The Interdisciplinary Handbook of Perceptual Control Theory: Living Control Systems IV

by Warren Mansell (Editor)

Overview

Interdisciplinary Handbook of Perceptual Control Theory Volume II: Living in the Loop 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

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780128189498
Publisher:	Elsevier Science & Technology Books
Publication date:	05/16/2020
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	680
File size:	47 MB
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About the Author

Dr. Mansell has written over sixty interdisciplinary publications on perceptual control theory, has convened three international conferences on PCT, and hosts a website pctweb.org that has received over 35,000 views since its inception in 2009. His work on PCT has appeared on UK national television, in science museums, and online newspaper and magazine articles. He has authored and edited various books, including: Coping with Fears and Phobias (2007), A Transdiagnostic Approach to CBT using Method of Levels Therapy (2012), Principles-Based Counselling and Psychotherapy (2015), Oxford Guide to Metaphors in CBT (2010), and The Bluffer’s Guide to Psychology (2006).

Table of Contents

Part I Why do we need perceptual control theory? 1. The world according to PCT 2. Understanding purposeful systems: the application of control theory in engineering and psychology 3. The crisis in neuroscience 4. When causation does not imply correlation: robust violations of the faithfulness axiom Part II Models of brain and behavior 5. Unraveling the dynamics of dyadic interactions: perceptual control in animal contests 6. How the brain gets a roaring campfire: Structuring for Perceptual Results 7. How the brain gets a roaring campfire: input and output functions 8. The phylogeny, ontogeny, causation and function of regression periods explained by reorganizations of the hierarchy of perceptual control systems Part III Collective control and communication 9. Social structure and control: perceptual control theory and the science of sociology 10. Perceptual control in cooperative interaction 11. Language and thought as control of perception Part IV Applications 12. Perceptions of control theory in industrial-organizational psychology: disturbances and counter-disturbances 13. Method of Levels Therapy 14. Robotics in the real world: the perceptual control theory approach 15. PCT and beyond: toward a computational framework for 'intelligent' communicative systems Part V Synthesis 16. Ten vital elements of perceptual control theory, tracing the pathway from implicit influence to scientific advance

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

Comprehensive reference on a model of behavior applied to myriad areas of research in psychology, neuroscience, engineering and computer science

Editorial Reviews

"This is a marvelous book. It serves as a tribute to Bill Powers, as the father of PCT (now grandfather, as he himself says), and as a comprehensive overview of the history, theory and application of PCT within the social and natural sciences. The subject range is vast, from neurodynamics to organizational psychology, from animal contests to psychotherapy, with each chapter beautifully judged in terms of coverage and detail. The Interdisciplinary Handbook of Perceptual Control Theory thus makes the strongest possible case for PCT as both a unifying theory within psychology, and a bridge to other disciplines. Everyone involved in its production should be congratulated, and everyone else should read it." —Louise Barrett, FRSC, Professor of Psychology, Canada Research Chair in Cognition, Evolution and Behaviour, Department of Psychology, University of Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada

"More than a century after John Dewey's insight that the response is not merely to the stimulus but it is into it, William Powers' community continues to challenge the "central dogma" of behavioral neuroscience: stimulus, then processing and, finally, response. While defining behavior as output is a form of covert anthropomorphism, conceiving behavior as control of perception better respects the nature of life and mind." —Alex Gomez-Marin, Principal Investigator, Behaviour of Organisms Laboratory Cellular and Systems Neurobiology Unit Instituto de Neurociencias CSIC-UMH, Alicante, Spain

"Perceptual control theory is a fascinating, complex, and profoundly fertile understanding of human being that combines scientific rigour with a deeply humanistic ethos. This interdisciplinary handbook is a much needed resource which pulls together contemporary thinking and research in the field. Ranging from robotics to neuroscience to psychotherapy, the book will be of great value to those who want to deepen their understanding of this unique approach and apply its insight to the fields of psychological and social practices." —Mick Cooper, Professor of Counselling Psychology, Department of Psychology, University of Roehampton, London, UK

"This powerful volume is the amplifying extension of Bill Powers’ legacy that the academic world has long needed. While other, more popular psychological theories have foundered in the much discussed "replication crisis", this collection of dogged researchers, and others like them, have quietly and persistently been piling up increasing evidence of the profound explanatory power nestled within the elegant simplicity of PCT. Skillfully curated by editor, Mansell, the rigour of their revolutionary work across a wide spectrum of fields within the biological and social sciences stands as compelling evidence that PCT is no longer simply an idea whose "time has come", but is, rather, a powerful field of application that has well and truly "arrived"." —Tom Scholte, Professor, Department of Theatre and Film, The University of British Columbia

From the Publisher