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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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1977

Psychology

Cognitive complexity

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Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

The Relationship Of Verbal Abilities To Cognitive Complexity, Margaret R. Mullins Aug 1977

The Relationship Of Verbal Abilities To Cognitive Complexity, Margaret R. Mullins

Student Work

A view of the person as an individual striving to anticipate, understand, and control his environment was put forth by Kelly (1955) in his Psychology of Personal Constructs, Kelly states that the person looks at the world through "patterns or templates which he creates and then attempts to fit over the realities of which the world is composed" (p. 9). These templates or patterns are termed constructs, and result from the person’s ability to distinguish differences and similarities in the world about him and generalize them to other instances. Constructs are used to predict events and to assess the validity …


Conceptual Systems Theory And Cognitive Complexity, Thomas T. Colyer Mar 1977

Conceptual Systems Theory And Cognitive Complexity, Thomas T. Colyer

Student Work

The major function of this study was to assess differences in interpersonal cognitive complexity among the four belief systems specified by Harvey’s Conceptual Systems Theory. In addition, criticism is offered of many of the more commonly used indicators of cognitive complexity (e.g. Bieri, 1955) since they tend to identify cognitive complexity with cognitive differentiation. Herein is offered an alternative method of measuring cognitive complexity which is seen as indicating both differentiation and integration. The study used 54 graduate and undergraduate students, of which 35 were females and 19 were males. The alternative method of calculating cognitive complexity relies upon Hinkle’s …