Cognitive flexibility: theory, assessment, and treatment
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Updated: Oct 15, 2026

Assessment of Stress Effects on Cognitive Flexibility using an Operant Strategy Shifting Paradigm
Published on: May 4, 2020
1Department of Speech, Language and Hearing Sciences, University of Colorado, Boulder 80309, USA. rende@spot.colorado.edu
Abstract:
Cognitive flexibility is often impaired in persons with neurogenic communication and cognition disorders. There is, however, little information to guide clinicians in assessing and treating this aspect of executive functioning. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for clinicians who evaluate and treat persons with impaired cognitive flexibility. It (1) identifies basic definitions of flexibility, (2) discusses tests frequently used to assess flexibility, (3) provides a profile of characteristic patterns of inflexibility that persons with different communication and cognition disorders exhibit, and (4) discusses treatment options.
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