Cognitive Flexibility

1Measures of Flexibility

Célia MAINTENANT and Gaëlle BODI

PAVeA, University of Tours, France

1.1. Introduction

In this chapter, we will focus on the measurement of cognitive flexibility. Without aiming to be exhaustive, we will attempt to review the various tools available to psychologists and/or researchers carrying out this measurement, but we will also present the usefulness of such a measurement. This chapter will therefore be organized into two parts corresponding, respectively, to the answers to the following two questions: Why measure flexibility? And how can we measure flexibility?

1.2. Why measure flexibility?

1.2.1. Cognitive flexibility in everyday life

There are many times when we need to be flexible in our day-to-day lives, whether it is when we need to switch from one activity to another, or adapt to something new in our environment. For example, flexibility allows us to switch quickly between parenting and work obligations, or to stay focused on an important conversation while making dinner. It is also useful when we need to adapt to a new route to get to work in the event of traffic works taking place on our usual route. It also helps us adapt to the new layout of the shelves in our favorite store.

A great deal of research has shown that cognitive flexibility is involved in a wide range of activities and is therefore essential in being able to properly adapt to our environment and enjoy a good quality of life (Cartwright et al. 2019).

From an early age, ...