CMN101Y Constructivism Part4

About this Video

• Video Title: CMN101Y Constructivism Part4
• Channel: UCDCMN101
• Speakers: (Name not available in transcript)
• Duration: 00:09:15

Introduction

This video lecture discusses constructivism, specifically focusing on interpersonal constructs and their role in social perception. The instructor explains how the properties of differentiation, abstractness, and integration within an individual's construct system determine their level of social perception skill, introducing the concept of cognitive complexity and its measurement using the Role Category Questionnaire (RCQ).

Key Takeaways

• Interpersonal constructs are like mental muscles: They are flexible structures enabling various cognitive activities like impression formation and attribution. Their properties (differentiation, abstractness, and integration) determine social perception skill.
• Differentiation: Refers to the number of constructs in one's cognitive system. More constructs mean more schemas for interpreting others' actions.
• Abstractness: Concerns the conceptual quality of constructs, ranging from concrete (physical characteristics, specific behaviors) to abstract (underlying psychological qualities like traits).
• Integration: Indicates how organized and interconnected the constructs are, affecting how easily one understands seemingly contradictory characteristics in others.
• Cognitive complexity: A content-free term referring to expertise in a cognitive domain. High interpersonal cognitive complexity involves a greater ability to process social information and discern subtle differences between people. It's measured using the RCQ, which assesses the number of distinct descriptive terms used to characterize others. The RCQ's validity is questioned, with some suggesting it measures verbal fluency rather than true cognitive complexity.