The present study examines the effects of manipulating cognitive task complexity on high school English learners’ narrative and persuasive writing. Participants were 156 high school students. They were divided into four groups. Each group was given one of four different types of writing that were classified based on their genres (narrative vs. persuasive writing) and dimensions of task complexity (resource-directing vs. resource-dispersing). All participants completed both simple and complex writing tasks for their assigned type of writing. Participants’ written products were measured in terms of complexity, accuracy, and fluency. The results revealed that increased task complexity, along with the resource-directing dimension, somewhat positively affected the complexity, accuracy, and fluency of both narrative and persuasive writing. However, increased task complexity, along with the resource-dispersing dimension, showed differential effects of cognitive complexity on participants’ written products between the genres. It resulted in decreased scores in fluency and accuracy, and had no significant impact on the complexity of narrative writing. As for persuasive writing, on the other hand, it lowered the fluency, increased the complexity, and had no impact on the accuracy. The pedagogical suggestions drawn from the results are provided along with the limitations of the study.

This preliminary qualitative research investigates how stylistic innovation affects sales performance of small arts and crafts firms in business-to-business and business-to-consumer markets in Taiwan. Specifically this research examines entrepreneurial cognitive complexity, which is the cognitive structure of an entrepreneur on his or her social world, and its interplay with stylistic innovation, particularly the changes of design in appearance or symbolic meaning of products, and strategic decisions of five Taiwanese small arts and crafts firms. Applying cognitive mapping to determine the cognitive contents, structures and also their relations of the entrepreneurs in making decision related to stylistic innovation, this research examines how owners of small Taiwanese arts and crafts firms specifically seek, interpret and internalize information and knowledge on style and design in the new product development and innovation processes. Research results show that the domain specific cognitive complexity of the entrepreneur influences the selection of relevant and appropriate dimensions in stylistic innovation. Entrepreneurs’ strategic decision to target at the business-to-consumer (customer-oriented or designer-driven) or business-to-business (mainly designer-driven) markets and also the buyer-seller relationship will affect the seeking, interpretation and internalization of information and knowledge in the process of stylistic innovation. Respondents targeting at business-to-business markets tend to have a higher level of cognitive complexity, compared with those targeting at business-to-consumer markets. Research results tend to suggest that the higher level of cognitive complexity, the greater the sales turnover. Future research should determine the relationship between cognitive complexity and marketing performance.

현대의 시스템들이 가지는 고기능화와 자동화로 인하여 인간의 운용 능력이 점점 더 중요한 능력으로 부각되고 있으며, 이는 사용자가 경험하게 되는 인지넉 복잡도를 제어하는 것을 요구한다. 본 연구에서는 사용자 인터페이스에서 사용자가 경험해야 하는 인지적 복잡도를 스키마 구조를 반영하여 정량화하는 엔트로피 모형(윤완철, 1992)을 적용하여 사용자가 겪게 될 인지적 복잡도를 예측하는 척도가 제안되었으며 실험적으로 검증되었다. 엔트로피와 시스템 크기-조작의 수와 상태의 수-가 각각 다른 세 가지 인터페이스 (엔트로피가 낮고 작은 크기의 인터페이스, 엔트로피가 높고 작은 크기의 인터페이스, 엔트로피가 높고 큰 크기의 인티페이스) 중의 하나를 사용하는 것을 피험자이 학습하고, 이에 대해 검사를 받았다. 제안된 척도인 시스템 엔트로피는 사용자 수행도를 잘 설명하였지만, 시스템의 크기는 그러하지 않았다. 본 연구는 사용자가 겪게 될 인지적 복잡도를 평가자의 주관이 개입하지 않는 방법을 통하여 평가할 수 있음을 보인 것으로 가전제품이나 스프트웨어의 디자인의 평가와 개선 등 인간의 인지적 복잡도가 사용성에 중요한 영향을 미치는 분야에서 유용하리라 여겨진다.