Action Theory

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 [Page 1398]human behavior. It has historical roots in the works of George Herbert Mead, Talcott Parsons, and Lev Vygotsky, among others. Action theory has been referred to as a language for how people engage themselves in their daily lives by focusing specifically on processes across time. It takes a teleological perspective of human behavior, thus seeking explanations primarily in the goals of behavior rather than in their causes. Furthermore, action theory is not a theory in the traditional sense, whose purpose is to generate specific hypotheses that can be tested and subsequently accepted or rejected as part of the canon of science. Rather, it is more like a metatheory that provides a guiding framework for understanding human behavior.

Action theory has been applied to counseling and career development and has been found to be heuristic for several reasons. Counseling is essentially a practice that has goal-directed behavior at its center. Career development also involves goals, intentions, plans, and emotional and cognitive processes over time, all of which are addressed in action theory.

In providing a comprehensive framework, action theory recognizes that action can be seen from three perspectives: social meaning; internal processes, that is, the cognitions and emotions that guide and steer action; and the specific behavioral elements that actually comprise the external behavior, including language. For example, one can readily see that writing an e-mail message or having dinner has social meaning. These actions are readily understood by both participants and observers. They are socially meaningful in that society has constructed various norms, rules, and institutions that serve to construct their meaning-fulness. People use cognitive and emotional processes to steer their behavior in these actions and rely on language, skills, habits, and resources to actually implement the action. Action theory also reflects the notion that goals are hierarchically ordered across time—that is, some goals are more important than others and may persist for longer periods of time.