At the end of this module you will be able to:

• Identify cognitive flexibility
• Recognize the role and importance of cognitive flexibility as a future skill
• Recognize and use instruments to assess cognitive flexibility
• Know and apply techniques to enhance cognitive flexibility

According to the World Economic Forum, Cognitive Flexibility (CF) is among the top ten skills that will be needed in the workplace of the future are the ‘soft’ skills, the innate human skills that simply cannot, at this point, be replaced by artificial intelligence or technology in general.

Understanding and ability to recognise, what is cognitive flexibility, and what it is not for that matter, is the key to being able to develop this crucial skill, hence the largest part of the module is devoted to defining, characterising and discussion of the concept.

Cognitive flexibility is defined as the ability to transition our thoughts between multiple concepts or perspectives. Or, as defined by Canas (2003): “Cognitive flexibility is the human ability to adapt the cognitive processing strategies to face new and unexpected conditions in the environment”.

CF as a concept consists of two parts:

1. Cognitive, referring to such brain functions as solving problems, thinking citically, connecting ideas and synthesizing information; and
2. Flexibility, a quality associated with bending, twisting, thinking about things differently and changing approaches when needed.

Hence, the concept, in popular language, can be thought of as “flexible brain” or “brain that twists easily”.

There are a number of alternative definitions:

• The brain’s ability to transition from thinking about one concept to another.  The quicker you are able to switch or “shift” your thinking from one dimension to another, the greater your level of cognitive flexibility
• Ability to think flexibly and to shift perspectives and approaches easily
• Intrinsic property of a cognitive system often associated with the mental ability to adjust its activity and content, switch between different task rules and corresponding behavioural responses, maintain multiple concepts simultaneously and shift internal attention between them (William, 1962)
• For a number of definitions used in academic, see Ionescu (2012)

Cognitive Flexibility in literature as also known by alternative or related terminology as “attention switching,” “cognitive shifting,” “mental flexibility, “set shifting,” and “task switching”.

Changing channels on a TV:

A good way to illustrate the concept is using analogies. CF can be seen as changing channels on a TV where the brain is the TV, and channels are the streams of thought. In that way, if you are stuck with one channel and not able or willing to change it, the cognition is inflexible, whereas if you operate the remote control with ease and change between different channels rapidly, you have good cognitive flexibility.

CF can also be presented using optical illusion ambiguous pictures such as rabbit-duck illusion, faces-wase illusion, young lady – old lady illusion, as well as Schroder’s Stairs, for example in the famous lithograph “Relativity” by Escher (1953), and numerous other pictures. What to watch out for is – how easily one switches perspectives, or how difficult it is to see the other way. The easier you change the perspective, the better cognitive flexibility you have.

Shifting perspectives

How easy is it to switch?

Escher, M. C. "Relativity." Lithograph. 1953

While CF refers to the ability to adapt to a change, mental shifting is the process that makes it possible to adapt to the change. Shifting is the main component in cognitive flexibility (often referred to as the same concept). Characteristics of someone with strong mental shifting:

• Adapts quickly to changes and new situations
• Tolerates changes that occur during problem solving or carrying out a task easily
• Offers alternative solutions to problems
• Easily transition from one activity to another and know how to carry themselves properly in every situation
• Captures various dimensions of reality, sees from different points of view, recognizes hidden relationships, hence easily finds alternative solutions to the same problem
• Tolerates errors and changes, able to think about a situation from another person's point of view
• Finds compromises easily

During the module, audience can be presented with a few examples from real life situations, such as:

• You're getting ready to have breakfast and you realize that there's no bread left. What do you do? (How many other options one can think of) Do you get mad and go to work without eating? Do you go to a café and eat there? Do you have something else for breakfast? Cognitive shifting allows you to think about other options when your original plan is altered with an unexpected change.
• A good friend stops talking to you. Why is this? Is s-he mad at you? (Different situations that may have evolved) •Mental flexibility allows you to think about what has happened, and come up with a possible reason as to why they may not be talking to you. If you can think about things from other people's points of view, it helps you put yourself in their situation and think about what may have happened 
• The usual road to work is closed. One day, it's pouring rain and you know that there will be traffic for miles. What do you do? (What alternative ways there are?) You could take the train, you could leave the house early and try to get ahead of the traffic, or you could take other public transportation in hopes that you make it to work earlier. Your original plans or routine were changed by an unexpected situation, but cognitive flexibility and shifting allow to you think of possible alternative solutions to help you get to work on time. You'll have to use the same abilities that you use when making a decision: experience, expectations, motivation, knowledge, and emotions.

Participants in the module can be invited to think of their own examples where they have shown good or lack of cognitive flexibility.

Cognitive rigidity is the opposite of cognitive flexibility, or lack of it. It is inability to change behaviour or beliefs when they are ineffective in order to reach your objective. While in employment and life in general good cognitive flexibility is needed, there reasons for rigidity - the human brain likes stability and tries to avoid instability however it can. It can be discussed with participants if and when are the situations when some cognitive rigidity may be needed and when too much of flexibility is obstructing. For example, the need to act fast and decisive? Can it be cumbersome for an executive because it can be seen as inconclusive and weak?

Example 

• If you were asked to say words that begin with the letter "A", and the only word you could think of was ”Apple", you would be experiencing cognitive rigidity, as you would be unable to create alternatives to “Apple”
• The feeling that this phenomenon causes is feeling "stuck", without being able to find a way out
• Cognitive rigidity have negative consequences in daily life, in situations that require you to create alternative strategies or solutions
• Why do some people have cognitive rigidity? 
• The human brain likes stability and tries to avoid instability however it can

• Transition “stream-of-thoughts” and attention
  • CF most often refers to the ability to shift thoughts between multiple concepts
• Updating beliefs & cognition
  • CF can refer to updating cognitive function as an adaptation to new information or stimuli
• Multi-faceted observation
  • CF can refer to considering multiple elements of observation simultaneously
• Deconstructing thoughts
  • When posed with a complex thought or problem, CF helps to deconstruct the complexity into smaller chunks. The ability to shift between specific elements of a larger problem in effort to solve it is an example of cognitive flexibility
• Expanded awareness
  • Ability to be consciously aware of all possible choices and alternatives in a specific scenario