Question

Kelly

Define cognitive complexity and cognitive simplicity. Then provide real-life examples of: 1) a high complexity person and 2) a high simplicity person.

Kelly’s theory states that constructs must be dichotomous—why do they have to be dichotomous? How do we choose between the two alternatives offered by a construct?

In addition to being called a “Cognitive Psychologist,” Kelly has also been linked to the “Constructivist” Perspective. Research the Constructivist perspective and write a 200-word essay which defines constructivism and states how it relates to personality.

Answer 1

Cognitive complexity is the perceptual skill and the varying scale of the perceptual skill a person possesses. It can be highly complex or quite simplistic.

1) a person who could be identified as a cognitive complex individual could be Elon Musk

2) a person with cognitive simplicity could be Donald Trump, as he fails to register the nuances that make a society and an individual. It has been found by research that people with cognitive simplicity tend to be more prejudiced and hence dogmatic than people who are cognitively complex.

And, a construct is almost always dichotomous as there is a spectrum wherein a construct lies, the varying degree of that construct decides the variability of the construct. And the crossing between the two alternatives depends on the adhering to the principles of the varying construct.

Constructivist perspective states that an individual forms frames of opinions on the basis of past experiences with respect to interaction with one's environment.

This plays a major role in personality development as each individual has various different interaction with the environment which are interpreted in a different manner that lead to a varying perceptual framework and hence the formation of different personality characteristics. These frameworks are integrated in one's performance repretoire and are acted out when incidents take place with reference to predictive behavior outcomes.