CORRELATION (Potential directive)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 731 ▶ |
| Object type | General information, Methodology or model |
Aptitude for reciprocal control interactions, which are activated only when certain environmental variations make it necessary.
This type of correlation appears for example when a hungry animal reaches a state of alertness and starts to run after a prey. G. SOMMERHOFF writes, moreover:“An animal in a state of alertness is not just in a state of potential activity, but of potential activity of a certain kind” (1969, p.192).
According to SOMMERHOFF the concept is no less important in order to explain search or impulsive behavior, or social integration. In this last case, he emphasizes the fact that social cohesion refers not only to what components are doing in general, but to what they should do if some specific situation should happen. He gives the following example: “A patriot is not a patriot so much by virtue of what he does at every moment of his daily routine, but by virtue of what he would do in certain special contingencies, as in a case of a national emergency” (p.193).