Context: what's going on; what the situation is:
The resident is holding her hand over her nose as I am talking to her.
Proposed controlled variable (CV):
My breath has an unpleasant odor, probably from a cold I am fighting or
from a special diet I am following this day.
Proposed reference state: No unpleasant odor at all.
Disturbance: what I can do to vary the CV:
I can move farther away from her.
Rationale: what makes this a disturbance:
The intensity of the odor should reduce with increased distance.
Predicted behavior: what should happen to the suspected controlled
variable if it is actually under control:
She should stop holding her hand over her nose as she talks to me.
Observation: what actually happens when each disturbance is applied:
This is what happens.
Conclusion: She is controlling for the odor by holding her hand over
her nose.
Note: Actually, when I saw her do this unusual action. I asked her
what was going on that she was holding her hand this way and she
explained. I increased my distance and she stopped doing this action.
···
From: David Goldstein
Subject: phenomena--3rd example
Date: 09/03/97