What is Cognitive Flexibility?

The situations or problems we encounter in life may not always happen as we expect, and our routines may be disrupted.  Meetings may be cancelled, a person we trust may lose a job, or there may be roadwork on the route we regularly use.  The concept of cognitive flexibility refers to our ability to adapt to the changes we experience.  Because when environmental situations change, naturally our responses to them also change.  Being able to evaluate an event from different perspectives, thinking about more than one concept at the same time or being able to deal with many tasks, being open to new suggestions, adapting our old solutions to new problems and abandoning useless solutions are related to our cognitive flexibility.

  To better understand the concept, we can consider the manual car analogy.  In order not to damage the car, we also need to change the gear depending on the speed we are at.  The model of the car and the condition of the road traveled are other variables that determine which gear we will proceed in.  Here are a few examples where we've benefited from our cognitive flexibility:

  We may have had to abruptly cancel our weekend plan, which we had been planning for a while, for some reason.  This unexpected change could, of course, be disappointing;  but then we can make new plans to turn our two-day time away from the hustle and bustle of the holiday into a resting opportunity we need.

  A child who uses his knowledge of geometry to fix the chain of his bicycle can be considered as another example. In this way, a person can adapt his knowledge and experience in one area to solve another problem.

  When we realize that the materials in the house are missing, changing the dessert we plan to prepare for our guest who will come in a short time is another indicator of cognitive flexibility.  Instead of preparing an incomplete menu, we can overcome the unexpected with the means at our disposal.

Barriers to Cognitive Flexibility

Adapting to changing situations can be difficult at times.  It may be easier to categorize the new events we encounter according to our existing categories.  Similarly, we can remember different situations we have encountered in the past in ways that fit our current thinking.  For example, a person who has gone abroad once can evaluate their new neighbor, even if they come from a different country, according to their previous knowledge.  Or, one can recall memories of a neighborhood that they no longer find unsafe, even if it is not, with details that the place was actually uncanny in the past.  Some new situations may require special attention, although we may make cognitive savings with our current knowledge.  For example, a physician experienced in the field does not need to deal with each seasonal flu case separately;  but a case of flu with other health problems requires investigation for other possible problems.

The information bombardment we encounter with communication tools can also negatively affect cognitive flexibility.  The information density we are exposed to can create a mental load, making us closer to learning new ways.

How Can Cognitive Flexibility Be Developed?

 First of all, it should not be forgotten that everyone may experience problems from time to time due to being rigid and that clarity is a necessary attitude in some circumstances.  We can remind ourselves that cognitive flexibility, like all other skills, will improve with time and practice.

 We can start by making some small changes in our daily routine.  For example, we can discover an alternative to the road we use when returning from work, or we can experience that a game we play with our friends is fun when we change some of the rules.

 Technological opportunities can make many things easier for us, such as finding a way, typing our messages faster.  But, for example, trying to find an address by mistake and asking a human instead of a GPS device, or trying to write an email without using suggested words can help us challenge existing patterns of mind.  Exposing ourselves to simple challenges like these can be useful exercises in adapting to new circumstances.

 Another way to be open to new experiences is to try to learn new things.  We can choose to learn a musical instrument or a foreign language.  We can try a new dish or explore an area of ​​our home we haven't been to before.  In this way, we can keep our minds more active.

 Connecting with new people and cultures can be another way to give flexibility to our thinking.  Encountering and coming into contact with differing views allows us to discover that what we think is true may actually be relative.  In this way, we can find ways to overcome our prejudices by seeing the diversity in life.  Participating in a volunteering project, traveling or using social media to connect with different people or groups are just a few of the things we can do.