The Interdisciplinary Handbook of Perceptual Control Theory

The Interdisciplinary Handbook of Perceptual Control Theory brings together the latest research, theory, and applications from W. T. Powers’ Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) that proposes that the behavior of a living organism lies in the control of perceived aspects of both itself and its environment. Sections cover theory, the application of PCT to a broad range of disciplines, why perceptual control is fundamental to understanding human nature, a new way to do research on brain processes and behavior, how the role of natural selection in behavior can be demystified, how engineers can emulate human purposeful behavior in robots, and much more.

Each chapter includes an author biography to set the context of their work within the development of PCT.

• Presents case studies that show how PCT can be applied in different disciplines
• Illustrates the Test for the Controlled Variable (TCV) and the construction of functional models as fruitful alternatives to mainstream experimental design when studying behavior
• Shows how theory illuminates structure and functions in brain anatomy
• Compares and contrasts PCT with other contemporary, interdisciplinary theories

Researchers and students in psychology, neuroscience, engineering, sociology, ethology, computer science, evolutionary biology, linguistics, robotics, and artificial intelligence

1. Introduction: World Class Perspectives on PCT
   2. Understanding Purposeful Systems: Engineering versus Psychological Approaches to Control
   3. The Crisis in Neuroscience
   4. The Phylogeny, Ontogeny, Causation and Function of Regression Periods Explained by Reorganizations of the Hierarchy of Perceptual Control Systems
   5. How the Brain Gets a Roaring Campfire: Structuring for Perceptual Results - Part 1
   6. How the Brain Gets a Roaring Campfire: Input and Output Functions - Part 2
   7. Perceptual Control Theory and the Equilibrium Point Model of Motor Control
   8. Unravelling the Dynamics of Dyadic Interactions: Perceptual Control in Animal Contests
   9. When Causation Does Not Imply Correlation: Robust Violations of the Faithfulness Axiom
   10. A PCT Perspective on Sociology
   11. Perceptual Control in Cooperative Interaction
   12. Language and Thought as the Control of Perception
   13. Perceptions of Control Theory in Organizational Psychology
   14. How and Why We Use Method of Levels Therapy
   15. Robots in the Real World
   16. PCT and Beyond: Toward a Computational Framework for ‘Intelligent’ Systems
   17. Ten Vital Elements of Perceptual Control Theory: Tracing the Pathway from Implicit Influence to Mainstream Science