Integrative complexity, cognitive complexity and impression formation

Personal construct integrative complexity (I-C) refers to the assimilation of complex information into a system of impressions. Consistent with Kelly's (1955) theory of personal constructs, Chambers (1983: 1985) found I-C subjects tended to use a credulous approach to life and were better at resolving conflicting information in forming impressions. In similar research, Crockett et al. (1975) showed a measure of cognitive complexity (C-C) interacted with a credulous cognitive set to be predictive of conflict resolution. In the present study, I-C and C-C are compared, in interaction with cognitive set, as predictors of conflict resolution.