Cognitive complexity is a certain aspect of the theory of
Constructivism. Constructivism explains the individual skill level people have in communicating in social settings. This type of theory would look at someone who is shy and timid at a party as opposed to someone who seems to do extremely well in public situations.
Cognitive Complexity is an aspect of this theory as it it revolves around the mental ability to distinguish subtle personality and behavior differences among people (Griffin 99). Have you ever met someone who doesn't seem to be able to pick up on certain cues in a social situation or aren't able to articulate what they should say to certain people? These people would have a lower level of cognitive complexity.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RtsTbX85lgo Not only is this clip hilarious but it also expands on our discussion of cognitive complexity. Lloyd and Harry don't seem to have the social perception that comes with a higher level of cognitive complexity that would allow them to pick up on the social cues implied in that social situation. Anyone watching know's that the women are implying that Harry and Lloyd could be the two "oil" guys they are looking for but they don't seem to see that. What these two characters lack or only have a limited amount of are called
Interpersonal Constructs. These act as a kind of tool kit for social situations, the more interpersonal constructs an individual has the more tools they have to analyze any particular situation.
Cognitive complexity is important to communication as it is essentially a measure of one's ability to know how to handle social situations. With cognitive complexity comes the ability to create or tailor messages to a certain person within a certain situation. Without any type of cognitive complexity nothing would make sense. We wouldn't be able to categorize certain topics or understand what to do with others in any given setting. Cognitive complexity offers an individual the tools to be an active participant in any setting, thus being a key pillar in communication. As I stated earlier a lack of cognitive complexity would lead to a small rift in communication. If an individual was not able to create a message that would be appropiate for the target audience than ideas would soon be wasted. We would live in a world where messages would come in a one size fits all forum and you would miss out on other people getting what you are trying to say. This is just one part of what it takes to be a competent speaker.
Griffin, Em. A first look at communication theory. 8thth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
Cognitive complexity is important to communication as it is essentially a measure of one's ability to know how to handle social situations. With cognitive complexity comes the ability to create or tailor messages to a certain person within a certain situation. Without any type of cognitive complexity nothing would make sense. We wouldn't be able to categorize certain topics or understand what to do with others in any given setting. Cognitive complexity offers an individual the tools to be an active participant in any setting, thus being a key pillar in communication. As I stated earlier a lack of cognitive complexity would lead to a small rift in communication. If an individual was not able to create a message that would be appropiate for the target audience than ideas would soon be wasted. We would live in a world where messages would come in a one size fits all forum and you would miss out on other people getting what you are trying to say. This is just one part of what it takes to be a competent speaker. 
Griffin, Em. A first look at communication theory. 8thth ed. New York: McGraw-Hill, 2012.
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