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'''Perceptual control theory''' ('''PCT''') is a model of [[behavior]] based on the properties of [[negative feedback]] control loops. A control loop maintains a sensed variable at or near a reference value by means of the effects of its outputs upon that variable, as mediated by physical properties of the environment. In [[Control theory|engineering control theory]], reference values are set by a user outside the system. An example is a thermostat. In a living organism, reference values for controlled perceptual variables are endogenously maintained. Biological [[homeostasis]] and [[reflex]]es are simple, low-level examples. The discovery of mathematical principles of control introduced a way to model a negative feedback loop closed through the environment (circular causation), which differs fundamentally from theories of [[behaviorism]] and [[cognitive psychology]] which model stimuli as causes of behavior (linear causation). PCT research is published in [[experimental psychology]], [[neuroscience]], [[ethology]], [[anthropology]], [[linguistics]], [[sociology]], [[robotics]], [[developmental psychology]], [[organizational psychology]] and management, and a number of other fields. PCT has been applied to design and administration of educational systems, and has led to a psychotherapy called the [[method of levels]].
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