Summary of the Basic Concepts of Perceptual Control Theory (PCT) Video

 Engineers in the 30s wanted to build a machine that would imitate what a person does when the person achieves a goal, when a person is controlling.
 Examples of machines that show control are the toilet, the temperature control system in a house, the autopilot in a plane, and the speed control in a car.
 There was a computer demo which consisted of a display which changed spontaneously in three different ways as determined by the computer program. A person could control one aspect of the display at any one time, but not the other two. The movement of a mouse up and down was used to control one aspect of the display. The same action results in controlling different aspects of the display depending on what the person wants to control. This demo shows that the person selects what is to be controlled. PCT emphasizes experiences and the control of experiences. Actions are the means of achieving control, but are not the major object of interest as they are in behavioral psychology. Actions are part of the control process.
 A simple example was given of how the experience of the same objective stimulus depends on the point of view of the person. Hold out your hand. Describe it to yourself in detail. Ask the person opposite to you to describe your hand in detail. Compare the descriptions. Are they the same?
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