Publication | Closed Access
The Complexity of Complexity
43
Citations
0
References
1974
Year
Response TypesEngineeringComputational ComplexityCognitionPsychologySocial SciencesComplexityDevelopmental PsychologyCognitive DevelopmentDescriptional ComplexityComplexity DimensionsCognitive ScienceAbstract ComplexityComputer ScienceHuman CognitionExperimental PsychologyComplexity TheorySocial CognitionParallel SetCognitive Psychology
The study dealt with the following questions about the nature and effects of complexity in children: Are responses to stimuli exemplifying any of the complexity dimensions (heterogeneity of elements, irregularity of arrangement, amount of material, irregularity of shape, incongruities) interrelated? Are these dimensions interrelated ? Are viewing time and preferences interrelated ? Which stimuli are preferred or observed longer ? Do boys and girls differ in responses to complexity ? The subjects were 84 first-graders who in one session were shown 10 stimulus pairs for observation, and in another, a parallel set for preferences. The findings showed generally low interrelations within and between dimensions, almost no relation between response types, no dominance in effect of simple or complex stimuli, and no sex differences. Implications for the definition, study, and effects of complexity were discussed.