The rigidity construct is reinterpreted in terms of the cognitive developmental approach. A review of previous theory and research has revealed both cognitive and developmental themes, with an emphasis on the structural and operational properties of rigidity. Weaknesses of previous approaches to rigidity are noted, and implications and predictions from the proposed model are discussed.
Get full access to this article
View all access options for this article.
References
1.
FlavellJ., The Developmental Psychology of Jean Piaget, Van Nostrand, Princeton, New Jersey, 1963.
2.
FlavellJ., Cognitive Development, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey, 1970.
3.
PiagetJ. and InhelderB., The Child's Conception of Space, Norton, New York, 1967.
4.
PiagetJ., The Child's Conception of Physical Causality, Kegan Paul, London, 1930.
5.
KohlbergL., The Development of Children's Orientation Toward a Moral Order: I. Sequences in the Development of Moral Thought, Vita Humana, 6, pp. 11–33, 1963.
6.
PiagetJ., The Moral Judgment of the Child, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London, 1932.
7.
WernerH., Comparative Psychology of Mental Development, International Universities Press, New York, 1948.
8.
LangerJ., Theories of Development, Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, New York, 1969.
9.
BotwinickJ., Drives, Expectencies and Emotions, in Handbook of Aging and the Individual: Psychological and Biological Aspects, BirrenJ., (ed.), Chicago University Press, Chicago, 1959.
10.
CattellR., The Riddle of Perseveration: Creative Effort and Disposition Rigidity, Journal of Personality, 16, pp. 229–238, 1946.
11.
CattellR., The Riddle of Perseveration: Solution in Terms of Personality Structure, Journal of Personality, 16, pp. 329–367, 1946.
12.
CattellR. and TinerL., The Varieties of Structural Rigidity, Journal of Personality, 17, pp. 321–341, 1949.
13.
ChownS., Rigidity and the Flexible Concept, Psychological Bulletin, 56, pp. 195–223, 1959.
14.
GoldsteinK., Concerning Rigidity, Character and Personality, 11, pp. 209–226, 1943.
15.
KendigI. and ShevachB., Studies of Perseveration—A Survey of Researches in Perseveration, Journal of Psychology, 3, pp. 223–230, 1936.
16.
LevineA., Perseveration Rigidity, and Persistance, Psychological Reports, 1, Monograph Supplement No. 5, pp. 107–125, 1955.
17.
RyansD., The Measurement of Persistance: An Historical Review, Psychological Review, 36, pp. 715–733, 1939.
18.
WernerH., The Concept of Rigidity—A Critical Evaluation, Psychological Review, 53, pp. 43–52, 1946.
19.
LooftW., Egocentrism and Social Interaction Across the Life Span, Psychological Bulletin, 78, pp. 73–92, 1972.
20.
GlennN., Aging and Conservatism, Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, pp. 176–186, September, 1974.
21.
SpearmanC., Psychology Down the Ages, MacMillan, London, 1937.
22.
SpearmanC., The Abilities of Man: Their Nature and Measurement, MacMillan, New York, 1927.
23.
BieshevelS., The Measurement of the Threshold for Flicker and Its Value as a Perseveration Test, British Journal of Psychology, 29, pp. 27–38, 1938.
24.
CattellR., On the Measurement of Perseveration, British Journal of Educational Psychology, 5, pp. 76–91, 1935.
25.
CattellR. and WinerA., Structural Rigidity in Relation to Learning Theory and Clinical Psychology, Psychological Review, 59, pp. 23–89, 1952.
26.
WalkerK.StainesR., and KennaJ., Is There a General Factor of Perseveration?, Australian Journal of Psychology and Philosophy, 19, pp. 58–75, 1941.
27.
ThurstoneL., Primary Mental Abilities, University of Chicago Press, Chicago, Illinois, 1938.
28.
LoevingerJ., The Meaning and Measurement of Ego Development, American Psychologist, 21, pp. 195–206, 1966.
29.
BussA., Some Determinants of Rigidity in Discrimination-Reversal Learning, Journal of Experimental Psychology, 44, pp. 222–237, 1952.
30.
HeglinH., Problem Solving Set in Different Age Groups, Journal of Gerontology, 11, pp. 210–316, 1956.
31.
RokeachM., Generalized Rigidity as a Factor of Ethnocentrism, Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 43, pp. 259–277, 1948.
32.
SchaieK., Rigidity-Flexibility and Intelligence: A Cross-Sectional Study of the Adult Life Span From Twenty-Ninety Years, Psychological Monographs, 772:9, (Whole No. 462), pp. 1–26, 1958.
33.
ChownS., Age and the Rigidities, Journal of Gerontology, 16, pp. 353–362, 1961.
34.
WernerH., The Concept of Development From a Comparative and Organismic Point of View, in The Concept of Development, HarrisD., (ed.), University of Minnesota Press, Minneapolis, Minnesota, 1957.
35.
KouninK., Experimental Studies of Rigidity, Character and Personality, 9, pp. 251–282, 1941.
36.
BotwinickJ., Aging and Behavior, Springer, New York. 1973.
37.
BotwinickJ.RobbinJ., and BrinleyJ., Reorganization of Perceptions with Age, Journal of Gerontology, 14, pp. 85–88, 1959.
38.
BotwinickJ.RobbinJ., and BrinleyJ., Modulation of Speed of Response with Age, Journal of Genetic Psychology, 95, pp. 137–144, 1959.
39.
KayH., Learning of a Serial Task by Different Age Groups, Quarterly Journal of Experimental Psychology, 3, pp. 156–183, 1951.
40.
RuchF., The Differentiative Effects of a Age Upon Human Learning, Journal of Genetic Psychology, 11, pp. 261–286, 1934.
41.
BotwinickJ.BrinleyJ., and RobbinJ., Task Alternation Time in Relation to Problem Difficulty and Age, Journal of Gerontology, 13, pp. 414–417, 1958.
42.
SpeakmanM., The Effect of Age on the Incidental Relearning of Stamp Values: The Use of Deduction in a Subsidiary Test, Journal of Gerontology, 9, pp. 162–167, 1954.
43.
BromleyD., Primitive Forms of Response to the Matrices Test, Journal of Scientific Measurement, 99, pp. 374–393, 1953.
44.
HornblumJ. and OvertonW., Area and Volume Conservation Among the Elderly; Assessment and Training, Developmental Psychology, 12, pp. 68–74, 1976.
45.
LooftW. and CharlesD., Egocentrism and Social Interaction in Young Children and Old Adults, Aging and Human Development, 2, pp. 21–28, 1971.
46.
PapaliaD. and Del Vento BielbyD., Cognitive Functioning in Middle and Old Age Adults, Human Development, 17, pp. 424–443, 1974.
47.
HasakP., Relationships Among Decentration, Personality, and Life Satisfaction in the Elderly, Dissertation Abstracts, 39, p. 2983, 1978.
48.
SandersS.LaurendeauM., and BergeronJ., Aging and the Concept of Space: The Conservation of Surfaces, Journal of Gerontology, 21, pp. 281–286, 1966.
49.
DennyN., Classification Abilities in the Elderly, Journal of Gerontology, 29, pp. 209–314, 1974.
50.
RestJ., Longitudinal Study of the Defining Issues Test of Moral Judgment—A Strategy for Analyzing Developmental Change, Developmental Psychology, 11, pp. 738–748, 1975.
51.
ShieldsE., Rigidity in the Aged, Dissertation Abstracts, 18, pp. 668–669, 1958.
52.
SchaieK. and StrotherC., A Cross-Sequential Study of Age Changes in Cognitive Behavior, Psychological Bulletin, 70, pp. 671–680, 1968.
53.
GouletL. and BaltesP., Life-Span Developmental Psychology, Academic Press, New York, 1970.
54.
PawlikK., Dimensionen des Verhaltens, Huber, Bern, 1968.
55.
ReinertG., Comparative Factor Analytic Studies of Intelligence, in Life-Span Developmental Psychology, GouletL. and BaltesP., (eds.), Academic Press, New York, 1970.
56.
EnrightR. and LapsleyD., Judging Others Who Hold Opposite Beliefs: The Development of Belief Discrepancy Reasoning, Child Development, 52, pp. 1053–1063, 1981.
57.
EnrightR.RobertsP., and LapsleyD., Belief Discrepancy Reasoning in the Elderly, Int'l. Journal of Aging and Human Development, in press.
58.
BlattM. and KohlbergL., Effects of Classroom Moral Discussions Upon Children's Levels of Moral Judgment, Journal of Moral Education, 4, pp. 129–162, 1975.
59.
EnrightR., An Integration of Social Cognitive Development and Cognitive Reasoning; Educational Application, American Educational Research Journal, 17, pp. 21–40, 1980.
60.
SprinthallN., A Program for Psychological Education: Some Preliminary Issues, Journal of School Psychology, 9, pp. 373–382, 1971.