Cognitive Complexity

Well it has been a while since my introduction post. Sorry about that! One thing that I forgot to mention in my introduction post is that I am writing this blog for my Comm 321: Introduction to Communication Theory class here at Oregon State University. As we are about to enter our 5th week into the term, this is by far one of my favorite classes I have taken here at OSU. I find myself going home to my roommates and informing them about all of the interesting things that have happened in class. They don't seem to into it, but hey! It helps me learn the material better and whether they like it or not they are learning a little something too. Let’s get back to the main reason why I am writing this blog tonight: Cognitive Complexity.

Cognitive Complexity is “The mental ability to distinguish subtle personality and behavior differences among people” (Griffin p. 99). In layman’s terms, cognitive complexity is the process of determining the differences of what people say, how they act, and how they respond in different social situations.

This is the first step of the overall process of Constructivism. This is a communication theory that explains the differences about how people skillfully communicate in social situations. Everyone has different communication skills and some are better at communicating and understanding. 

One of my friends, lets call her Jamie for confidentiality purposed, has a very high level of cognitive complexity. I have another, lets call her Kelsey, has a very low level of cognitive complexity. Jamie is able to tell the differences among people and she knows that everyone communicates and reacts in different ways.  

Kelsey on the other hand sees things in a very black and white manor. She believes that everyone will react to a certain situation in the same way as she would. One time when I was hanging out with Kelsey and a couple of our friends of the opposite sex, she believed that they were flirting with us because they were engaging us in conversation and being friendly. When in reality, they were just being our friends. Because of Kelsey’s lack of cognitive complexity, she was unable to distinguish personality and behavioral differences among our friends.  If she had a higher cognitive complexity, then she might be able to realize that men and women can be just friends without the intention of something else. This is very similar to the movie "He's Just Not That Into You" when Gigi doesn't understand why a man wouldn't call her back after getting her number. 

Cognitive Complexity is relevant to communication because without it we would think everyone thinks and acts in the same way. It helps us determine our own differences from other people. Cognitive complexity also helps with social perception skills. Or knowing and being aware of how people will interact in different social situations. Without it, individuals wouldn't know how to intermingle with others or know what the right thing to do in different situations; similar to the interaction with Penny and Sheldon in the Big Bang Theory when Penny gets Sheldon an awesome Christmas gift. Sheldon is flabbergasted and is unaware of how to interact with Penny along with how he should thank her.

As you can see, Cognitive Complexity is a key element in the overall understanding of how to interact with others and distinguish differences among others. From how people do act in social situations, to how they should have acted in them, social skills are important to communication and must be understood among others and one’s self to completely grasp a conversation. 

References:

Griffin, E. A. (2012). A first look at communication theory (8th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill.