Cognitive flexibility

Cognitive flexibility is the ability to change one's thinking, strategy, or perspective in response to new conditions.

Definition

Cognitive flexibility is an element of executive functions and allows you to switch between tasks, categories, interpretations and action strategies. It helps you learn, solve problems and adapt to change. It does not mean a lack of principles, but the ability to update thinking when old assumptions no longer fit the situation.

Key ideas

Missing key ideas.

Practice and life

For a difficult problem, write down three alternative interpretations and three possible strategies. Choose one to test instead of sticking to the first idea.

Common misunderstanding

It is a mistake to confuse flexibility with chaos or lack of consistency. A common mistake is changing the strategy without data, or vice versa: sticking to the old strategy despite new information.

Questions for self-reflection

No questions for self-reflection.

Sources

No sources.