Cognitive flexibility: definition and how to cultivate it

Cognitive flexibility is a key skill that enables humans to adapt to changing or unfamiliar situations.

It involves the ability to shift emotions, thoughts, and behaviors in response to unexpected or dynamic circumstances. From childhood through adulthood, it plays a crucial role in how we learn, solve problems, and interact with others.

In the following sections, we’ll explore in detail what cognitive flexibility is, the benefits it offers, and how you can develop it. If you want to think more openly and handle uncertainty more effectively, keep reading.

What is cognitive flexibility?

Cognitive flexibility, also known as mental flexibility, is the human ability to adapt to any changes in surrounding circumstances by shifting between different behavioral strategies.

In other words, it’s the process by which a person can choose to act in a specific way in response to changes in their environment, or because they recognize that their previous approach was ineffective and decide to correct it.

Flexible thinking is part of a group of adaptive mental processes known as executive functions (higher-level cognitive abilities), which are responsible for regulating behavior, making decisions, and planning. These functions are involved in abstract thinking, working memory, and categorization.

This way of operating requires the individual to inhibit automatic response patterns and be capable of adjusting their strategy, as noted by T. W. Robbins in the chapter on executive functions of the prefrontal cortex in Dissociating Executive Functions of the Prefrontal Cortex.

In short, mental flexibility is a process of regulating our thoughts and behavior in order to stay focused on achieving a goal.

Mental flexibility, fluid intelligence, and divergent thinking

Mental flexibility is closely linked to fluid intelligence — the ability to reason and solve unfamiliar problems in a flexible way — and to divergent thinking, which is the skill of thinking creatively and exploring alternative solutions.

This trio of abilities reinforces one another and helps individuals innovate, adapt to their environment, and develop important skills such as psychological resilience and critical thinking.

These capabilities are highly valued in today’s information-driven job market, where change is constant and uncertainty is a common feature of the work environment.

Cognitive flexibility vs. mental rigidity: why the difference matters

If cognitive flexibility is the ability to shift our perspective on a situation and act accordingly, mental rigidity is the exact opposite. People with cognitive rigidity often struggle to adapt to change — has that ever happened to you?

Adapting to change is essential for learning and academic development. For example, having a flexible mind can make it easier to solve math problems, understand reading material, and write coherently. In short, it has a direct impact on educational performance.

What are the consequences of cognitive rigidity?

Cognitive rigidity can lead to inflexible responses that hinder effective analysis of situations, making problem-solving more difficult. Individuals affected by it often resist change and tend to see reality in absolute terms (known as black-and-white or dichotomous thinking), without recognizing nuance.

In more severe cases, this rigidity can result in a total inability to adapt to circumstances, behavioral changes, and difficulty forming emotional connections or solving even simple everyday problems.

From a neuropsychological perspective, individuals with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), mood disorders such as depression, anxiety, or bipolar disorder, as well as those with dementia, Parkinson’s disease, or eating disorders, often present alterations in cognitive flexibility.

The link between mental rigidity and individuals with binge eating disorder (BED) has been the focus of various scientific studies. One such example is the study Who Influences Whom: The Cognitive Flexibility – Emotions – Eating Disorders Triad, conducted by researchers from the Institute of Behavioral Sciences of Seville and Pablo de Olavide University in the same city.

What does it mean to have low cognitive flexibility?

As explained earlier, having low cognitive flexibility means struggling to adapt to change and being unable to view situations from different perspectives or adjust one’s thinking to deal with new circumstances.

To be more specific, the key characteristics of low cognitive flexibility include:

• Mental rigidity and resistance to change
  
• Black-and-white (dichotomous) thinking
  
• Intense or disproportionate emotional reactions
  
• A selective focus on the negative
  
• Difficulty prioritizing and making decisions, as the person may be unable to distinguish between what is important and what is not
  

The good news is that mental flexibility can be improved. Developing this skill helps individuals adapt more easily, become more creative, and regulate their emotions more effectively. A bit later, we’ll share exercises and tips to help you strengthen it.

What are the benefits of cognitive flexibility?

The benefits of developing cognitive flexibility are numerous and apply to both personal and professional aspects of life:

• Improves decision-making and frustration tolerance by enhancing the ability to adapt to changing environments and uncertain situations. People with high cognitive flexibility can also offer multiple solutions to the same problem depending on the context.
  
• Strengthens interpersonal skills such as empathy, effective communication, conflict resolution, social adaptability, and flexibility, thanks to the ability to analyze situations from various perspectives.
  
• Encourages learning from mistakes, as a flexible thinker is more open to changing their opinion and admitting when they might be wrong.
  
• Reduces stress by promoting better responses to unexpected or unfamiliar situations without triggering intense emotional reactions, and by preventing overfixation on problems.
  
• Boosts professional success, as individuals with flexible thinking tend to focus on relevant information for achieving goals and are better at spotting new opportunities.
  
• Helps prevent cognitive decline in older adults. It’s worth noting that with regular mental training, cognitive flexibility can be maintained or its decline significantly slowed during aging.
  
• Enhances learning outcomes, since it improves creativity and the ability to generate innovative solutions to all types of challenges.

Examples of cognitive flexibility in children and adults: how to recognize it

Before we share exercises to help you develop psychological flexibility, let’s look at some examples in children and adults to better illustrate what cognitive flexibility looks like. These can also help you recognize whether those around you are cognitively flexible.

In children, watch for scenarios like these:

• Changes in routine: Observe how they respond when their usual schedule is disrupted — for instance, if a favorite after-school activity or planned event is canceled. A calm, adaptive reaction is a sign of strong mental flexibility.
  
• Rule changes in familiar games: If you tweak the rules of a game they know well and they adapt without frustration, it’s a good indicator of cognitive flexibility.
  
• Learning a new language: Children who can adjust their pronunciation and adapt to new grammar rules show a mindset that’s open to change and learning.
  

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In adults — especially in the workplace — some signs of strong adaptability include:

• Adjusting project direction when a supervisor, teammate, or client requests it, without becoming overwhelmed or frustrated.
  
• Understanding other perspectives and even modifying their own opinion or approach in response to new information or input.
  
• Facilitating conflict resolution by empathizing and considering alternative viewpoints.
  
• Adopting new tools or technologies and integrating them into their daily routine, especially digital or software-based solutions.
  
• Reorganizing their schedule quickly and efficiently in response to a sudden change — like a canceled trip — by finding alternative plans with ease.
  

It’s important to note that cognitive flexibility tends to be lower in both young children and older adults. In children, this is because the brain is still developing up to around age 21. In older adults, a natural cognitive decline during aging can reduce flexibility.

Exercises to improve cognitive flexibility

If you want to strengthen your flexible thinking, here are some specific exercises. Take note!

• Play strategy games like chess. These are great for practicing shifting focus and proactively considering different possibilities.
  
• Find solutions to the same problem with altered conditions. For example, try creating something but limit the materials you can use. This encourages lateral thinking.
  
• Rewrite a story from different characters’ perspectives. This helps open your mind to various interpretations of the same event.
  
• Practice mindfulness to improve present-moment awareness. This is fundamental for enhancing flexible thinking.
  
• Change your daily routines. Switch up study methods, learn something new, rearrange your furniture… Face unfamiliar situations and avoid always following the same patterns. This will activate your brain’s adaptation circuits.
  
• Read and learn about other cultures. Analyze their ways of life, laws, and customs that may seem unusual. The goal is to understand that there are many ways to organize society. Try to see if you can learn from them.
  

Integrating these exercises into your daily life will help you boost your ability to shift perspectives, adapt to new rules, and generate alternatives when facing challenges.

5 strategies to boost mental flexibility in the classroom

Mental flexibility is essential for meaningful learning. By fostering it in the classroom, you help your students adapt to new tasks and creatively connect concepts.

Here are some activities you can introduce in your lessons:

• Pose problems with multiple solutions to encourage the exchange of ideas. This practice strengthens open-mindedness.
  
• Organize debates where students take on opposing roles to their own views. This challenges them to argue from perspectives they might find uncomfortable.
  
• Promote a culture of error analysis by asking students to reflect on mistakes they’ve made and brainstorm solutions to avoid them in the future. This helps build flexibility in the face of frustration.
  
• Ask questions that encourage metacognition, such as “What did you learn by changing your approach?”
  
• Incorporate self-assessment and peer assessment, which invite students to reconsider their own thinking and accept diverse feedback.
  

Have you ever played musical chairs? Participants walk around a set of chairs (fewer chairs than players) to music, and when the music stops, they must quickly find a seat. This simple, fun game also helps develop flexible thinking!

How can you improve and develop cognitive flexibility step by step?

If you’re not sure where to start developing cognitive flexibility, begin by observing your mental habits, questioning your beliefs, introducing challenges, and consistently training your mind to boost brain neuroplasticity.

Neuroplasticity is the brain’s ability to reorganize itself, form new connections, and adapt to all kinds of changes.

We’ll walk you through the process step by step with examples and tips. Keep in mind that you can apply these strategies to improve your own cognitive flexibility or that of your students or work teams.

Step 1: Observe your mental habits

The first thing you should do is identify any rigid patterns in how you approach situations, think, or make decisions.

For example, if you always take the same route to work or complete tasks following a fixed routine, why not try changing those habits to challenge your automatic behaviors and stimulate mental shifting?

Step 2: Question beliefs and change perspectives

Open yourself to different approaches and don’t hold too tightly to your own ideas. For example, even if you’ve always done a specific task one way, if a colleague suggests a different method, consider trying it out to see if it works better. 

Being able to consider alternatives can be a great opportunity to improve your performance. Other ways to challenge your beliefs include reading opinions that oppose yours or participating in debates. This is a fantastic way to develop critical thinking — in short, avoid confirmation bias.

Step 3: Practice mindful pauses

Information overload, tasks, or responsibilities can diminish your ability to consider alternatives — or even notice them. 

The same happens during heated exchanges. Avoid reacting impulsively; take a few seconds or minutes, depending on the situation, to reorganize your thoughts and respond constructively. 

You can practice breathing exercises and mindfulness before acting on stress or primal instincts. This will help you avoid cognitive rigidity and learn to respond assertively.

Step 4: Introduce small daily challenges

How many times have you heard that the mind prefers comfort? And it’s true — so challenge it by stepping out of its comfort zone to break habitual response patterns and foster creativity. 

Small actions like brushing your hair with your non-dominant hand, doing a task with your eyes closed, tackling a new activity with some difficulty, or even assembling a puzzle can help make your mind more flexible. The secret is to consciously change your routines.

Step 5: Repetition, monitoring, and neuroplasticity

At this stage, focus on building strong connections in your brain thanks to neuroplasticity — the brain’s ability to form new connections and strengthen them through experience. 

You can achieve this by combining learning something new that requires effort (which will demand constant adaptation) with consistent practice over time. 

Sign up for a course, learn a language, or pursue whatever motivates you most. The key is to choose a challenge and stick with it daily in a continuous learning process that also involves regularly reviewing your progress through self-assessments and/or feedback from others. 

If you don’t have much time, there are no excuses — today, there are countless digital platforms and apps that let you study or develop skills remotely, whenever you can.

Final recommendations for maintaining a flexible mind

Now that you know what cognitive flexibility is, what it’s for, the benefits it offers, and how to improve it, you’re ready to make the most of this checklist of final recommendations to maintain your cognitive flexibility:

6 tips to develop your cognitive flexibility

1. Practice active questioning.
   
2. Train alternative thinking to solve everyday problems.
   
3. Make small voluntary changes to your routines.
   
4. Cultivate tolerance for uncertainty.
   
5. Surround yourself with open-minded people and meet new people.
   
6. Exercise your mind daily.
   

One last piece of advice: while technological innovations and artificial intelligence can be powerful tools, try not to over-rely on them when stimulating your mind.

Cognitive flexibility in children and how to develop it from an early age 

Children have great potential to stimulate cognitive flexibility thanks to brain plasticity and continuous learning through exploration. 

That’s why it’s so important to develop it during the early years — something that will benefit the child in adulthood by allowing for better emotional regulation and successful adaptation to social and school environments. 

Role-playing games, improvisational theater, and interactive activities that require strategy changes and divergent thinking strengthen mental flexibility during this stage. In this regard, platforms like Wordwall or Smartick Brain are especially appealing for digital natives. 

To encourage their engagement with the practice, allow the child to propose new rules and use metacognitive techniques, such as asking whether they would approach a specific situation differently.

Cognitive flexibility and mental health: how does it impact well-being? 

Cognitive flexibility is linked to emotional regulation and resilience. By developing it, you can lower stress and anxiety levels and adapt more smoothly to change.

Can cognitive flexibility help in cases of ADHD? 

Yes, various studies — such as Relationship between Mental Flexibility (Performance in WCST) and Intelligence in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (Medrano Nava et al., 2010) — have shown that children with ADHD tend to make more errors in cognitive flexibility tests. 

However, cognitive training games have proven effective in improving executive function control and enhancing adaptation to the environment.

How is cognitive flexibility assessed? 

Cognitive flexibility can be measured through neuropsychological tests that evaluate executive regulation, mental adaptability, or strategy shifting.

Among the most commonly used tools is the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), which focuses on assessing whether a person can modify patterns of thinking. Other frequently used assessments include:

• The Trail Making Test (TMT), which evaluates switching between sets of rules.
  
• The Stroop Test, aimed at analyzing cognitive inhibition.
  

For remote assessments, Smowltech offers proctoring plans adaptable to any type of project. These solutions allow you to provide users with secure environments that respect their privacy.

Additionally, our systems generate detailed reports on participant behavior, which can help identify cognitive rigidity patterns or guide adjustments to tests based on the user’s level of mental flexibility.

You can request a free, no-obligation demo. It’s a great opportunity to see how we can support your project and answer any questions you may have.

Resources and tools for further learning

If you want to keep exploring what cognitive flexibility is and how you can strengthen it, take a look at these recommended resources:

• How the Mind Works by cognitive scientist Steven Pinker. This book helps you understand how human cognition can adapt to change, offering insights into flexible thinking and brain function.
• The chapter focused on cognitive flexibility, featured in the International Encyclopedia of Ergonomics and Human Factors, authored by José J. Cañas and published on ResearchGate.