constructivism

Cognitive complexity is said to be “a sophisticated set of mental constructs that enables a person to distinguish subtle differences among people.” (Griffin 2006 p. A-1) I interpret that as an ability to read people. I think this theory shows that some people are better than others at reading people and a great example of this is the differences in the Kent State football coaching staff.
The head coach, I feel, has a very good grasp of this idea and he shows it in the way he deals with his players. He knows that different players respond to criticism in different ways so he handles each player individually the way he thinks will get his point across best. Certain players respond to being yelled at, so he will yell at them; certain players respond better to being talked to calmly, so he will call them over and have a conversation as opposed to yelling at them.
One of the other coaches has less of a grasp on cognitive complexity, he treats everyone exactly the same regardless of what they respond to best.
The head coach’s construct abstractness is good, he understands each players states and motives and determines the best way to get his point across. The other coach has a poor grasp on construct abstractness because he doesn’t look that closely into each players mental state.
I think the reason that the head coach is better with players is because of his construct differentiation. He has developed a large number of constructs that he uses when dealing with his players, he has developed so many because he has been coaching for a long time. The other coach hasn’t been coaching as long so he hasn’t had time to develop as many constructs. The head coach uses person centered messages very well, whereas the other coach doesn’t use person centered messages.