Question

Imagine that you have just called a friend, but your friend didn’t take the call and it went to voicemail. At first, you assume your friend was simply away from the phone or busy, but you start to wonder if he might be angry with you or ignoring you. This exercise is an example of what?

Answer 1

Answer:

This exercise is an example of cognitive complexity.

Explanation:

In psychology, cognitive complexity refers to the ability one has to perceive nuances and meanings in a situation. People with high cognitive complexity are able to think in a more abstract manner, coming up with elaborate interpretations. That is what happens in the example we are studying here. You went from a simple interpretation - my friend is busy - to a much more complex one - my friend is angry at me - even though nothing explicitly happened to lead you to that conclusion.