Doing and becoming: purposeful action and self-actualization

While the critical nature of action to human existence and adaptation has been pursued by philosophers for many years, the characteristics of action transformed into purposeful doing and the meaning of human productivity have remained relatively unexplored in the behavioral sciences. This paper discusses several theoretical constructs in social and individual psychology that provide perspectives for understanding human action; defines doing as purposeful action that enables the nascent human to become humanized; and suggests, on the basis of these constructs, a prescription for doing for the development of performance skills and as a means for investigating the causes of psychopathology or dysfunction.