Control-theory models describe self-regulation as a feedback process in which discrepancies between a current state and a reference state guide adjustment.

This page isolates one claim from the wider argument of The Human OS Manual.

The classification describes the evidence supporting this claim, not the Human OS framework as a whole.

Carver and Scheier apply control-theory feedback loops to personality, social, clinical, and health psychology, emphasizing comparison of current conditions with reference values and action to reduce discrepancy.

The framework does not establish that all self-regulation is discrepancy reduction, that every reference value is consciously represented, or that a feedback model explains the full Human OS cycle.

The chapter uses the framework to support cyclical adjustment rather than fixed-program adherence.

Sources are listed according to the role they play in this claim. One source may provide direct support, another may explain a mechanism, establish a limitation, or prevent an interpretation from becoming broader than the evidence allows.

The printed book preserves the claim inside the argument that gives it meaning. These references connect the current digital record to the first-edition evidence trail.

This claim connects to the following parts of the Human OS architecture. The module labels locate the claim inside the framework; they do not imply that the research source validates the architecture itself.