PAST RESEARCH
Research Question
The current study focuses on personality construct of complexity as
defined by Csikszentmihalyi (1994). The current study sought to test
Csikszentmihalyi's description of "complexity" as consisting
of five separable factors (The five C's) as well as to evaluate the
tenability of "complexity" as a unique personality construct.
Methodology
Following Csikszentmihalyi's (1994) description of the multidimensional
construct of complexity we created a 28-item self-report scale. Factor
analysis was used to evaluate the number of dimensions assessed by this
questionnaire and the validity of the scale was assessed using the Bar-On
EQ-i (Bar-On, 1997), the NEO Five Factor Inventory (Costa & McCrae,
1991), the Cognitive Flexibility Scale (Martin & Rubin, 1995), and
the Interaction Involvement Scale (Celega, 1981).
Results
In contrast to Csikszentmihalyi's (1994) description of complexity as
consisting of five separate dimensions the factor analysis revealed
only a single overwhelming factor. Eigenvalues decreased dramatically
from the first factor (10.27) to the second factor (2.38).
The complexity Complexity scale created for this study demonstrated
a high degree of reliability (Cronbach's alpha = .93) as well as high
a degree of relatedness to other existing personality measures (i.e.,
EQ-i, NEO-FFI, Cognitive Flexibility, and Interaction Involvement) As
expected all four scales showed a significant positive relation to the
Complexity Scale (p < .05). EQ-I scores accounted for nearly 44.9%
of the variability in Complexity scores.
Interpretation
While providing some support for the reliability and validity for the
Complexity Scale the result of the factor analysis indicate that the
construct of complexity, if it is to be maintained as a viable personality
construct, should be described as a single dimension. Further research
on the construct of complexity is currently being conducted to extend
this study's assessment of Csikszentmihalyi's theory
Correlation and regression analyses provide some support for the conclusions
that the personality construct of complexity differs from those assessed
by EQ-i, NEO-FFI, Cognitive Flexibility, and Interaction Involvement.
One limitation to this study is the relatively small sample size (N
= 58). Future research will incorporate a larger sample size to more
adequately represent the general population. Additionally, further research
is needed to clarify the differences between the personality construct
assessed by the Complexity scale and those assessed by EQ-i, NEO-FFI,
Cognitive Flexibility, and Interaction Involvement.
Check back to see the results and feel free to view my
survey.
See the presentation
for my research.
