Chapel Hill, NC -- (SBWIRE) -- 04/03/2014 -- For twenty-seven years, New View Publications has taught the basic theory – known as Perceptual Control Theory – to K-12 teachers, counselors and managers and changed the principles and applications which are used in education.

With the upcoming July 2014 release of ‘Doing Research on Purpose: A Control Theory Approach to Experimental Psychology’ from Richard S. Marken, New View adds another vital resource to their educational materials.

The book describes a fresh approach to doing experimental research in psychology based on a control theory model of purposeful behavior. Oriented to identifying the purposes, rather than the causes of behavior, the book is a highly accessible way of learning about this new direction for research from the foremost voice in the field.

Synopsis:

This book is the third collection of papers from Richard S. Marken describing a new approach to doing experimental research in psychology based on a control theory model of purposeful behavior. This new approach differs from the current approach in that it is oriented to identifying the purposes rather than the causes of behavior.

The first section describes what purposeful behavior is. The second section gives a rigorous description of the method itself. The third section describes "illusions and confusions" that can result from ignoring the purpose of behavior and the fourth section describes the revolutionary nature of the approach to doing psychological research described in the book.

These papers (most of which appeared in peer reviewed journals) describe in a rigorous but highly accessible manner an important new direction for research aimed at understanding the behavior of living organisms.

As Henry Yin, Duke University Neuroscience Professor, points out in the book’s forward, the importance of this collection cannot be underestimated.

“Some may wonder why, after so many centuries, psychology is still in such an immature state as compared to other sciences, like physics or chemistry. The answer is found in this book. In the field of scientific psychology today, what you will find is not so much science, as the promise of science. However, in this collection, readers will come to learn about psychology as a mature science, and achieve an understanding of the behaviors of other living systems as well as themselves.”

For people who work with people, particularly in education, counselling, therapy and management, it is vital information. Secretary of Education Arnie Duncan recently confirmed that school climate is the most important element in turning low-performing schools into high-performing schools. New View has been a leader in advocating for this idea and in helping educators address it head on.

‘Doing Research on Purpose: A Control Theory Approach to Experimental Psychology’ will be released in July, 2014. For more information, please visit: http://www.newviewpublications.com/publications/theory-foundations

For more information about the author and his work, please visit http://mindreadings.com

About Richard S. Marken, Ph.D.
Richard S. Marken, Ph.D., is a research psychologist, human factors engineer and statistical consultant. He received his BA in psychology (cum laude) from UCLA and his Ph. D. in experimental psychology from UCSB. Dr. Marken was Associate Professor and Chairman of the Department of Psychology at Augsburg College in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he taught courses in introductory psychology, research methods, statistics, mental testing, history of psychology, perception, developmental, control theory, and computer applications. He also consulted at Honeywell, Inc. on statistical, methodological and human factors issues related to workspace design and human- computer interface technology.

Dr. Marken had a 15-year career as an Engineering Specialist at The Aerospace Corporation in El Segundo, CA where he developed methods for rapidly prototyping and evaluating designs for the human-computer interface component of satellite ground control systems. He then spent 5 years as a Senior Behavioral Scientist at the RAND Corporation in Santa Monica, CA where he led research projects on health care quality issues and pilot training system design. Dr. Marken is currently working as a human factors and statistical consultant as well as teaching part-time. He is the author of three books, Methods in Experimental Psychology, (Brooks/Cole, 1981), Mind Readings: Experimental Studies of Purpose (CSG Press, 1992), and More Mind Readings: Methods and Models in the Study of Purpose (New View, 2002), and over 50 papers on control system theory and psychology.