Perceptual Control Theory - Current Situation and Prospects

Current Situation and Prospects

Perceptual control theory currently proposes a hierarchy of 11 levels of perceptions controlled by systems in the human mind and neural architecture. These are: intensity, sensation, configuration, transition, event, relationship, category, sequence, program, principle, and system concept. Diverse perceptual signals at a lower level (e.g. visual perceptions of intensities) are combined in an input function to construct a single perception at the higher level (e.g. visual perception of a color sensation). The perceptions that are constructed and controlled at the lower levels are passed along as the perceptual inputs at the higher levels. The higher levels in turn control by telling the lower levels what to perceive: that is, they adjust the reference levels (goals) of the lower levels.

While many computer demonstrations of principles have been developed, the proposed higher levels are difficult to model because too little is known about how the brain works at these levels. Isolated higher-level control processes can be investigated, but models of an extensive hierarchy of control are still only conceptual, or at best rudimentary.

Perceptual Control Theory has not been widely accepted in mainstream psychology, but has been effectively used in a considerable range of domains in human factors, clinical psychology, and psychotherapy (the "Method of Levels"), and it has formed the conceptual foundation for the reference model used by a succession of NATO research study groups. It is the basis for a considerable body of research in sociology. It is being taught in several universities worldwide and is the subject of a number of PhD degrees.