Cognitive Rigidity - The 8-Ball From Hell

Cognitive Rigidity: The 8-Ball From Hell
https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/making-sense-autistic-spectrum-disorders/201608/cognitive-
rigidity-the-8-ball-hell
When I was a kid eons before Pokemon and X-Box my friends and I would amuse
ourselves with a Magic 8-Ball. Youd ask the 8-Ball a question (Will I pass the algebra
quiz tomorrow?, Does so-and-so like me?), give the ball a shake, then peer into a
little window on the bottom for its reply sometimes definitive (e.g., Signs point to
Yes), but often ambiguous (Are you sure you really want to know?). Despite
the advent of electronic games, the 8-Ball has retained its popularity, and has spawned
many imitations, including an astrology 8-ball, and Dr. Freuds Amazing Therapy Ball,
a tongue-in-cheek psychotherapy tool which features responses such as MMM-
hmmmm, Tell me more, and How long have you felt this way? For those who are
hooked on electronics, theres an on-line version, and an 8-ball app for your phone,
although in my opinion these are not nearly as much fun as the real thing.
What has all of this got to do with autism? Just this: I think of cognitive rigidity one of
the core features of ASD as The 8-Ball from Hell, with behaviors and traits extending
far beyond the core features of ASD, impacting virtually every aspect of the individuals
life. In this post I will briefly summarize these behaviors and traits. I will elaborate on
them in subsequent posts. I also invite you to check out my own web page and book,
where I discuss these issues in depth.
The technical definition of cognitive rigidity is Difficulty changing mental sets. Simply
put, this means switching from thinking about things one way, to thinking about them a
different way. (People who can do this easily are said to have "cognitive flexibility" - the
opposite of cognitive rigidity.) Lets say I give you a pile of red and blue blocks of
different sizes, and ask you to sort them by "first by size, then by color." Then I repeat
the task, with different colors or shapes. Each time, your task is to sort by size, then by
color. By the way, this is a timed task, and youll earn extra points for speed, and at the
end you get to cash in your points for a prize. Youve been doing this task for ten or 15
minutes, and youre getting pretty good at it; your times are coming down. Then I throw
you a curve ball: with the next set of blocks I say Sort these first by color, then by size!
- the opposite of what youve been doing up to now. Making that kind of switch requires
cognitive flexibility. The first few times, you may catch yourself involuntarily doing it the
old way, in spite of yourself. And that's on a simple block-sorting task! Think of how
much more powerful cognitive rigidity becomes for more complex, or deeply embedded
tasks and behaviors.
Cognitive rigidity is all around us. How many times have you heard
perfectly intelligentindividuals resist something, offering as their only the objection the
protest Ive never done it that way before!? (Thus, the noted English economist John Maynard
Keynes famously quipped "The difficulty lies, not in the new ideas, but in escaping from the old
ones, which ramify, for those brought up as most of us have been, into every corner of our
minds.") There is a certain comfort that comes from familiarity. On the other hand, some people
are so stuck in one way of doing things that they miss out on a lot and any unexpected
changes throw them for a loop. This trait is not unique to ASD, of course. We were talking in an
earlier blog post about the Broad Autism Phenotype people with autistic-like traits that fall
short of ASD itself. Cognitive Rigidity is one of those traits!
If that were the whole story, it would be simple. But its not that simple. Cognitive
Rigidity does not occur in isolation. Rather, Mother Nature bundles cognitive rigidity
with a suite of other traits and behaviors. Find one of these traits or behaviors, and
youll frequently find the rest of them lurking about either within the individual, or within
other members of that individuals family.
In the lead figure, Ive divided these associated traits and behaviors into Externalizing
and Internalizing. Externalizing behaviors are things that are visible on the outside;
internalizing behaviors are things we carry around on the inside. (In that sense,
Internalizing behaviors are more a state of mind rather than a behavior. But we are
stuck with the term.)
In the upper box (Externalizing Behaviors) we find insistently repetitious behavior,
difficulty with unmet expectations, perfectionism, compulsions, and perseveration. In
parentheses Ive listed Agitation, Aggression, and Self-Injurious Behavior (SIB). Ive
put these in parentheses because they are not direct expression of Cognitive Rigidity.
Rather, are the downstream consequences that arise if a person with Cognitive Rigidity
is not able to fulfill his or her rigidly held expectations.
In the lower box, Ive listed the Internalizing Behaviors that usually accompany
cognitive rigidity. Notice that Ive listed Perfectionism in both the upper and lower
boxes! Thats not a mistake. Rather, its to emphasize that perfectionism qualifies as an
externalizing behavior when we see its visible manifestations (relentless hand-washing
in someone with OCD, for example), as well as an internalizing behavior (the
overwhelming need to get things just right). Likewise, obsessions (recurrent, intrusive
thoughts) are the silent, internal partner of compulsions (outwardly visible repetitive
behaviors). Finally, we come to the big killers (literally as well as metaphorically):
Anxiety, Depression, and Suicidality. Like agitation, aggression and SIB, anxiety,
depression and suicidality are not direct expressions of Cognitive Rigidity. Rather, then
represent either associated neuropsychological traits (because of the way the brain is
wired), or downstream consequences.
Ill go into detail on all of this in follow-up posts. Meanwhile, to find out more, check
out my web page and my book.
Until next time.

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