On Third Generation Activity Theory: Interview With Yrjo Engestrm

In this interview Prof. Engestrom discusses his professional trajectory and interest in cultural-historical activity theory with a focus on its insights into the fields of work and human development. He comments on recent transformations within this theoretical orientation, many of them promoted by his research into a variety of workplaces and organisations. Methodological aspects, and in particular formative intervention methods such as the Change Laboratory, are also considered. Prof. Engestrom's published work covers a multitude of real-life contexts and offers us a perfect example of how psychological research can be a powerful tool not only for understanding reality but actively shaping it.