Identifying PCT Research

[From Bruce Abbott (950510.1530 EST)]

Rick Marken (950509.2120) --

Your criteria for PCT research seem clear [they parallel to some extent my
"Principles of PCT-Guided Research" posted earlier] but could stand to be
reorganized to eliminate redundancy. In the following I quote your
statement and then attempt a summary and, in some cases, clarification.

1. Most important: PCT research is characterized by a vision of
organisms as _controllers_. PCT research sees the organism as a system
that is controlling it's own perceptual inputs. PCT researchers want to
find out what the organism is trying to perceive; they want to see the
world from the organism's perspective. In PCT research, the term
"controlling variables" always refers to what organisms do to variables
in the environment, NOT what variables in the environment do to
organisms.

PCT research acknowledges that organisms act as controllers of their own
perceptual inputs.

PCT research is aimed at determining what perceptions the organism is trying
to perceive.

PCT research identifies what behavior does to environmental variables, not
what environmental variables do to behavior.

2. PCT research is always characterized by a determination of the
variable(s) being controlled by the organism. There is always evidence
that disturbances to some result of an organism's actions have almost
no effect on that result. All analysis and modelling is done after a
controlled variable has been identified and while it is being monitored.

PCT research is aimed at determining what the organism is trying to
perceive, by applying the Test.

After the controlled perception has been identified and monitored, analysis
is done and control models constructed which appear to satisfactorily
account for performance on the test task.

3. PCT research is aimed at finding _lack_ of effect of environmental
variables on behavioral variables. Behavioral variables (like arm
position) are possibly controlled results of action; lack of effect of an
environmental variable on a behavioral variable suggests that the
behavioral variable is under control.

PCT research is aimed at identifying controlled perceptions via the Test,
i.e., the organism's response to the disturbance of those variables. If the
action counteracts the disturbance, the variable on which the disturbance
acts is controlled.

4. PCT research always looks at controlling on a one-organism-at-a-time basis.
Statistical tests are of no use in the study of living control systems; PCT
research is based on modelling, not statistics.

PCT research is single-subject research.

In PCT research, models of the control system are constructed; the adequacy
of these models is assessed by comparing the model's performance to that of
experimental participants, not by statistical hypothesis testing.

5. Published PCT research is always significant (in the normal sense
and the statistical sense). PCT research is significant if a controlled
variable has been identified and can be monitored. PCT research is not
published unless a controlled variable has been identified. PCT research
is not of the "manipulate and pray for statistical significance" variety.
PCT researchers keep developing their research techniques until controlled
variables can be clearly identified and readily monitored. PCT researchers
only publish their results when they KNOW what's being controlling and how.

PCT research is successful if it identifies and successfully monitors a
controlled variable. PCT research is published only if a controlled
variable has been experimentally identified and a plausible control model
has been developed to account for the behavior of the participants on the
experimental task.

Statistical hypothesis testing plays no role in the evaluation of the
research findings.

Do those restatements accurately reflect your intended meanings? Is there
anything left out? Also, would you consider research on, e.g., the control
mechanisms responsible for eyelid positioning and the eyeblink as PCT
research? (The above criteria certainly would seem to include such research.)

Regards,

Bruce