Cognitive Flexibility
The ability to shift between ways of thinking.
What it is
In a study of ambient noise and idea generation, people with higher flexibility produced more ideas in noise. It is drawn from work by Precious Mones and Jessica Massonnié (2022).
In effect
In the article on why we work better in cafés, a card-sorting task measured flexibility alongside an alternative uses task.
What it does not say
The study involved 42 undergraduate adults and measured flexibility with a card-sorting task. It does not settle how flexibility and noise work together in other groups, and it does not say that people with lower flexibility cannot benefit from noise.
Sources
- Mones, P., & Massonnié, J. (2022). What can you do with a bottle and a hanger? Students with high cognitive flexibility give more ideas in the presence of ambient noise. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 46, 101116.