Cultural Psychology for a Technologically Transformed Society: A Neo-structuration Perspective

Integrative Psychological and Behavioral Science. 2026. Vol. 60. No. 1. Article 7.

Sorokin P.

This paper examines the project of cultural psychology proposed by Aaro Toomela through the prism of recent discussions in sociology, primarily the theory of neo-structuration. This theory claims the increasing is principally not determined by social environment. Toomela is right and timely in his critique of the mainstream and his call for a structural-systemic approach to psyche and culture, relying upon the ideas of Vygotsky, Luria and Anokhin, including the idea of a possible transformative stance of the individual towards the surrounding world. However, more attention should be paid to the most recent changes in socio-technical environment, primarily those brought about by the Artificial Intelligence, which not only increases the transformative power of human agency, but also becomes a producer and disseminator of cultural (or quasi-cultural) content. Considering this, we, first, suggest refinements to the definitions of “culture” and “psyche”, proposed by Toomela, and, second, offer preliminary answers to the three basic questions that Toomela puts forward: 1) What is the whole? 2) What are the parts or elements of the whole? 3) In which particular relationships these parts are? We argue that human agency, enhanced by novel technological tools and understood as a capacity to generate not only linguistic signs but new communities and modes of action – is an important theme for cultural psychology from both theoretical and practical points of view.

Keywords: культура, искусственный интеллект, culture, cultural psychology, психика, psyche, культурная психология, artificial intelligence, neo-structuration, нео-структурация, Aaro Toomela, Ааро Тумела

Publication based on the results of: Independent creative action of different categories of the population in various spheres of activity: universal and specific characteristics (2025)