The Concept of Situation and the Microgenesis of the Conscious Purpose in Cultural Psychology
The importance of the specific environment for understanding the microgenesis of psychological processes is well documented. It can be argued, however, that the theoretical framework of cultural psychology which is usually referred to as cultural-historical activity theory (CHAT) underconceptualizes this aspect, thereby hampering its ability to provide an adequate theoretical explanation of some microgenetic processes. More specifically, it is difficult for CHAT to explain the formation of the conscious purpose of activity - that is, its intentional aspect. This paper proposes to introduce the concepts of situation, circumstance and practical relations into CHAT. By means of an example it is argued that these concepts can explain the intentional aspect of activity, which no other current concepts in CHAT are able to do. Consequently, it is suggested that there is a strong case for incorporating these concepts within CHAT.