There are certain habits that are difficult to modify beyond the particularities that each person has gone through in their life. On some occasions, this may be a consequence of age and the deeply rooted customs of society. Taking this perspective, it can be understood that there are situations that could be thought of in another way, but adopting another point of view would be an arduous and complex task. After all, life subjects us to constant unexpected changes that require hasty decisions. In these cases, there are people who can vary their ideals and adapt to the modifications that arise from an area punctual, while others are not willing to reflect and produce variations that affect actions, emotions and behaviors.
In this Psychology-Online article we will explain what is cognitive rigidity and how to work it.
Cognitive rigidity can be defined as the impossibility of carrying out other types of behaviors and/or beliefs that represent a novelty for the person. In other words, it consists of
Beyond the fact that we are talking about a particular person, cognitive rigidity can also be reflected in the Difficulty accepting other points of view about certain events.
It is important to establish strategies to detect this problem in time to find alternatives for the life of a person who suffers from this difficulty. One of the ways is the neuropsychological evaluation, in addition to some other instruments that are used to evaluate cognitive rigidity and that we show you below:
- Inattention Test: consists of touching buttons when yellow lights appear on a screen. However, no button should be pressed at the time they change color.
- Simultaneity test: within a screen, the person must follow the path of a white ball and pay attention to certain words. When there is a match between the word and its color, an answer must be established. This test tests the degree of attention together with adaptation to changes.
- Synchronization test: the objective is to coordinate the path of a ball with the pointer on the screen. In this way, the synchronicity between the movements is evaluated.
Despite the difficulties that this quality raises, there are some methods that allow establishing a treatment. In this section we show you how you can work on cognitive rigidity:
- Establish new goals: the renewal of objectives requires different strategies to achieve what is proposed. On a piece of paper or document, it is advisable to write down those goals that you seek to achieve.
- Perform psychological therapy: Going to a mental health professional helps dismiss beliefs that are taken as absolute truths. In this way, therapy invites us to reflect on the points of view that are adopted in life.
- Change of habits: beyond having incorporated certain knowledge, the modification of routines, behaviors and ideas seeks to implement greater flexibility.
- Perform physical exercise: the release of endorphins produces a relaxation in the central nervous system. In turn, this has the effect of greater cognitive flexibility.
- Appeal to artistic media: It is known that art is one of the means of expressing feelings. In this sense, there are no rigid and specific patterns to follow since there are no set rules in art. Practicing some artistic activity helps to work on cognitive rigidity.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
