The Study of Living Control Systems: A Guide to Doing Research on Purpose (Paperback) (ISBN-13: 9781108707336)

This book is a guide to doing a new kind of psychological research that focuses on the purposes rather than the causes of behavior. The research methods described here are based on a theory of behaviour called Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) that views organisms as purposeful rather than mechanical systems. According to PCT, purposeful behaviour involves acting to control perceptual input variables. Thus, understanding the purposeful behaviour of living organisms is a matter of determining the perceptual variables they are controlling when they are carrying out various behaviors. This book outlines research methods that determine what perceptual variables an organism is controlling, how it controls those variables, and why. It also describes methods for studying how an organism develops the ability to control different perceptions and how consciousness might be involved in this process.

Author: Richard S. Marken
ISBN-10: 1108707335
ISBN-13: 9781108707336
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Language: English
Published: 02/04/2021
Pages: 200
Format: Paperback
Weight: 0.47lbs
Size: 9.00h x 6.00w x 0.33d

Review Citation(s):
Choice 05/01/2022