INTRO TO CSGnet & PCT

[from Gary Cziko 920611.1324]

The following is an introduction to CSGnet and PCT compiled by Dag Forssell
and revised by me. To keep its length reasonable, I have deleted some
information provided by Dag and I propose that he and I as well as any
other interested parties work up a final form at the meeting in Durango. I
also plan to eventually add more information about programs and text files
available via Bill Silvert's file server. I will also eventually add
information about how to deal with the listserver in order to do things
obtain archive files, have your mail stopped, etc.

Any comments about this introduction would be appreciated and should be
sent to both Dag <4742580@mcimail.com> and me <g-cziko@uiuc.edu>.

I plan to post this introduction once a month in addition to sending it
directly to new subscribers to CSGnet. Since I have now way of knowing who
is using Usenet (NetNews) to access CSGnet, posting this introduction
periodically is the only way of providing an introduction to CSGnet for
those using Usenet (NetNews). CSGnetters not needing an introduction may
nevertheless with to consult the section describing files available on the
fileserver since this will be regularly updated.--Gary

···

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INTRODUCTION TO THE CONTROL SYSTEMS GROUP NETWORK (CSGnet)

This introduction to the Control Systems Network (CSGnet) provides (Control
Systems Group net) provides
information about:

   Why you might want to read CSGnet
   Our subject matter: The control paradigm
   The purpose of CSGnet
   CSGnet participants
   The evolution of the control paradigm
   How to obtain text and program files
   How to ask effective questions
   Demonstrating the Phenomenon of Perceptual Control
   The Control Systems Group
   Literature references

WHY YOU MIGHT READ THE CSGnet

If you are curious about things that are new and exciting...
If you are dissatisfied with the explanations (or the lack thereof)
   in many of the "soft" life sciences and would like a more rigorous
   approach that has more power of explanation...
If you insist on thinking things through for yourself rather than accept
   what the establishment feeds you....

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
OUR SUBJECT MATTER: THE CONTROL PARADIGM

Human control is the primary subject of CSGnet, but all forms of control
are game. Here is a brief introduction by the primary creator and
promoter of the application of the control paradigm to living systems,
William T. Powers:

There have been two paradigms in the behavioral sciences since the
1600's. One was the idea that events impinging on organisms make them
behave as they do. The other, which was developed in the 1930s, is
PERCEPTUAL CONTROL THEORY (PCT).

Perceptual Control Theory explains how organisms control what happens to
them. This means all organisms from the amoeba to humankind.

It explains why one organism can't control another without physical
violence.

It explains why people deprived of any major part of their ability to
control soon become dysfunctional, lose interest in life, pine away and
die.

It explains what a goal is, how goals relate to action, how action
affects perceptions and how perceptions define the reality in which we
live and move and have our being.

Perceptual Control Theory is the first scientific theory that can handle
all these phenomena within a single, TESTABLE concept of how living
systems work.

            William T. Powers, November 3, 1991
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

THE PURPOSE OF CSGnet:

CSGnet provides a forum for development of PCT in considerable detail,
applications and testing of PCT and the dissemination of PCT to any and
all who have a sincere interest in how organisms work.

CSGnet PARTICIPANTS

Many interests and backgrounds are represented here. Psychology,
Sociology, Linguistics, Artificial Intelligence, Robotics, Social Work,
Social Control, Modeling and Testing. All are represented and discussed.
A challenging quality of participants on this net is that most are
prepared to question and re-consider what they think they know, even if
it requires that a LOT of previous learning be rejected.

THE EVOLUTION OF THE CONTROL PARADIGM

The PCT paradigm originates in 1927, when Harold Black invented the
negative feedback amplifier, which is a control device. This invention
led to the development of purposeful machines. Purposeful machines have
built-in intent to achieve consistent ends by variable means under
changing conditions. Examples are the heating system in your home, which
keeps the indoor temperature constant despite the changing seasons and
opening doors and the cruise control in your car, which keeps the speed
constant despite changing road conditions.

The first use of this concept to better understand people was suggested
in 1957 in a paper entitled "A General Feedback Theory of Human Behavior"
by McFarland, Powers and Clark. In 1973 William T. (Bill) Powers
published a seminal book called "Behavior: the Control of Perception,"
which still is the major reference for PCT. See literature below.

This book spells out a complete model of how the human brain and nervous
system works like a living perceptual control system. Our brain can be
viewed as a system that controls its own perceptions. This view suggests
explanations for many previously mysterious aspects of how people
interact with their world.

Since 1973 an acceptance of Perceptual Control Theory has begun to emerge
among a few psychologists, scientists and other interested people. The
result is that an association has been formed (the Control System Group),
several books published, this net set up for communication and that a
dozen professors are teaching PCT in American universities today.

HOW TO OBTAIN TEXT AND PROGRAM FILES

A number of documents and computer programs are available on a fileserver
maintained by Bill Silvert. Although it is possible to obtain these files
via e-mail, it is far easier to obtain binary program files via anonymous
FTP. The Internet address for the machine is BIOME.BIO.NS.CA. CSGnet
files are kept in the subdirectory pub/csg. Here is a listing and brief
description of some of the files available.

dem1a.exe Powers's demonstration of the phenomenon of control;
                  self-extracting archive for MS-DOS + mouse
dem2a.exe Powers's demonstration of the control theory model
                  self-extracting archive for MS-DOS + mouse
biblio.pct Williams PCT Bibliography; Text
blindmen.doc Marken Paper 1992; Text
marken.bhx Marken spreadsheet of hierarchical control;
                    Lotus spreadsheet in BinHex form for MS-DOS
marken.doc Marken paper describing spreadsheet; Text
marken.wk1 Marken Spreadsheet Model; Lotus format for MS-DOS

NOTE: Any file not indicated as text should be transferred as a binary
file.

Any TEXT file can also be obtained via e-mail by sending a request to the
address SERVER@BIOME.BIO.NS.CA. For example, to get Williams's
bibliography, send a message to the SERVER and include this command as the
first line of the message:

get biblio.pct

The file will then be sent to you via e-mail.

HOW TO ASK EFFECTIVE QUESTIONS

Since PCT puts much conventional, well established wisdom on its head,
it is very helpful to begin by demonstrating the phenomenon of control
to yourself and studying a few references. It is helpful to study systems
and control in general in addition to the texts that focus on PCT. As you
catch on to what this is about, read this net and follow a thread that
interests you for a month or more.

When you ask a question, please consider that in order to give you a good
answer, a respondent will need to put your question in context.

Therefore, please introduce yourself with a statement of your
professional interests and background. It will be helpful if you spell
out what parts of the demonstrations, introductory papers and references
you have taken the time to digest and what you learned.

People on this net are in various stages of learning and understanding
PCT. When you get a reply to your post, please consider that the
respondent who found your question of interest and invested time in a
reply, may benefit from knowing how you perceived the answer. Did it
answer your question? Was it clear? Were you able to understand it?

DEMONSTRATING THE PHENOMENON OF CONTROL

The phenomenon of control is largely unrecognized in science today. It
is not well understood in important aspects even by many control
engineers. Yet the phenomenon of control, when it is recognized and
understood, provides a powerful enhancement to scientific perspectives.

It is essential to recognize this phenomenon before ANY of the discourse
on CSGnet will make any sense.

Please download the introductory demonstration dem1a.exe.

THE CONTROL SYSTEMS GROUP

Serious enthusiasts of PCT have formed the Control Systems Group. This
group meets once a year (1992: July 29-Aug 1) in Durango, Colorado, for
informal presentations and exchanges. The group also publishes threads
from this net. For membership information download the file csg.doc (not
yet available as of June 11, 1992; soon to be).

LITERATURE REFERENCES

For a complete list of CSG-related publications, get the file biblio.pct
from the fileserver as described above. Here are some selected, books on
perceptual control theory.

Powers, William T., Behavior: The Control of Perception. Hawthorne, NY:
Aldine DeGruyter, 1973, 296 pages. The foundation of PCT! A seminal
book.

Robertson, Richard J. and Powers, William T., editors. INTRODUCTION TO
MODERN PSYCHOLOGY; The Control Theory view. Gravel Switch, KY: The
Control Systems Group, 1990, 238 pages. Textbook on psychology for
universities. Highly recommended.

William T. Powers, LIVING CONTROL SYSTEMS: Selected Papers. Gravel
Switch, KY: The Control Systems Group, 1989, 300 pages. A collection of
previously published papers.

William T. Powers, LIVING CONTROL SYSTEMS II: Selected Papers. Gravel
Switch, KY: The Control Systems Group, 1992, ??? pages. A collection of
previously unpublished papers.

Marken, Richard S., editor. PURPOSEFUL BEHAVIOR: The Control Theory
approach. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications: American Behavioral
Scientist, special issue. Vol. 34, Number 1. September/October 1990. 11
articles, 16 contributors, 121 pages. A very readable introduction to
a science of purpose and supportive research. Highly recommended.

Runkel, Philip J., CASTING NETS AND TESTING SPECIMENS. New York: Praeger,
1990, 186 pages. Contrasting the proper and improper uses of statistics
with modeling for understanding and prediction of people as well as
processes. Highly relevant to TQM efforts!

Hershberger, Wayne, editor, VOLITIONAL ACTION, CONATION AND CONTROL.
Advances in Psychology 62. NY: North-Holland, 1989. 25 chapters, 33
contributors, 572 pages.

Ford, Edward E., FREEDOM FROM STRESS. Scottsdale AZ: Brandt Publishing,
1989, 184 pages. A highly readable introduction to PCT and a personal
problem solving guide. The most accessible text available. Written as a
comprehensive counseling story anyone can relate to.

Gibbons, Hugh, THE DEATH OF JEFFREY STAPLETON; Exploring the Way Lawyers
Think. Concord NH: Franklin Pierce Law Center, 1990, 197 pages. Textbook
for law students which spells out how lawyers think by explaining and
using a PCT framework.

McClelland, Kent, PERCEPTUAL CONTROL AND SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY. 1991. This
unpublished paper suggests that individual control as a phenomenon is
central to understanding sociology. <st>

McPhail, Clark, THE MYTH OF THE MADDING CROWD. Hawthorne, NY: Aldine de
Gruyter, 1990, 265 pages. Explains group behavior as a function of
purposeful individuals.

Petrie, Hugh G., DILEMMA OF ENQUIRY AND LEARNING. Univ. of Chicago press,
1981. Discusses learning with explicit recognition of PCT insight.

Richardson, George P., FEEDBACK THOUGHT IN SOCIAL SCIENCE AND SYSTEMS
THEORY. Univ. of Pennsylvania Press, 1991, 374 pages. A review of
systems thinking in history, cybernetics, servo mechanisms and social
sciences. Provides a perspective placing PCT in context in relation to
other paradigms of human behavior.

--Dag Forssell with Gary Cziko
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Gary A. Cziko Telephone: (217) 333-4382
Educational Psychology FAX: (217) 244-0538
University of Illinois E-mail: g-cziko@uiuc.edu
1310 S. Sixth Street Radio: N9MJZ
210 Education Building
Champaign, Illinois 61820-6990
USA
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