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Perceptual control theory
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<p>Perceptual control theory (PCT) is a model of <a href="/facts/Behavior/0Y1VqmVX">behavior</a> based on the properties of <a href="/facts/Negative_feedback/G9byVgpN">negative feedback</a> control loops. A control loop maintains a sensed variable at or near a reference value by means of the effects of its outputs upon that variable, as mediated by physical properties of the environment. In <a href="/facts/Control_theory/aIuERpn6">engineering control theory</a>, reference values are set by a user outside the system. An example is a thermostat. In a living organism, reference values for controlled perceptual variables are endogenously maintained. Biological <a href="/facts/Homeostasis/rloTGAHa">homeostasis</a> and <a href="/facts/Reflex/codE8Eff">reflexes</a> are simple, low-level examples. The discovery of mathematical principles of control introduced a way to model a negative feedback loop closed through the environment (circular causation), which spawned perceptual control theory. It differs fundamentally from some models in <a href="/facts/Behavioral_psychology/8DHljqrh">behavioral</a> and <a href="/facts/Cognitive_psychology/GnzIgx2I">cognitive psychology</a> that model <a href="/facts/Stimulus_(psychology)/el6C43FY">stimuli</a> as causes of behavior (linear causation). PCT research is published in <a href="/facts/Experimental_psychology/sFaxwsJo">experimental psychology</a>, <a href="/facts/Neuroscience/o5RV8Cas">neuroscience</a>, <a href="/facts/Ethology/dM3CpysA">ethology</a>, <a href="/facts/Anthropology/W6WK1C3a">anthropology</a>, <a href="/facts/Linguistics/oQuamvf2">linguistics</a>, <a href="/facts/Sociology/d2Fd0N87">sociology</a>, <a href="/facts/Robotics/wkmvodJz">robotics</a>, <a href="/facts/Developmental_psychology/Myy826TQ">developmental psychology</a>, <a href="/facts/Organizational_psychology/E5VJQ4Pu">organizational psychology</a> and management, and a number of other fields. PCT has been applied to design and administration of educational systems, and has led to a psychotherapy called the <a href="/facts/Method_of_levels/eWakgwDF">method of levels</a>. </p>