Making Sense of Behavior: The Meaning of Control

by William T. Powers

Making Sense of Behavior, The Meaning of Control by William T. Powers is a profound and sometimes funny introduction to control theory as applied to the behavior of living things.

Written for the common reader, MSOB demonstrates how "living control systems" really behave and interact. Deliberately simple examples peel back the layers of Powers' Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) to reveal its universal truths.

PCT is taught in the Life Science disciplines in a growing number of universities worldwide. Practical PCT applications continue to multiply: the study of infants (Netherlands); the turnaround of troubled schools (USA, Australia), Leadership Training (USA, Canada).

Genres: Psychology, Business, Nonfiction, Science, Self Help, Leadership, Philosophy

180 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 1998

About the author

William T. Powers (August 29, 1926 – May 24, 2013) was a medical physicist, science fiction author, and an independent scholar of experimental and theoretical psychology.

Powers developed the perceptual control theory (PCT) model of behavior as the control of perception. PCT demonstrates and explains how rather than controlling their behavioral outputs, living things vary their behavior as the means of controlling their sensory inputs (perceptions). Living control systems differ from those specified by Engineering control theory (a thermostat is a simple example), for which the reference value (setpoint) for control is specified outside the system by what is called the controller, whereas in living systems the reference variable for each feedback control loop in a control hierarchy is generated within the system, usually as a function of error output from a higher-level system or systems. Powers and his students and colleagues in diverse fields have developed many demonstrations of negative feedback control, and computer models or simulations that replicate observed and measured behavior of living systems (human and animal, individuals and groups of individuals) with a very high degree of fidelity (0.95 or better), and corresponding control structures have been demonstrated neurophysiologically.

Powers also designed the board game Trippples, produced by Aladdin Industries and granted US Patent 3,820,791 in 1974.

Reviews

[Jonathan Collins · Rating 1 out of 5]

Bought this book a while back as part of reading through the Personal MBA reading list. They are now selling this book for $100 since it is out of print. At least I can sell the book for a good profit.

The author tries hard to apply engineering concepts to the way people think. It's an interesting analogy but that's where it ends. ~135 pages that would be better served as a 5 min Ted Talk.

[Eric Meschke · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sort of an interesting book, a 90s type book based on a scientific theory of behavior principles (as opposed to a psychological one). I think it is loosely related to the 60s theory of cybernetics, which was always kind of interesting but never went anywhere.

The crux of the book is that there are modular "control systems" that chain together in a human, from low level like neuro-muscular to highest level like ethics. Each is modular in the sense that they specify an optimal state and a perception of the distance from the optimal state. Importantly, they are independent of each other, except for being hierarchical.

Overall a reasonable theory to think about, and it seems like something that would come into play with a lot of robot/computer automation. This book/theory is a bit older though, so if in fact it is necessary in modern robotics/computer automation it is likely there is something more formal along the same lines.

[Maggie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A book they changed how I perceived the world. Understand why internal and interpersonal conflicts occur and how to resolve them.

[Sophie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Sweet story and quick read. Loved all the poetry woven throughout.

[May Ling · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book covered the meaning of control and was a quick read. I liked the idea of what he's trying to say, i.e. control has psychological and physiological. Dividing it up in this manner makes it easier to really appreciate the varying layers of control in the human mind. For example, in the role of conflict, the way he describes the levels of physical and mental control and the corresponding conflict between individuals and within the self. Interesting.

He also discusses issues with reward as a controlling method. It's less that the work is profound and more that it just brings to light a concisely and articulately the topic, for further discussion. It's what I needed for this time.

[Samtuga]

i want to know the sence of behaviour