R. & Tharp, R. G. (1990). Community intervention guided by theoretical developments. In A. S. Bellack, M. Hersen, & A. E. Kazdin (Eds.), International handbook of behavior modification and therapy, 2nd Edition (pp. 251-266). New York: Plenum Press. 

Cliff

Clifford R. O'Donnell, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus
Past-President, Society for Community Research and Action (APA Division 27) 

University of Hawai‘i
Department of Psychology
2530 Dole Street
Honolulu, HI 96822

On Aug 12, 2013, at 7:12 AM, Lubomir Savov Popov wrote:


Hi Andy,
I am also interested to find the term "activity setting" in Vigotsky's writings or those of his followers, including everyone in the East European activity theory tradition. I would appreciate articles or specific references and page numbers. I need this to anchor some ideas and to pay tribute to earlier theorists if they have worked on this.
I am also interested if there are people on this list who work on the development of the concept of activity setting or on activity theory in relation to the planning and design of built environment. They can contact me at the e-mail below my signature or via this list, whichever is more convenient. I was going to make such a request on this list some time ago, but now is a good occasion for this.
To my knowledge, no one in the East European activity theory tradition has used the term "activity setting," at least till the late 1980s. If I have missed something, it is good to catch up.
I personally work (on and off) on the concept of activity setting since the early 1980s. However, I develop it as a methodological category for the study of built environment. I have to acknowledge that I got the idea for activity setting from Roger Barker's "behavior setting." At that time, in East Europe, the concept of behavior was considered one-sided and with less explanatory power than the concept of activity. There was no way to introduce the behavior setting concept without setting the reaction of mainstream social scientists. Even if someone dared to suggest the behavior setting concept in an article, the reviewers will automatically recommend to rework it as "activity setting." In East European social science of that time, behavior referred mostly to the visible, mechanistic aspects of activity or in the sense of "demeanor."
Bob Bechtel has done a good work in the early 1980 expanding on Barker's behavior setting, operationalizing his ideas for the field of Environment and Behavior (Architecture and Human Behavior; Man- Environment Systems). However, this work didn't continue. On the other hand, at that time, it was too early to talk about activity settings in the USA. It is early even now, in particular in the field of Environment and Behavior. Many people in that field resent the idea of ditching behavior for activity. They believe that the concept of behavior setting is good enough and there is no need to introduce one more concept of similar kind.
In relation to the field of Environment and Behavior, I personally believe that Barker has offered very useful ideas and they can become a stepping stone for developing the concept of activity setting. The activity setting concept will allow us to use the apparatus of activity theory which is more powerful than the concept of behavior. I also believe that the development of the activity setting theory for the fields of teaching or management or social work and community building will be somewhat different. Their focus will be different and this will lead to working on different details. As usual, it is not possible to study everything about one object of study. We have to make difficult choices regarding aspects and depth: what to study first, what to defer, and what to skip.
Barker had a lot of conflicts with main stream psychologists (not activity theorists). I have heard from Bob Bechtel (a student of Barker) that psychologists were telling Barker: Roger, you think just like a sociologist, which in psychological parlance meant Roger, you are a SOB. This illustrates the disciplinary biases and divisions. 

Best wishes,

Lubomir

Lubomir Popov, Ph.D.
School of Family and Consumer Sciences
American Culture Studies Affiliated Faculty
Bowling Green State University
309 Johnston Hall,
Bowling Green, Ohio 43403-0059
Lspopov@bgsu.edu
419.372.7835