Testing the self as a control system: Theoretical and methodological issues

Robertson, Richard J.; Goldstein, David; Mermel, M.; Musgrave, Michael

doi:10.1006/ijhc.1998.0256

Cited by 15 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 15 publications

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“…Vancouver and colleagues (2005) have also interweaved the modeling of discontinuous variables (e.g., the perception of events) into their models of continuous variables. We anticipate that such designs could be applied across social and cognitive psychology; for example, an earlier study utilizing PCT showed that people countertrait words that are disturbances to their self-concept (Robertson, Goldstein, Mermel, & Musgrave, 1999). A future study could construct a computational model of this closed-loop process within individuals and test it against participant data.…”

Section: Evidence For Replication and Robustness Of Pct-informed Methmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Assessment and Modeling of Perceptual Control: A Transformation in Research Methodology to Address the Replication Crisis

Mansell¹,

Huddy

2018

Review of General Psychology

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Replication in the behavioral sciences is a matter of considerable debate. We describe a series of fundamental interrelated conceptual and methodological issues with current research that undermine replication and we explain how they could be addressed. Conceptually, we need a shift (1) from verbally described theories to mathematically specified theories, (2) from lineal stimulus-cognition-response theories to closed-loop theories that model behavior as feeding back to sensory input via the environment, and (3) from theories that 'chunk' responses to theories that acknowledge the continuous, dynamic nature of behavior. A closely related shift in methodology would involve studies that attempt to model each individual's performance as a continuous and dynamic activity within a closed-loop process. We explain how this shift can be made within a single frameworkperceptual control theory-that regards behavior as the control of perceptual input. We report evidence of multiple replication using this approach within visual tracking, and go on to demonstrate in practical research terms how the same overarching principle can guide research across diverse domains of psychology and the behavioral sciences, promoting their coherent integration. We describe ways to address current challenges to this approach and provide recommendations for how researchers can manage the transition.

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Section: Evidence For Replication and Robustness Of Pct-informed Methmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Assessment and Modeling of Perceptual Control: A Transformation in Research Methodology to Address the Replication Crisis

Mansell¹,

Huddy

2018

Review of General Psychology

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“…Two studies involved eliciting participants' own self-descriptive terms and then, in a second stage of the study, describing the participant in terms that contradicted these self-descriptions. In line with the hypothesis that self-image is a controlled variable, the participants attempted to correct the experimenter when the descriptions were inconsistent with their self-image (Robertson et al, 1999).…”

Section: Personality and Social Psychologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Perceptual Control as a Unifying Concept in Psychology

Marken

Mansell

2013

Review of General Psychology

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We show how a control system model of behavior called Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) can provide a unifying framework for research in all traditional areas of psychology-as a basis for building hypotheses, working models, and applications. PCT views behavior, at all levels, as the control of perceptual inputs. This view is virtually the opposite of that of now standard models-exemplified by the General Linear Model-which view behavior as controlled by perceptual inputs. The PCT model calls for a new approach to research that is aimed at discovering the input variables that organisms control, rather than the input variables that control organisms. This new approach, called The Test for the Controlled Variable, can be applied to the study of all aspects of behavior, from motor control to cognitive neuroscience to counseling and clinical psychology.

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“…PCT was developed throughout the 1950s and 1960s by an engineer and medical physicist, William T. Powers (Powers, 1973; Powers et al , 1960). Despite being poorly known within psychology, the theory has led to wide applications throughout the social sciences (Forssell, 2008; Runkel, 2003). PCT takes one key psychological principle and uses this to specify the components of a detailed architecture of the mind.…”

Section: Perceptual Control Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In this way, if one provides a disturbance that leads a controlled variable to diverge from its goal state, the participant will act in a way that opposes that disturbance. For example, one study explored how individuals resisted attempts to describe them using certain traits that could reflect their self-concept (Robertson, Goldstein, Mermel, & Musgrave, 1999). Thus, the TCV takes an opposite stance to the experimental approach through considering the intervention as a disturbance to normally goal-directed action, rather than as an outcome of that intervention.…”

confidence: 99%

A century of psychology and psychotherapy: Is an understanding of control the missing link between theory, research, and practice?

Mansell¹,

Carey²

2009

Psychol Psychother

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'Control' can be defined as the maintenance of a variable within fixed limits despite external disturbances. There is substantial evidence that the experience of loss of control characterizes psychological disorders. Therefore, we take a historical perspective on how modern psychology as a science has attempted to explain the process of control over the last century, beginning with William James's (1890) proposal of the 'pursuance of fixed ends by variable means' as the essence of mentality. We conclude that, after a long diversion from this perspective during the 20th century, recent approaches within psychology are again considering the importance of understanding control. We propose that Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) presents the most focused and applicable account, as characterized by its relevance for psychological therapy in the form of the Method of Levels (MOL). This is a therapeutic technique directed at guiding the client's awareness to the higher level (or meta-) control processes that maintain their current problem of conflict between their personal goals. We cover the emerging evidence base for PCT and MOL and propose that an understanding of control through PCT has the capacity to link theory, research, and practice within the field of psychotherapy.

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Testing the self as a control system: Theoretical and methodological issues

Cited by 15 publications

References 15 publications

The Assessment and Modeling of Perceptual Control: A Transformation in Research Methodology to Address the Replication Crisis

The Assessment and Modeling of Perceptual Control: A Transformation in Research Methodology to Address the Replication Crisis

Perceptual Control as a Unifying Concept in Psychology

A century of psychology and psychotherapy: Is an understanding of control the missing link between theory, research, and practice?

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