Treffer: The Action Event (Notes on the Development of Object-Oriented Actions II)

The article critically rethinks and refashions conceptions of object-oriented actions. The author introduces the concept of an action event, which relies on the work of D. B. Elkonin. The essence of an action event lies in its transition to a new form of activity, that is, an action mediated by a pattern that is given to a child by an adult. An action event consists of the child's emphatic demonstration of the patterns given by the adult where the child challenges the adult by testing the pattern. In an action event the action itself acts as a phenomenon, and the actors acquire a place in the situation. An action event structurally consists of three interconnected transitions: the transition to a new activity situation, the transition to a sense of one's own activity, and the transition to the signification of one's own behavior. The action event represents a key moment in the everyday life of children and adults. In support of his argument, the author hypothetically refers to his observations of how an action event plays out in early childhood. [This article was translated by Kenneth Cargill.]

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