| This study employed the construct of Integrative Complexity, defined by Suedfeld and Tetlock (1977) as the interpretive process of differentiating and integrating information, to assess the structural complexity of life narrative. The study examined the relation of the Integrative Complexity of narrated key life episodes to (1) demographic variables of age, sex, and educational level, and (2) personality variables of ego development, values, motivations, and life satisfaction.;The sample consisted of two groups of adult subjects. In study one, 152 subjects completed written narratives of key life episodes; in study two, 86 subjects produced narrative accounts of key life episodes as part of the Life Story Interview. Subjects in study one also completed measures of ego development, motivation, and life satisfaction. Study two subjects completed measures of values, motivation, and life satisfaction.;Statistical analyses revealed individual differences between and consistency within subjects' levels of Integrative Complexity in narrated life episodes. Integrative Complexity was positively related to educational level, negatively related to advanced age, and showed no relation to subjects' sex. No meaningful relations were found between Integrative Complexity and values, motivations, or life satisfaction. However, complexity was significantly and positively related to ego development.;This study also examined Integrative Complexity within the context of eight individual life narratives. These qualitative case study analyses were employed to provide richer, more detailed portraits of Integrative Complexity in the context of self-defining life stories. |
