The model of hierarchical complexity is a framework, developed by Michael Commons and Francis Richards in the early 1980s, for scoring how complex a behavior is, such as verbal reasoning or another cognitive task. It quantifies the order of hierarchical complexity of a task based on mathematical principles describing how the information involved in that task is organized, in the terms of information science.
Facts
Core ClaimThe complexity of a cognitive task, such as verbal reasoning, can be objectively scored using a mathematical order of hierarchical complexity based on how information is organized, rather than relying only on descriptive developmental stages. 1 FAQs
Does the model of hierarchical complexity depend on what a person knows or says?
It scores how information is organized in a task, not its content.
No. The model scores how the information in a task is organized, not what the task is about. Scoring does not depend on the content of what is done, said, written or analyzed. Because of this, the framework can be applied to the behavior of individual people, to social groupings such as organizations and governments, and to animals or machines. It specifies 16 orders of hierarchical complexity and their corresponding stages.
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Source Wikipedia: Model of Hierarchical Complexity
Sources
1. Wikipedia: Model of Hierarchical Complexity
Wikimedia FoundationModel of hierarchical complexity, opening paragraph
It quantifies the order of hierarchical complexity of a task based on mathematical principles of how the information is organized, in terms of information science.
Lead paragraph, education-level
The model of hierarchical complexity (MHC) is a framework for scoring how complex a behavior is, such as verbal reasoning or other cognitive tasks.
Developed By: Michael Commons, Lead
This model was developed by Michael Commons and Francis Richards in the early 1980s.
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