The average action for scalar fields near phase transitions

We compute the average action for scalar fields in two, three and four dimensions, including the effects of wave function renormalization. A study of the one loop evolution equations for the scale dependence of the average action gives a unified picture of the qualitatively different behaviour in various dimensions for discrete as well as abelian and nonabelian continuous symmetry. The different phases and the phase transitions can be infered from the evolution equation.