ABSTRACT
In this chapter, we focus on the mechanisms of attention from the systemicstructural activity theory (SSAT) perspective (Bedny and Karwowski 2007). SSAT is specifically adapted to the study of human work (Bedny and Meister 1997; Bedny and Karwowski 2007; Chebykin et al. eds. 2008; Bedny et al. 2008). SSAT considers activity a multidimensional system that is studied from various perspectives, and it includes multiple interdependent procedures, steps, and levels. These can be grouped into three major approaches: the cognitive approach, in which the concept of process is central; the morphological approach, in which the concept of mental and motor actions is most important; and the functional approach, in which the concept of self-regulation and functional blocks is important. The main approach we consider here is functional analysis, which is used to develop a model of attention. This method is similar to the cognitive approach. We show that not only the activity process but also separate cognitive processes can be described as complex self-regulative systems.
