The concept of habit in the analysis of situated actions

Abstract

The paper presents a new framework for the analysis of situated action from a cultural point of view. The methodology is named the Core-Task Analysis. Its aim is to promote understanding of the core content of particular work activity and the dynamics of the construction of situated actions in complex, dynamic and uncertain environments. The methodology also aims at evaluating working practices and culture by providing a way to analyse the internal good of practices. The CTA approach draws on the cultural–historical theory of activity and its current application in the developmental work research. It also utilizes functional modelling of the constraints of work domains to identify the environmental affordances for action. The innovative feature of the approach—that could be labelled an ecological one—is to complement activity theoretical analysis by exploiting the pragmatic conception of habit. This solution provides an empirical way of analysing situated action and operations in connection with their societal meaning and motivation. A study of the anaesthetists’ actions in clinical situations is utilised to demonstrate the Core-Task Approach.

Keywords:

• Activity
• Habit
• Complex work
• Reflective practice
• Anaesthesia

Acknowledgements

Our studies on the anaesthetists’ work demonstrate inter-disciplinary co-operation that an ecological analysis of actions necessitates. The author expresses her deepest gratitude to the expert anaesthetist Dr Ulla-Maija Klemola for companionship in the empirical and theoretical work during these studies.

About the author

Leena Norros PhD, works at the Technical Research Centre of Finland as a senior research scientist. Her area of research is human performance in complex high-reliability work.