Title: Rigidity (psychology) - Wikipedia
Headings: Rigidity (psychology)
Rigidity (psychology)
Contents
Background
Mental set
Behavioral sets
Origins and anthropology
Causes
Stages
Traits
Accompanying externalizing behaviors
Accompanying internalizing behaviors
Manifestations of rigidity
Associated conditions
Cognitive closure
Autism spectrum disorder
Obsessive-compulsive disorder
Scrupulosity
Effects
Ethnocentrism
Cultural and religious use
Strategies for overcoming rigidity
Consequences of unfulfillment
References
See also

Content: With more than 100 years of research on the matter there is some established and clear data. Nonetheless, there is still much controversy surrounding several of the fundamental aspects of rigidity. In the early stages of approaching the idea of rigidity, it is treated as "a unidimensional continuum ranging from rigid at one end to flexible at the other". This idea dates back to the 1800s and was later articulated by Charles Spearman who described it as mental inertia. Prior to 1960 many definitions for the term rigidity were afloat. One example includes Kurt Goldstein 's, which he stated, "adherence to a present performance in an inadequate way", another being Milton Rokeach saying the definition was, " [the] inability to change one's set when the objective conditions demand it". Others have simplified rigidity down to stages for easy defining. Generally, it is agreed upon that it is evidenced by the identification of mental or behavioral sets. Lewin and Kounin also proposed a theory of cognitive rigidity (also called Lewin-Kounin formulation) based on a Gestalt perspective and they used it to explain a behavior in mentally retarded persons that is inflexible, repetitive, and unchanging. The theory proposed that it is caused by a greater "stiffness" or impermeability between inner-personal regions of individuals, which influence behavior.