Comparing different ways of using the model of hierarchical complexity to evaluate graduate students.

Abstract

10 Classes, variables, or “variabilized” (abstract) concepts are formed from concrete instances. Example: “I felt really bad that day.” Formal 11 Relates one variable to another variable. Example: “When people don’t respond to me quickly, I tend to feel insecure.” Systematic 12 Coordinates more than one variable as input, constructs multivariate systems and matrices, situate events and ideas in a larger context. Example: “Both how the parent behaves, and how the child responds will affect whether the child learns this concept.” Metasystematic 13 People act on systems of relations from the previous order. Metasystematic actions compare, contrast, transform, and synthesize systems. Example: “Children serve different functions in different kinds of societies. In agrarian societies, they may function primarily as field workers. But in today’s industrialized societies, they serve an important function as consumers.” 226 MILLER AND CRONE-TODD T hi s do cu m en t is co py ri gh te d by th e A m er ic an Ps yc ho lo gi ca l A ss oc ia tio n or on e of its al lie d pu bl is he rs . T hi s ar tic le is in te nd ed so le ly fo r th e pe rs on al us e of th e in di vi du al us er an d is no t to be di ss em in at ed br oa dl y. therapy) skills in terms of the hierarchical complexity of the tasks that the counselors-in-training (and ultimately the counselors and the psychotherapists) are undertaking. Therefore, the MHC measures should be related to outcomes in a counseling program. At the current time, there is not very much research on using the MHC to determine the stage at which students complete academic work. One study by Crone-Todd and Gonsalves (2010) found that undergraduate Honors students in psychology wrote at a Formal stage in their thesis projects, whereas nonhonors student writing tended to use more Abstract-stage writing. The reasons for this difference in complexity of writing could be due to many factors, including academic preparedness, feedback from committee members, and so forth This suggests that using such a measure could be useful as a way to measure individual differences, and that these differences could be then related to measures of competency, such as whether a student is in an honors program or not. Another study (Kjellström, Ross, & Fridlund, 2010) examined the stages of ethical reasoning in nurses studying in a Ph.D. program. This study also found that few nurses included arguments that were scored above the Formal stage. In the first study we used the MHC to code the real world behavior of students, specifically their writing. The rationale for this is that we often need information about the existing behavior of workers or students. In cases in which we have realworld behavior, the model can be used to score a variety of kinds of behaviors. This study will answer the question as to what stages are typical of such students. Based on the previous study of Crone-Todd and Gonsalves (2010) we would expect to see graduate school applicants writing at the Formal stage or above. We planned also to relate the stage of students’ writing to their grades in the Counseling program.