Examples of everyday control: spreadsheet

[From Rupert Young (2015.11.07 17.00)]

(Rick Marken (2015.10.27.1010)]

Did you manage to have a look through these, and spot my deliberate
mistakes?
Anyhoo, here’s some more. When you start looking there are quite a
few, maybe more than a dozen even! I’ve added a comments column.
Rupert

Behavior Is Control.xlsx (73.2 KB)

···
          RM: Thanks Rupert. I've incorporated your spreadsheet

entries (including the new “Context” column) into the
“Behavior as Control” spreadsheet. I’ll start going over
them as soon as I can and give you some comments.

Contributor
Date
Behavior
Controlled
Variable(s)
Reference
State
Means
Disturbances
Type
Context
Comments
RY
05/11/2015
Summoning a
lift
Positon of
lift
Same floor
Push lift
button
Number of
other people using lift
Relationship
Pushing a lift
button

RY
05/11/2015
Summoning a
lift
Positon of
lift
Same floor
Tell someone
else to push lift button
Number of
other people using lift
Relationship
Pushing a lift
button
I noticed a
mother and toddler at a lift. The mother asked the child to
push the lift button, which she did. The child noticed that
the button light turned red.
RY
05/11/2015
Pushing a
lift button
Status of
button light
Turns red
Press finger
on button
Resistance of
button
Intensity
Pushing a lift
button

RY
05/11/2015
Pushing a
lift button
Status of
button light
Stays red
Press finger
on button
Position of
lift, resistance of button
Intensity
Pushing a lift
button
When the lift
reached the floor the light went off and the child pressed the button so
that it went red again. It stayed red only briefly and went
off again, so the child kept pressing the button to keep the
red light on. When the child first pressed the button and
noticed it turning red she acquired a new reference, which
she had not previously had, for making the button light red;
which had nothing to do with lifts of obeying her mother.

[From Rick Marken (2015.11.07.1650)]

Rupert Young (2015.11.07 17.00)]

RY: Did you manage to have a look through these, and spot my deliberate mistakes?

RM: Not yet. And I’m getting a little pessimistic about this project anyway I was going to write an article based on the “Behavior is Control” spreadsheet to show that what psychologists have been calling “behavior” is a process of control (controlled variable, reference state, means (action) and disturbances). And that therefore the only appropriate theory of behavior is control theory. But since I apparently am making no headway on this even with PCTers it seems like it would just be a fools errand to try to convince non-PCT psychologists that this is the case.

RY: Anyhoo, here’s some more. When you start looking there are quite a few, maybe more than a dozen even! I’ve added a comments column.

RM: Thanks Rupert. I will go over all of these as soon as possible (like tomorrow maybe). I think they will provide a good basis for discussion, even if I’m only discussing it with myself;-)

Best

Rick

···

RM: Thanks Rupert. I’ve incorporated your spreadsheet entries (including the new “Context” column) into the “Behavior as Control” spreadsheet. I’ll start going over them as soon as I can and give you some comments.

Richard S. Marken

www.mindreadings.com
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble

[From Rupert Young (2015.11.22 12.45)]

Behavior Is Control1.xlsx (74.2 KB)

···

On 08/11/2015 00:56, Richard Marken wrote:
RM: Thanks Rupert. I will go over all of these as soon as
possible (like tomorrow maybe). I think they will provide a good
basis for discussion, even if I’m only discussing it with
myself;-)

    RY: Are you up to date with the marking? Here's some more.

RY
13/11/2015
Conversing
with another person
Proximity
to person
Comfortable
level of proximity
Move body
backwards or forwards
Position
of other person, bad breath
Relationship
Closeness
to conversing partner
When
talking face-to-face with another person we generally
have a level of proximity with which we feel
comfortable. And that level may depend upon the who we
are talking to. Other people may have their own level,
which may be less than ours, in which case we may find
ourselves backing off while the other person keeps
moving accordingly. If you’ve never experienced that
then you’re the one who’s too close!
RY
13/11/2015
Sweetening
tea
Sweetness
of tea
My
sweetness taste
Add sugar
to tea
Strength
of sugar, amount of liquid
Intensity
Taste

RY
13/11/2015
Buying
oranges
Number of
oranges
Particular
number of oranges
Put
oranges in basket

Intensity
Shopping
The
reference for the number of oranges may have been
acquired from another person as in, ‘go to the shop and
buy me 3 oranges’
RY
13/11/2015
Typing
word
Sequence
of letters
Particular
sequence
Type
letters in order
Speed of
typing
Sequence
Typing

RY
13/11/2015
Reading
newspaper
Political
or social perspective
Particular
perspective
Read
particular newspaper
Change of
newspaper’s viewpoint
Principles
Media
consuming
You read
newspapers which fit in with and maintain your own world
view. For example, if you are anti-immigration you are
likely to consume any Murdoch media outlet.
RY
22/11/2015
Playing a
guitar note
Pureness
of note
No buzzing
Press
down on chord string
String
tension
Intensity
Music

    Rupert

[From Rick Marken (2015.11.22.1105)]

···

Rupert Young (2015.11.22 12.45)

    RY: Are you up to date with the marking? Here's some more.

RM: Thanks again Rupert. I was thinking of revising the spreadsheet to include videos. But I’ll keep the “Behavior is control” spreadsheet up to date and edit it someday. I’ve added your new entries. The current version is at:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JmS6tOjt_nvrpmD5sGySwup0ZZCU_hYtZqlHxW80dME/edit#gid=0

RM: People can enter things there themselves if they like.

Best

Rick

Richard S. Marken

www.mindreadings.com
Author of Doing Research on Purpose.
Now available from Amazon or Barnes & Noble