[From Rick Marken (961009.0930)]
i.kurtzer (961008.1600) --
see Mind Readings if in doubt. that will be $10 , rick.
The check is in the mail;-)
Tim Carey (961009.1230) --
I would like to travel to the USA...to commence a Phd in either clinical or
educational psychology...I am wondering whether it might not be possible to
do my dissertation on PCT principles.
So far, the only PCT-based theses I know of are some Masters theses done by
students of Tom Bourbon (who is no longer in academia). There are a number of
academic PCT afficionados who are in a position to direct educational or
clinical PhD theses based on PCT. But, for some reason, there have been no
PCT-based PhD theses yet. I suspect it would be very difficult to get a
PCT-based thesis approved by a dissertation committee. I would recommend
doing a conventional thesis (while studying PCT on the side, perhaps) and
starting the real PCT-based work once you are certified by the establishment.
Tim Carey (1009.1400) --
Bourbon writes about the concept of the 'gain' of a control system (p. 34).
Could someone explain this concept a little more please?
In a negative feedback control loop, gain can be thought of as the ability of
error to _reduce itself_. Error causes output that "pushes" on the
controlled perception, reducing error. In general, the higher the gain in
this loop, the more effective the control system at reducing its own error;
that is, the better the control. But the value of high gain also depends
on dynamic characteristics of the loop; for example, how quickly the
instantaneous effect of error propogates around the loop. The faster the
propogation of effects around the loop, the _lower_ the loop gain must be in
order to maintain stability. An unstable control loop overshoots (the
controlled perception is pushed "past" the reference value) or oscillates
(the controlled perception oscillates around the reference value).
I am wondering where feelings and emotions fit into the PCT model.
Bill Powers wrote a chapter on Emotion for "Behavior: The control of
perception" that was finally published in "Living Control Systems II".
Basically, emotions in PCT are perceptions. They are unique perceptions
because they are, apparently, not controllable. Emotions seem to be a
perceptual side effect of control. "Good" emotions result when we suddenly
get a variable under control; "bad" emotions result when we suddenly (or are
about to) lose control. In PCT, "bad" emotions are mainly symptoms of
internal conflict; they result from mustering physiological resources (to do
something like kill an opponent) that are never used because another system
(controlling for non-violence) prevents it; the unused physiological
preparation is experienced as an emotion (like "anger"). "Good" emotions are
symptoms of the sudden (and possibly temporary) solution of a conflict.
Emotions are important to people as evidence of the existence of or solution
to problems; in PCT, emotions are another aspect of controlling.
Best
Rick