Schleicher, Deidra J.; McConnell, Allen R.: The Complexity of SelfComplexity: An Associated Systems Theory Approach; in: Social Cognition, Vol. 23 (2005), No. 5, pp. 387-416.
doi: 10.1521/soco.2005.23.5.387
In my search for complexity measurements of intangible projects I came across this approach to measure the most complex thing I could think of – our beautiful mind.
In this article Schleicher & McConnell describe the commonly used trait sorting exercise to measure self-complexity. Participants are presented 25-40 traits or roles on cards. Then they are asked to group them so that they best describe the aspects of their selfs. For example a participant might group well-dressed, anxious, mature into as traits describing the student aspect of her self.
To measure the self-complexity redundancy and relatedness of the groupings need to be assessed using following formula:
H = log2n – ( ∑i ni log2ni ) / n
where
n = total number of attributes for sorting, ni = number of attributes in each group/self-aspect, i = number of groups/self-aspects
Studies have confirmed that participants with a higher self-complexity are better in managing stress, well-being, physical illness, and depression.
Schleicher & McConnell propose a two dimensional concept of self-complexity – (1) target-reference: concrete vs. abstract, (2) self-reference: public vs. private self.
| Concrete | ← target-reference → | Abstract | |||
| Visual System | Verbal System | Public Self | |||
| Visual appearance | Social Categories | Personality Traits | ↑ | ||
| Behavioural Observations | Evaluations | self-reference | |||
| Behavioural Responses | Orientations | Affective Responses | ↓ | ||
| Action System | Affective System | Private Self | |||