CONCEPTUAL AND ENVIRONMENTAL COMPLEXITY AS FACTORS IN ATTITUDE CHANGE
Abstract
The effects of reduced environmental complexity on behavior was studied. Many lines of research have indicated that the relationship between the amount of stimulation available from the environment and the development and maintenance of adaptive behavioral patterns is a curvilinear one, both restricted and excessive stimulation being associated with decrements in performance. Schroder, Driver and Streufert (1963) have developed a theoretical system which can be used to characterize the three major components of this relationship - i.e., external inputs, organismic dispositions, and responses. The complexity of inputs is a function of informational load, diversity, and change; that of the mediating internal processes depends upon the conceptual structure of the individual, which may range from highly concrete (simple) to highly abstract (complex); and that of the behavioral output is determined by the degree of differentiation and integration of discrete items of information in arriving at an optimal response.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1963
- Accession Number
- AD0406223
Entities
People
- Peter Suedfeld
Organizations
- Princeton University