Chris Argyris and Donald Schon’s theory of action is a descriptive and normative framework that explains and prescribes behavior at the individual, group, and organizational levels. The intellectual roots of the theory of action are John Dewey’s theory of inquiry and Kurt Lewin’s formulations of action research. In particular, the theory of action aspires to
Theories of health behavior change are needed to explain, predict, and improve self-regulation of physical activity. Such theories are being divided into continuum models and stage models. In continuum models, people are positioned along a range that reflects the likelihood of action. Influential predictor variables are identified and combined within one prediction equation. The goal
Action theory represents a general model of work-related cognition and behavior with implications for a wide range of topics in industrial/organizational psychology. Inspired by Lewin’s field theory, American cybernetic models, and Russian and Polish approaches, German work psychologists initiated the development of action theory in the late 1960s. As the core concept of the theory
Affirmative action refers to institutional measures taken to increase the representation of women and people of color in areas of employment, government contracts, and higher education from which they have been excluded historically. The policy began as a response to the failure of businesses with government contracts to hire women, persons with disabilities, and minorities.
Affirmative action has been one of the most controversial public policies of the past 40 years. A conceptual definition of affirmative action is any measure, beyond a simple termination of discriminatory practice, adopted to correct for past or present discrimination or to prevent discrimination from recurring in the future. In practice, organizational affirmative action programs
Community-based action research (C-BAR) is a relatively new addition to counseling and counseling psychology research. The research and interventions, or actions, occur at the community level, rather than with individuals, families, or small groups. Community is defined as a group linked by common interests, such as young women in a teen pregnancy program, migrant workers
Action theory is based on a school of thought in philosophy, social and cognitive psychology, neurology, and organizational behavior as well as in counseling and career development. This school of thought addresses the intentional, goal-directed nature of human behavior. It has historical roots in the works of George Herbert Mead, Talcott Parsons, and Lev Vygotsky
Action Identification Theory Definition People usually know what they are doing, intend to do, or have done in the past. How people achieve an unambiguous understanding of their behavior is rather remarkable when one considers the variety of ways in which any action can be identified. “Taking a test,” for example, could be identified as
Reasoned Action Theory Definition The theory of reasoned action (TRA) is a model for predicting people’s behavior, which states that the best predictor of people’s behavior in any given situation is their intention to perform the behavior. Not surprisingly, the best predictor of whether people will actually do something is whether they intend to do