(p.409) Just before and after the Second World War, the analysis of work was developed in France by two teams, whose main area of study was not ergonomics but psychotechnics and the training of adults (Laville 1988, Leplat 1993, Clot 1996, de Montmollin 1997).1 In the laboratory of psychotechnics founded by J.M. Lahy in the National Railway Company, Pacaud (1949, 1954) looked particularly at how tests could be rated and validated. This led her to analyse work in real situations and to conduct observations in the field. In the ‘Centre d’e´tudes et de recherches psychotechniques’ (CERP), psychologists selected adult candidates for...

(p.414) Dejours (1993 [1980]) develops an approach to the psychopathology of work and later its ‘psycho-dynamics’, which takes root in psychoanalytical theories. The approach looks at how workers resist the threats to their mental health that certain characteristics of work situations represent. In particular, he shows that in situations which are too difficult to bear and could be a threat to one’s psychic equilibrium, workers are led to develop defence mechanisms which are both individual and collective and which modify their perception of the situation. Such a defence plays a protective role in relation to mental health but does also involve...

(p.422) For ergonomists throughout the world, the value of the concept of activity clearly goes beyond its face value as a tool for understanding the work of production operators. It may also contribute to furthering knowledge about the professional identity of ergonomists and discussion about professional practice. The specific concepts of ergonomics in the French-speaking world often give rise to a form of irritated curiosity in international meetings. Researchers and practitioners from other countries tend to have difficulty in understanding French-speaking ergonomists owing to the inadequacy of their publications in English and require them to explain their concepts and methods on...