Action Regulation Theory

Action Regulation Theory (ART) is a cognitive theory that draws heavily on work by German and Scandinavian researchers. It brings together Levin's Field Theories and the fundamentals of Activity Theory proposed by Leontiev and Vygotsky. However, where Activity Theory looks at activities, which are comprised of sets of goal oriented actions, ART focuses on specific actions: actions coupled with an inherent feedback cycle. This allows for the concept of an action as a pseudo-iterative process. ART can be seen as a part of Activity Theory, which is concerned with the structure of goals and sub-goals that are guided within a hierarchical framework of plans, monitoring, and feedback. These components of actions are regarded as links between mental representations and the material and social environment.