FEEDBACK (Self-normative)
| Collection | International Encyclopedia of Systems and Cybernetics |
|---|---|
| Year | 2004 |
| Vol. (num.) | 2(1) |
| ID | ◀ 1258 ▶ |
| Object type | General information |
A learning process by which the trainee corrects and restricts its or his/her repertory of actions by perception of its or his/her own performance.
A bird who is learning to sing “must be able to hear itself during the motor development phase (period during which it produces a ”pre-song“). If it is deprived of hearing before the beginning of the ”pre-song“, it cannot harmonize its vocal production with what it recorded of its species one. It can then produce only a variable song, unstructured and devoid of all the characteristics proper of its species” (J.W. CLARK, 1972, p.468).
This seems to be a very general feature of learning, as shown for example by the inhability of the “wolf-children” to learn correctly a human language when isolated from humans for too long a period. It seems also to be related to the concept of constraint (ASHBY): any learning is at least in some respects a constraining algorithmization of potentially much more extended capabilities.