View source for Cognitive complexity

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2020}}
{{Cognitive}}
'''Cognitive complexity''' describes [[cognition]] along a simplicity-complexity axis. It is the subject of academic study in fields including [[personal construct psychology]],<ref name='bell.2004'>{{cite encyclopedia |last=Bell |first=R.C. |title=Cognitive complexity |encyclopedia=The Internet Encyclopaedia of Personal Construct Psychology |publisher=The Psychology of Personal Constructs |date=2004-02-14 |url=http://www.pcp-net.org/encyclopaedia/cogcom.html |accessdate=2010-04-30}}</ref> [[organizational studies|organisational theory]]<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www83.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/MPA%208002/Powerpoint/cogcomp/ |title=Analyzing Organizations Through Cognitive Complexity |author=Villanova University |accessdate=29 April 2010}}</ref> and [[human–computer interaction]].<ref name='Rauterberg'>{{cite conference |title=How to Measure Cognitive Complexity in Human–Computer Interaction |last=Rauterberg |first=Matthias |year=1996 |volume=II |editor=Robert Trappl|book-title=Proceedings of the Thirteenth European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research |url=http://en.scientificcommons.org/17603063 |pages=815–820 |location=University of Vienna, Austria |conference=Thirteenth European Meeting on Cybernetics and Systems Research |conference-url=http://www.osgk.ac.at/emcsr/96/ |isbn=3-85206-133-4}}</ref>

==History==

{{more citations needed section|date=March 2025}}
The concept of cognitive complexity was first proposed by psychologist [[James Bieri]] in 1955,<ref name=":0">Bieri, J. (1955). Cognitive complexity-simplicity and predictive behavior. ''The Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51''(2), 263–268. {{doi|10.1037/h0043308}}</ref><ref name="bell.2004" /> marking a significant step in understanding how individuals perceive and interact with their social environments. Bieri explored the intricate relationships between cognitive styles and social behavior, laying the groundwork for future research in psychology and communication.

Bieri tested two main hypotheses in his study:

* '''Positive relationship between cognitive complexity and predictive accuracy:''' He posited that individuals with higher levels of cognitive complexity are better at predicting the behavior of others. This implies that those who can consider multiple perspectives and nuances in a situation are more adept at anticipating how others will act or react, thus improving their social interactions and decision-making capabilities.

* '''negative relationship between cognitive complexity and assimilative projection:''' Bieri suggested that individuals with greater cognitive complexity would be less likely to engage in assimilative projection.<ref name="thomas:2008" /> This cognitive process refers to the tendency to project one’s own qualities or feelings onto others, leading to overgeneralizations and misinterpretations. Essentially, a more cognitively complex person is capable of recognizing and respecting the individuality of others, which reduces the likelihood of such projection.
Over the years, cognitive complexity has been linked to various positive outcomes, including enhanced empathy, better problem-solving skills, and improved emotional intelligence. In educational and organizational settings, understanding cognitive complexity has helped develop training programs aimed at fostering critical thinking and interpersonal skills, thereby contributing to more effective teamwork and collaboration.

==In artificial intelligence==
In an attempt to explain how humans perceive relevance, cognitive complexity is defined as an extension of the notion of [[Kolmogorov complexity]]. It amounts to the length of the shortest description ''available to the observer''. For example, individuating a particular [[Inuit|Inuk]] woman among one hundred people is simpler in a village in Congo than it is in an Inuit village.

Cognitive complexity is related to probability (see [[Simplicity theory]]): situations are cognitively improbable if they are simpler to describe than to generate.
Human individuals attach two complexity values to events:
* description complexity (see above definition)
* generation complexity: the size of the minimum set of parameter values that the 'world' (as imagined by the observer) needs to generate the event.

To 'generate' an event such as an encounter with an Inuk woman in Congo, one must add up the complexity of each event in the causal chain that brought her there. The significant gap between both complexities (hard to produce, easy to describe) makes the encounter improbable and thus narratable.

==In computer science==
{{further|Complexity}}
In [[human–computer interaction]], cognitive (or psychological) complexity distinguishes human factors (related to [[psychology]] and human cognition) from, for example, [[computational complexity theory|computational complexity]].<ref name="thomas:2008">{{cite book|title=The human–computer interaction handbook: Fundamentals, Evolving Technologies and Emerging Applications|last1=Thomas|first1=John C.|last2=Richards|first2=John T.|publisher=Lawrence Erlbaum Associates|year=2008|isbn=978-0-8058-5870-9|editor-last=Sears|editor-first=Andrew|edition=2nd|location=Mahwah, New Jersey|pages=498–507|chapter=Achieving Psychological Simplicity: Methods And Measures To Reduce Cognitive Complexity|editor2-last=Jacko|editor2-first=Julie A.|chapter-url=http://www.isrc.umbc.edu/HCIHandbook/}}</ref>

==In psychology==
{{More footnotes|date=April 2010}}
Cognitive complexity is a [[psychological]] characteristic or psychological variable that indicates how complex or simple is the [[framing (social sciences)|frame]] and [[perception|perceptual]] skill of a person.

A person who is measured high on [[cognitive]] complexity tends to perceive nuances and subtle differences while a person with a lower measure, indicating a less complex cognitive [[structure]] for the task or activity, does not.
{{Quote box
| quote = an aspect of a person's cognitive functioning which at one end is defined by the use of many constructs with many relationships to one another (complexity) and at the other end by the use of few constructs with limited relationships to one another (simplicity)
| source = [[Lawrence Pervin]], ''Personality''<ref name='Rauterberg'/>
| width = 33%
| align = right
}}

It is used as part of one of the several variations of the viable non-empirical evaluation model [[GOMS]] (goals, operators, methods, and selection rules); in particular the [[GOMS/CCT]] methodology.

Cognitive complexity can have various meanings:

* the number of mental structures we use, how abstract they are, and how elaborately they interact to shape our perceptions.
* "an individual-difference variable associated with a broad range of communication skills and related abilities ... [which] indexes the degree of differentiation, articulation, and integration within a cognitive system".<ref>Burleson, B.R., & Caplan, S.E. (1998), "Cognitive complexity". In J.C. McCroskey, J.A. Daly, M.M. Martin, & M.J. Beatty (Eds.), ''Communication and personality: Trait perspectives'' (233–286). Creskill, NJ: Hampton Press</ref>

==Related terms==
Related to cognitive complexity is the term '''behavioral complexity''', used by some researchers in [[organizational studies]], [[organizational culture]] and [[management]].<ref>See Robert Hooijberg, ''Behavioral complexity and managerial effectiveness: a new perspective on managerial leadership'', University of Michigan, 1992; [[Daniel R. Denison]], Robert Hooijberg, Robert E. Quinn, [http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/35553/1/b1714508.0001.001.txt Toward a theory of behavioral complexity in managerial leadership], University of Michigan, September 1993</ref>

==See also==
* [[Cognitive dimensions of notations]]
* [[Cognitive ergonomics]]
* [[Consciousness]]
* [[General semantics]]
* [[Language of thought]]
* [[Learning theory (education)]]
* [[Simplicity theory]]
* [[Social complexity]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite encyclopedia |last=Bell |first=R.C. |title=Cognitive complexity |encyclopedia=The Internet Encyclopaedia of Personal Construct Psychology |publisher=The Psychology of Personal Constructs |date=2004-02-14 |url= http://www.pcp-net.org/encyclopaedia/cogcom.html |accessdate=2007-02-20}}
* Bryan, S. (2002). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20100705084932/http://etd.lsu.edu/docs/available/etd-0410102-134451/unrestricted/Bryan_dis.pdf Cognitive complexity, transformational leadership, and organizational outcomes]". Dissertation in the Department of Communication Studies, Graduate Faculty of the Louisiana State University and Agricultural and Mechanical College.
* Chater, N. (1999). [https://web.archive.org/web/20120303151605/http://www.dectech.org/publications/LinksNick/FoundationsTheoryAndMethodology/The%20Search%20for%20Sim%20plicity%20A%20Fundamental%20cognitive%20principle.pdf The search for simplicity: A fundamental cognitive principle?] ''The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology'', 52 (A), 273–302.
* Dobosh, M.A. (2005). "[http://www.udel.edu/communication/web/thesisfiles/melissadoboshthesis.pdf The impact of cognitive complexity and self-monitoring on leadership emergence]". Master's Thesis in the Department of Communication, Graduate Faculty of the University of Delaware.
* McDaniel, E., & Lawrence, C. (1990). "[https://books.google.com/books?id=eWh9AAAAMAAJ Levels of cognitive complexity: An approach to the measurement of thinking.]" New York: Springer-Verlag. 
* Lee, J., Truex, D.P. (2000). "[http://csdl2.computer.org/comp/proceedings/hicss/2000/0493/07/04937007.pdf Cognitive complexity and methodical training: enhancing or suppressing creativity]". Proceedings of the 33rd Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences.
* Sanders, T.J.M. "[https://web.archive.org/web/20081005121747/http://w3.univ-tlse2.fr:8880/erss/index.jsp?perso=bras&subURL=sem05%2Fproceedings-final%2F03-Sanders.pdf Coherence, causality and cognitive complexity in discourse]".
* Streufert, S., Pogash, R.M., Piasecki, M.T. (1987). "[https://web.archive.org/web/20120225065931/http://stinet.dtic.mil/cgi-bin/GetTRDoc?AD=ADA181828&Location=U2&doc=GetTRDoc.pdf Training for cognitive complexity]". ARI Research Note 87–20, AD-A181828.
* {{cite journal|first1= Patricia W. Linville |year=1985|title= Self-Complexity and Affective Extremity: Don't Put All of Your Eggs in One Cognitive Basket |journal=Social Cognition| volume= 3|pages=94–120|doi=10.1521/soco.1985.3.1.94|last1=Linville}}
* {{cite journal|author1= David A. Snowdon |author2=Susan J. Kemper |author3= James A. Mortimer |year=1996|title= Linguistic Ability in Early Life and Cognitive Function and Alzheimer's Disease in Late LifeFindings From the Nun Study |journal=JAMA| volume=275|issue=7 |pages=528–532|doi=10.1001/jama.1996.03530310034029|pmid=8606473 |s2cid=13613023 }}

==External links==
* [http://www.simplicitytheory.org A tutorial on Simplicity Theory (Simplicity, Complexity, Unexpectedness, Cognition, Probability, Information)]
* [http://www.cpalms.org/textonly.aspx?ContentID=23&UrlPath=/page23.aspx COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY CLASSIFICATION  OF FCATTEST ITEMS]
* [http://www.cpalms.org/textonly.aspx?ContentID=23&UrlPath=/page23.aspx Cognitive Complexity/Depth of Knowledge Rating]
* [http://www83.homepage.villanova.edu/richard.jacobs/MPA%208002/Powerpoint/cogcomp/ ANALYZING ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY]
* [http://faculty.css.edu/dswenson/web/Cogcompx.htm Cognitive Complexity as a Personality Dimension]

{{Psychology}}
{{Computer science}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cognitive Complexity}}
[[Category:Cognitive psychology]]
[[Category:Human communication]]
[[Category:Human–computer interaction]]
[[Category:Industrial and organizational psychology]]
[[Category:Personality]]