James V. Wertsch, who received his Ph.D. from the University of Chicago in 1975, is currently Assistant Professor in the Department of Linguistics at Northwestern University.

• Preface; The Concept of Activity in Soviet Psychology; An Introduction; THEORETICAL FOUNDATIONS The Problem of Activity in Psychology; Methodological Problems in the Psychological Analysis of Activity; VYGOTSKY’S HISTORICAL INFLUENCE The Instrumental Method in Psychology; The Genesis of Higher Mental Functions; The Development of Higher Forms of Attention in Childhood; THE ROLE OF SIGN SYSTEMS IN THE THEORY OF ACTIVITY The Psychological Consequences of Computerization; L. S. Vygotsky’ s Ideas about the Planning Function of Speech in Children; EMPIRICAL STUDIES MOTIVATED BY THE THEORY OF ACTIVITY; Memory; Involuntary Memory and the Goal-directed Nature of Activity; The Detection of a Contradiction as the Initial Stage of Problem Formation; Motor Skills Criteria for Evaluating Executive Activity.