Cognitive flexibility
Cognitive flexibility is the ability to switch between tasks, rules or ways of thinking, and to see one problem from more than one angle. It is one of the core executive functions, next to working memory and inhibition. In studying it means changing strategy when one stops working and using an idea in a situation you have not seen before.
In more detail
Psychologists measure it with tasks such as the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test, where the sorting rule changes without warning and you have to notice and adapt. In Akira Miyake's well-known 2000 model of executive function, this ability is called shifting. It is one of three parts, together with updating, which is working memory, and inhibition.
Flexible thinking is not multitasking. Switching between tasks costs time and accuracy every time you do it. Flexibility means switching when it helps: dropping a method that fails, moving from a rule to its exception, or explaining one concept in two ways.
Studying can train it a little, mostly through practice that forces you to choose. Interleaving problem types makes you decide which method fits each one. Applying one concept to several cases supports transfer of learning. Be careful with big claims: the evidence for brain-training games is thin, and it is strongest for practice with the material itself. The term also appears in clinical work, for example in ADHD and autism research, where difficulty switching is described. This page covers the study-skills meaning and is not a diagnostic tool.
Example
A student solves 10 physics problems of one type in a row and gets all of them right. On the exam the same formula hides in a problem with different wording, and she freezes. A more flexible routine: mix three problem types in each session and, before solving, name the type and why the method fits. Now the exam question is a choice she has already practiced.
How to use it
- 1
Mix problem types in one session instead of doing ten of the same kind in a row.
- 2
Before you solve, say which type of problem it is and why your method fits.
- 3
After you solve, solve it a second way or explain the idea with a different example.
- 4
When you are stuck after a few minutes, change approach on purpose: draw it, work backwards or explain it out loud.
- 5
Keep a list of exceptions and it-depends cases next to each rule.
How StudyPDF does this
StudyPDF helps you practice choosing, not only repeating. Make a quiz or practice exam across several topics at once, with a mix of multiple choice, multi-select, true/false, short answer, matching and fill-in-the-blank. Each question is tagged with the concepts it tests, and the results list them weakest first.
See also
Common questions
What is an example of cognitive flexibility?
Switching to a new strategy when the first one fails, like solving a math problem a second way, or adapting when a teacher changes the format of an assignment. At a desk it also looks like using one concept in two different subjects.
How can students improve cognitive flexibility?
Use practice that makes you choose and adapt: mix problem types, explain ideas from more than one angle, apply a concept to new cases and review mistakes by asking what you would try next time. Practice with the real material beats generic brain games.
Put it to work on your own course
Upload your lectures and ask Bo. Cited answers, plus flashcards, exams, and more built from your material.