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Control of Perception Should be Operationalised as a Fundamental Property of the Nervous System
Mansell, W
Topics in Cognitive Science. 2011;3:257-261.
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Abstract
This commentary proposes that ‘cognitive control’ is neither componential nor emergent, but a fundamental feature of behavior. The term ‘control’ requires an operational definition. This is best provided by the negative feedback loop which utilises behavior to control perception; it does not control behavior per se. In order to model complex cognitive control, Perceptual Control Theory proposes that loops are organised into a dissociable hierarchical network (PCT; Powers, Clark, & McFarland, 1960; Powers, 1973; 2008). In this way, behavior is dynamically adaptive to environmental disturbances, rather than being formed by, or superimposed upon, learned associations between stimulus and response.