Person’s Cognitive Flexibility: Theory, Measurement, and Practice
Keywords:
intellectual behavior, cognitive flexibility, mental ability, maladaptive thoughts, mental rigidity
Abstract
Cognitive flexibility is considered as a person’s mental ability to organize one’s own cognitive activity and intellectual behavior in response to changing environmental conditions. Though the construct of cognitive flexibility has been well investigated in different contexts of its manifestation, yet there is no general operational definition of this construct in cognitive studies. This study aimed to explore the current theoretical views on the problem of a person’s cognitive flexibility and to indicate the contribution of these views to the development of the measures of cognitive flexibility within the psychological treatment. In brief review of Russian and foreign cognitive studies, the ideas about the term “cognitive flexibility” has been summarized as a mental ability of a person, a skill to change cognitive attitudes in response to the changing conditions of one’s own life. It was shown that there has been a lack of definitions in Russian to describe the phenomenon of cognitive flexibility, and it has not been studied in terms of content and forms of its manifestation in human behavior, especially, in intellectual behavior. In foreign cognitive studies the term cognitive flexibility is widespread. It is referred to in studies of cognitive abilities and skills. The majority of researchers determine its operational definition as a general property of personality’s cognitive system. At the same time, it is not known what this property is. For the purposes of the present study, the approach to examine the person’s flexibility has been put forward. It was considered as a specific ability of cognitive system and a property of different cognitive processes. This approach uses abilities as the properties of functional system, which bring about specific mental functions. In reviewing the existing measures of cognitive flexibility, it was demonstrated that the lack of operational definition of this construct usually leads to the choice of the instrument in accordance to aims and goals of the research. Cognitive tests and self-report measures were considered as two main instruments in examining person’s flexibility. Their applicability was proved and it was shown that the instruments examine the type of cognitive flexibility needed for change to adaptive behavior within psychological treatment.Downloads
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References
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28. Martin, M. M., & Anderson, C. M. (1998). The cognitive flexibility scale: Three validity studies. Communication Reports, 11(1), 1-9.
29. Martin, M. M., & Rubin, R. B. (1995). A new measure of cognitive flexibility. Psychological Reports, 76, 623-626.
30. McCloskey, M., & Cohen, N. J. (1989). Catastrophic interference in connectionist networks: The sequential learning problem. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 24, 109-165.
31. Mioshi, E., Dawson, K., Mitchell, J., Arnold, R., & Hodges, J. R. (2006). The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R): a brief cognitive test battery for dementia screening. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 1078-1085. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1610
32. Nazarzadeh, R. S., Fazeli, M., Aval, M. M., & Shourche, R. M. (2015). Effectiveness of cognitive-behavior therapy on cognitive flexibility in perfectionist. Psychology, 6, 1780-1785.
33. Nikoshkova E.V. (2006). Anglo-russkiy slovar’ po psikhologii [English Russian Dictionary of Psychology]. Moscow: RUSSO.
34. O’Keefe, B. J., & Delia, J. G. (1982). Impression formation and message production. In M. E. Roloff & C.R. Berger (Eds.), Social cognition and communication(pp. 33-72). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
35. Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Bayer, C., Abramson, L., Metalsky G., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1982). The attributional style questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6(3), 287-300.
36. Plunkett, K. (2006). Learning how to be flexible with words. In Y. Munakata, & M. H. Johnson (Eds.), Attention and performance XXI: Processes of change in brain and cognitive development (pp.233-248). New York: Oxford University Press.
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38. Reitan, R. M., & Wolfson, D. (1993). The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery: Theory and clinical interpretation (2nd ed.). Tucson, AZ: Neuropsychological Press.
39. Rende, B. (2000) Cognitive flexibility: Theory, assessment, and treatment. Seminars in Speech and Language, 21(2), 121-133.
40. Ross, B. H., & Murphy, G. L. (1999). Food for thought: cross-classification and category organization in a complex real-world domain. Cognitive Psychology, 38, 495-553.
41. Ruff, R. M. (1996). Ruff figural fluency test. Test. Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
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43. Shadrikov, V. D. (2007). Mental’noe razvitie cheloveka [Human mental development]. Moscow: Aspekt Press.
44. Shareh, H., Farmani, A., & Soltani, E. (2014). Investigating the reliability and validity of the cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI-I) among Iranian university students. Practice in Clinical Psychology, 2(1), 43-50.
45. Spiro, R. J. & Jehng, J. C. (1990). Cognitive flexibility and hypertext: Theory and technology for the nonlinear and multidimensional traversal of complex subject matter. In D. Nix & R. Spiro (Eds.), Cognition, education, and multimedia: Exploring ideas in high technology (pp. 163-205). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
46. Stuss, D. T., & Alexander, M. P. (2000). Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view. Psychological Research, 63(3-4), 289-298.
47. Teasdale, J. D., Scott, J., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., & Paykel, E. S. (2001). How does cognitive therapy prevent relapse in residual depression? Evidence from a controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 347-357.
48. Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z., & Williams, J. M. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive relapse and why should attentional control (mindfulness) training help? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(1), 25-39.
49. Tokuyoshi, Y., & Iwsaki, S. (2012). Development and validation of cognitive flexibility inventory - Japanese (in Japanese). Proceedings of the 76th Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association. Tokyo (p. 672).
50. Wang, Y., Yang, Y., Xiao, W., & Su, Q. (2016). Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory in college students. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 1, 58-63.
51. Yehene, E., Meiran, N., & Soroker, N. (2008). Basal ganglia play a unique role in task switching within the frontal-subcortical circuits: evidence from patients with focal lesions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(6), 1079-1093.
52. Young, J. E., Weinberger, A. D., & Beck, A. T. (2001). Cognitive therapy for depression. In D. H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual (3rd ed., pp.264-308). New York: Guilford Press.
53. Zalevsky, G. V. (2007). Lichnost’i fiksirovannye formy povedeniya[Personality and fixed forms of behavior]. Moscow: Institute of Psychology of RAS.
2. Baghetto, R., & Kaufman, J. (2007). Toward a broader conception of creativity: A case for “mini-c” creativity. Psychology of Aesthetics, Creativity, and the Arts, 1, 73-79.
3. Barbey, A. K., Colom, R., & Grafman, J. (2013). Architecture of cognitive flexibility revealed by lesion mapping. NeuroImage, 82, 547-554.
4. Benton, A. L. & Hamsher, K. (1976). Multilingual aphasia examination. Iowa City, IA: University of Iowa.
5. Blaye, A., & Bonthoux, F. (2001). Thematic and taxonomic relations in preschoolers: the development of flexibility in categorization choices. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 19, 395-412.
6. Canas, J. J., Antoli, A., Fajardo, I., & Salmeron, L. (2005). Cognitive inflexibility and the development and use of strategies for solving complex dynamic problems: Effects of different types of training. Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science, 6(1), 95-108.
7. Canas, J. J., Quesada, J. F., Antol , A., & Fajardo, I. (2003). Cognitive flexibility and adaptability to environmental changes in dynamic complex problem-solving tasks. Ergonomics, 46(5), 482-501.
8. Colzato, L. S., Huizinga, M., & Hommel, B. (2009). Recreational cocaine polydrug use impairs cognitive flexibility but not working memory. Psychopharmacology, 207, 225-234.
9. Cragg, L., & Chevalier, N. (2006). The processes underlying flexibility in childhood. The Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 65(2), 209-320.
10. Deak, G. O. (2003). The development of cognitive flexibility and language abilities. Advances in Child Development and Behavior, 31, 271-327.
11. Dennis, J. P., & Vander Wal, J. S. (2010). The cognitive flexibility inventory: Instrument development and estimates of reliability and validity. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 34(3), 241-253.
12. Gardner, R. W., Holzman, P. S., Klein, G. S., Linton, H. B., & Spence, D. P. (1959). Cognitive control. A study of individual consistencies in cognitive behavior. Psychological Issues, 4(1), 1-186.
13. Gardner, R.W., Jackson, D.N., & Messick, S.J. (1960). Personality organization in cognitive controls and intellectual abilities. Psychological Issues, 8(2), 149.
14. Golden, C. J. (1978). Stroop Color and Word Test: A manual for clinical and experimental uses. Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting Co.
15. Golden, Z., & Golden, C. J. (2002). Patterns of performance on the Stroop Color and Word Test in children with learning, attentional, and psychiatric disabilities. Psychology in the Schools, 39(5), 489-495.
16. Guilford, J. P. (1967). The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill Book Company Gülüm, İ.V., & Dag, I. (2012). The Turkish adaptation, validity and reliability study of the Repetitive Thinking Questionnaire and the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory. Anatolian Journal of Psychiatry, 13, 216-223. (in Turkish, abstract in English)
17. Heaton, R. K., & PAR Staff. (2003). Wisconsin Card Sorting Test: Computer version 4. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
18. Hennessey, B. A., & Amabile, T. M. (2010). Creativity. Annual Review of Psychology, 569-598.
19. Ionescu, Th. (2012). Exploring the nature of cognitive flexibility. New Ideas in Psychology, 30(2), 190-200.
20. Johnco, C., Wuthrich, V. M., & Rapee, R. M. (2014a). Reliability and validity of two self-report measures of cognitive flexibility. Psychological Assessment American Psychological Association, 26, 1381-1387.
21. Johnco, C., Wuthrich V. M., & Rapee R. M. (2014b). The influence of cognitive flexibility on treatment outcome and cognitive restructuring skill acquisition during cognitive behavioral treatment
22. for anxiety and depression in older adults: results of a pilot study. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 57, 55-64.
23. Kholodnaya, M. A. (2004). Kognitivnye stili. O prirode individual’nogo uma[Cognitive styles. On the nature of individual mind]. Saint Petersburg: Piter.
24. Kurginyan, S. S., & Osavolyuk, E. Yu. (2018). Oprosnik kognitivnoj fleksibil'nosti (CFI): adaptacija na russkojazychnoj vyborke [The cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI): adaptation for Russian-speaking sampling]. Psikhologicheskii Zhurnal, 39(2), 105-119.
25. Leber, A. B., Turk-Browne, N. B. & Chun, M. M. (2008). Neural predictors of moment-to-moment fluctuations in cognitive flexibility. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 105(36), 13592-13597. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0805423105
26. Lezak, M. D., Howieson, D. B., Loring, D. W., Hannay, H. J, & Fischer, J. S. (2004). Neuropsychological assessment. New York: Oxford University Press.
27. Lippard-Justice, P. (1989). The relationship between intrapersonal and interpersonal communication patterns. In C. V. Roberts, K. Watson, & L. L. Barker (Eds.), Intrapersonal communication processes: Original essays(pp. 444-455). New Orleans: SPECTRA.
28. Martin, M. M., & Anderson, C. M. (1998). The cognitive flexibility scale: Three validity studies. Communication Reports, 11(1), 1-9.
29. Martin, M. M., & Rubin, R. B. (1995). A new measure of cognitive flexibility. Psychological Reports, 76, 623-626.
30. McCloskey, M., & Cohen, N. J. (1989). Catastrophic interference in connectionist networks: The sequential learning problem. Psychology of Learning and Motivation, 24, 109-165.
31. Mioshi, E., Dawson, K., Mitchell, J., Arnold, R., & Hodges, J. R. (2006). The Addenbrooke’s Cognitive Examination Revised (ACE-R): a brief cognitive test battery for dementia screening. International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 21, 1078-1085. https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.1610
32. Nazarzadeh, R. S., Fazeli, M., Aval, M. M., & Shourche, R. M. (2015). Effectiveness of cognitive-behavior therapy on cognitive flexibility in perfectionist. Psychology, 6, 1780-1785.
33. Nikoshkova E.V. (2006). Anglo-russkiy slovar’ po psikhologii [English Russian Dictionary of Psychology]. Moscow: RUSSO.
34. O’Keefe, B. J., & Delia, J. G. (1982). Impression formation and message production. In M. E. Roloff & C.R. Berger (Eds.), Social cognition and communication(pp. 33-72). Beverly Hills, CA: Sage.
35. Peterson, C., Semmel, A., von Bayer, C., Abramson, L., Metalsky G., & Seligman, M. E. P. (1982). The attributional style questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 6(3), 287-300.
36. Plunkett, K. (2006). Learning how to be flexible with words. In Y. Munakata, & M. H. Johnson (Eds.), Attention and performance XXI: Processes of change in brain and cognitive development (pp.233-248). New York: Oxford University Press.
37. Polunina, A. G., & Davydov, D. M. (2004). Viskonsinskij test sortirovki kartochek kak instrument ocenki kognitivnyh funkcij [Wisconsin Card Sorting Test as a tool for assessment of cognitive functions]. In T. B. Dmitrieva (Ed.), Social’naja psihiatrija[Social Psychiatry] (pp. 217-236). M.: Izdatel’stvo GNC SSP by V.P. Serbskii.
38. Reitan, R. M., & Wolfson, D. (1993). The Halstead-Reitan Neuropsychological Test Battery: Theory and clinical interpretation (2nd ed.). Tucson, AZ: Neuropsychological Press.
39. Rende, B. (2000) Cognitive flexibility: Theory, assessment, and treatment. Seminars in Speech and Language, 21(2), 121-133.
40. Ross, B. H., & Murphy, G. L. (1999). Food for thought: cross-classification and category organization in a complex real-world domain. Cognitive Psychology, 38, 495-553.
41. Ruff, R. M. (1996). Ruff figural fluency test. Test. Professional manual. Odessa, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources.
42. Runco, M. A. (2004). Creativity. Annual Review Psychology, 55, 657-687.
43. Shadrikov, V. D. (2007). Mental’noe razvitie cheloveka [Human mental development]. Moscow: Aspekt Press.
44. Shareh, H., Farmani, A., & Soltani, E. (2014). Investigating the reliability and validity of the cognitive flexibility inventory (CFI-I) among Iranian university students. Practice in Clinical Psychology, 2(1), 43-50.
45. Spiro, R. J. & Jehng, J. C. (1990). Cognitive flexibility and hypertext: Theory and technology for the nonlinear and multidimensional traversal of complex subject matter. In D. Nix & R. Spiro (Eds.), Cognition, education, and multimedia: Exploring ideas in high technology (pp. 163-205). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
46. Stuss, D. T., & Alexander, M. P. (2000). Executive functions and the frontal lobes: A conceptual view. Psychological Research, 63(3-4), 289-298.
47. Teasdale, J. D., Scott, J., Moore, R. G., Hayhurst, H., Pope, M., & Paykel, E. S. (2001). How does cognitive therapy prevent relapse in residual depression? Evidence from a controlled trial. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 69, 347-357.
48. Teasdale, J. D., Segal, Z., & Williams, J. M. (1995). How does cognitive therapy prevent depressive relapse and why should attentional control (mindfulness) training help? Behaviour Research and Therapy, 33(1), 25-39.
49. Tokuyoshi, Y., & Iwsaki, S. (2012). Development and validation of cognitive flexibility inventory - Japanese (in Japanese). Proceedings of the 76th Annual Convention of the Japanese Psychological Association. Tokyo (p. 672).
50. Wang, Y., Yang, Y., Xiao, W., & Su, Q. (2016). Validity and reliability of the Chinese version of the Cognitive Flexibility Inventory in college students. Chinese Mental Health Journal, 1, 58-63.
51. Yehene, E., Meiran, N., & Soroker, N. (2008). Basal ganglia play a unique role in task switching within the frontal-subcortical circuits: evidence from patients with focal lesions. Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 20(6), 1079-1093.
52. Young, J. E., Weinberger, A. D., & Beck, A. T. (2001). Cognitive therapy for depression. In D. H. Barlow (Ed.), Clinical handbook of psychological disorders: A step-by-step treatment manual (3rd ed., pp.264-308). New York: Guilford Press.
53. Zalevsky, G. V. (2007). Lichnost’i fiksirovannye formy povedeniya[Personality and fixed forms of behavior]. Moscow: Institute of Psychology of RAS.
Published
2018-11-05
How to Cite
ОсаволюкЕ. Ю., & КургинянС. С. (2018). Person’s Cognitive Flexibility: Theory, Measurement, and Practice. Psychology. Journal of the Higher School of Economics, 15(1), 128-144. https://doi.org/10.17323/1813-8918-2018-1-128-144
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