[From Rick Marken (930927.1200)]
I am planning to write a paper describing "The Test"
as a new basis for studying the behavior of living
systems. I am looking for examples of existing
research that have used some version of "The Test",
even (especially) if it was not explicitly carried out
within the framework of PCT (this eliminates, for example,
the work of the Plooij's on chimp behavior). A couple of
purported examples of non-PCT based implementations
of "The Test" have been mentioned recently on the net;
specifically, the Allen and Jex study mentioned by
Chris Wickens (he said, in a private post, that he would
send me a copy of the article) and Harris' "pair test"
mentioned by Bruce Nevin (I asked Bruce for a description
but have, as yet, not received one). These examples of
"The Test" need not be based on intentional manipulation of
disturbances --though I think they should involve a rel-
atively clear hypothesis about the controlled variable.
They could involve looking at the behavior of possible
controlled variables in the context of natural disturbance
variations.
Chuck Tucker (in a private post) mentioned Piaget as
a possibility -- and from what I recall of his
methods Piaget's was doing something very much like
"The Test". In his "conservation of liquid volume"
studies, for example, the hypothetical controlled
variable for a non-conserver was "relative height" and
the experimenter would disturb this variable (by pouring
into different shaped vessels) to see if the kid stuck
with the "taller" liquid.
Descriptions of ANY other possible examples of "The Test"
would be much appreciated. I think any proposed examples
would be worth discussion on the Net becuase it would
help everyone (including myself) get a better grasp of
the PHENOMENON that PCT is designed to explain -- CONTROL.
By focusing on control, we would also be increasing
the relevence of this discussion to those who work out
there in the real world -- where the rubber meets the road.
Best
Rick