(the following is a brief quote from my draft dissertation)    

" Dewey's model of the active self at first seems a bit far-removed from currently accepted ways of thinking about social learning. However there are indications that the psychological and sociological research communities are moving closer to Dewey's views. For example in his last book "Foundations of Social Theory" sociologist James Coleman dedicates a section to the topic of "Processes of Change inside the Actor" in which he seems to agree on several important points with Dewey's model of the active self, while stopping short of presenting a complete model of individual self change. Coleman states as did Dewey that persons may make internal changes in order to alter their own utility functions. As Coleman notes:

"But might not the desired compatibility be equally well achieved by changing the internal structure? In other words, if the actor is engaged in the task of maximizing the satisfaction of his interests, the task can be accomplished in either of two ways: He may take action to restructure the outside world, by gaining control over certain events that are important to him; or he may restructure the internal self, by gaining interest in some events and losing interest in others." (read more)

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