Cognitive complexity describes
cognition along a simplicity-complexity axis. It is the subject of academic study in fields including
personal construct psychology
Within personality psychology, personal construct theory (PCT) or personal construct psychology (PCP) is a theory of personality and cognition developed by the American psychologist George Kelly in the 1950s.For example: (first published 1955 ...
,
and
human–computer interaction
Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design te ...
.
History
First proposed by
James Bieri
James Bieri (born 1927) is a psychologist and biographer who introduced in 1955 the concept of cognitive complexity, derived from his doctoral study with George A. Kelly. Subsequently, integrating ideas from information theory and psychophysics, ...
in 1955.
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
In algorithmic information theory (a subfield of computer science and mathematics), the Kolmogorov complexity of an object, such as a piece of text, is the length of a shortest computer program (in a predetermined programming language) that produ ...
. It amounts to the length of the shortest description ''available to the observer''. For example, individuating a particular Inuit 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
Simplicity theory is a cognitive theory that seeks to explain the attractiveness of situations or events to human minds. It is based on work done by scientists like behavioural scientist Nick Chater, computer scientist Paul Vitanyi, psychologist ...
): 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 Inuit 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
In
human–computer interaction
Human–computer interaction (HCI) is research in the design and the use of computer technology, which focuses on the interfaces between people (users) and computers. HCI researchers observe the ways humans interact with computers and design te ...
, cognitive (or psychological) complexity distinguishes human factors (related to
psychology
Psychology is the scientific study of mind and behavior. Psychology includes the study of conscious and unconscious phenomena, including feelings and thoughts. It is an academic discipline of immense scope, crossing the boundaries between ...
and human cognition) from, for example,
computational complexity.
In psychology
Cognitive complexity is a
psychological characteristic or psychological variable that indicates how complex or simple is the
frame
A frame is often a structural system that supports other components of a physical construction and/or steel frame that limits the construction's extent.
Frame and FRAME may also refer to:
Physical objects
In building construction
*Framing (con ...
and
perceptual
Perception () is the organization, identification, and interpretation of sensory information in order to represent and understand the presented information or environment. All perception involves signals that go through the nervous system ...
skill of a person.
A person who is measured high on
cognitive complexity tends to perceive nuances and subtle differences which a person with a lower measure, indicating a less complex cognitive
structure for the task or activity, does not.
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 ...
hich
Ij ( fa, ايج, also Romanized as Īj; also known as Hich and Īch) is a village in Golabar Rural District, in the Central District of Ijrud County, Zanjan Province, Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also ...
indexes the degree of differentiation, articulation, and integration within a cognitive system".
Related terms
Related to cognitive complexity is the term behavioral complexity, used by some researchers in
organizational studies
Organization studies (also called organization science or organizational studies) is the academic field interested in a ''collective activity, and how it relates to organization, organizing, and management''. It is "the examination of how individua ...
,
organizational culture and
management
Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a Government agency, government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business.
Management includ ...
.
[See Robert Hooijberg, ''Behavioral complexity and managerial effectiveness: a new perspective on managerial leadership'', University of Michigan, 1992; ]Daniel R. Denison
Daniel "Dan" R. Denison is professor of organization and management at IMD Business School in Lausanne, Switzerland, and chairman and founding partner of Denison Consulting. , Robert Hooijberg, Robert E. Quinn
Toward a theory of behavioral complexity in managerial leadership
University of Michigan, September 1993
See also
*
Cognitive dimensions of notations
Cognitive dimensions or cognitive dimensions of notations are design principles for notations, user interfaces and programming languages, described by researcher Thomas R.G. Green and further researched with Marian Petre. The dimensions can be ...
*
Cognitive ergonomics
Cognitive ergonomics is a scientific discipline that studies, evaluates, and designs tasks, jobs, products, environments and systems and how they interact with humans and their cognitive abilities. It is defined by the International Ergonomi ...
*
Consciousness
Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...
*
General semantics
General semantics is concerned with how events translate to perceptions, how they are further modified by the names and labels we apply to them, and how we might gain a measure of control over our own cognitive, emotional, and behavioral respons ...
*
Language of thought
*
Learning theory (education)
Learning theory describes how students receive, process, and retain knowledge during learning. Cognitive, emotional, and environmental influences, as well as prior experience, all play a part in how understanding, or a world view, is acquired or ...
*
Simplicity theory
Simplicity theory is a cognitive theory that seeks to explain the attractiveness of situations or events to human minds. It is based on work done by scientists like behavioural scientist Nick Chater, computer scientist Paul Vitanyi, psychologist ...
*
Social complexity
In sociology, social complexity is a conceptual framework used in the analysis of society. In the sciences, contemporary definitions of complexity are found in systems theory, wherein the phenomenon being studied has many parts and many possible ...
References
Further reading
*
* Bryan, S. (2002).
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)
The search for simplicity: A fundamental cognitive principle?''The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology'', 52 (A), 273–302.
* Dobosh, M.A. (2005).
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).
Levels of cognitive complexity: An approach to the measurement of thinking. New York: Springer-Verlag.
* Lee, J., Truex, D.P. (2000).
Cognitive complexity and methodical training: enhancing or suppressing creativity. Proceedings of the 33rd Hawaii International Conference on Systems Sciences.
* Sanders, T.J.M.
Coherence, causality and cognitive complexity in discourse.
* Streufert, S., Pogash, R.M., Piasecki, M.T. (1987).
Training for cognitive complexity. ARI Research Note 87–20, AD-A181828.
*
*
External links
A tutorial on Simplicity Theory (Simplicity, Complexity, Unexpectedness, Cognition, Probability, Information)COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY CLASSIFICATION OF FCATTEST ITEMSCognitive Complexity/Depth of Knowledge RatingANALYZING ORGANIZATIONS THROUGH COGNITIVE COMPLEXITY
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cognitive Complexity
Human communication
Human–computer interaction
Personality
Industrial and organizational psychology
Cognition