Looking at Behavior through Control Theory Glasses

Behavior is always seen through the theoretical preferences of the observer. These preferences act like different prescriptions for glasses. The most popular glasses use the causal theory prescription, through which an organism's behavior appears to be the result of external or internal causes. This article describes glasses that use the less familiar control theory prescription, through which behavior looks like the organism's purposeful efforts to control its own perceptions. The consequences of looking at the same behavior through these different “glasses” are demonstrated by comparing examples of real-life behavior with the behavior of computer simulations available on the Internet. A method is described that makes it possible to determine which “glasses” provide the best view of any particular example of behavior.