A modest proposal: a testable differentiation between third- and fourth-order information complexity

• Published in: International journal of applied psychoanalytic studies Vol. 3; no. 4; pp. 308 - 324
• Main Authors: Cason, Kathryn, Brause, Alison, Laurents, Matthew Daude
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester, UK John Wiley & Sons, Ltd 01.12.2006; Wiley
• Subjects: capability; Elliott Jaques; orders of information complexity
• ISSN: 1742-3341; 1556-9187; 1556-9187
• DOI: 10.1002/aps.114

In Human Capability, Jaques and Cason (1994) described the importance of the Third and Fourth Orders of Information Complexity used by adults working to create and manage our commercial endeavors, govern our countries, and provide services such as healthcare and education to our populations. Today our knowledge of these two Orders is still in descriptive terms, therefore less subject to testing than meets the necessary scientific rigor. In order to pursue a better understanding of how to more effectively educate and employ this capability in the adult population it is necessary to have clarity about the boundaries of these apparently discontinuous innate human “processes.” The authors here set out important aspects of their continued inquiry. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.