Final answer:
Positive feedback mechanisms are less common than negative feedback mechanisms and work to increase the original stimulus. Negative feedback mechanisms help maintain homeostasis by counteracting changes, making them more prevalent in living organisms to preserve stability and balance.
Step-by-step explanation:
Positive feedback control mechanisms are less common than negative feedback mechanisms and tend to amplify or increase the original stimulus. Unlike negative feedback mechanisms that are designed to maintain homeostasis by returning a system to a set point, positive feedback mechanisms push the system further away from the set point.
For instance, in the human body, a positive feedback loop could be seen in the process of blood clotting, where the presence of a clotting factor stimulates the production of more clotting factors, leading to a rapid cascade that results in clot formation.
Conversely, negative feedback loops are vital in regulating body temperature, glucose levels, and other processes to keep conditions within a narrow range.
While positive feedback loops can be beneficial in certain contexts, negative feedback is critical to maintaining overall balance and stable conditions in living organisms, which is why negative feedback mechanisms are more prevalent.