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ABSTRACT. Rigidity is one of the oldest psychological constructs, with systematic research dating back to the late 19th century. The authors review this research in an attempt to clarify the construct of rigidity and to investigate its correlates. Rigidity is described as a multidimensional construct encompassing the tendency to form and perseverate in the use of mental and behavioral sets. A series of meta-analyses was performed based on three measures of behavioral rigidity: the Einstellung Water-Jar Task, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Task, and the motor-cognitive dimension of the Test of Behavioral Rigidity. The results indicated that rigidity is curvilinearly related to age, positively related to authoritarianism (particularly under stressful situations), and negatively related to intelligence; that men are more rigid than women; that obsessive-compulsiveness is positively related to rigidity; and that schizophrenics are more rigid than nonschizophrenic siblings and normal controls. Unresolved issues and gaps in the research are discussed.
Key words: mental set, perseveration, rigidity
THE CONSTRUCT OF RIGIDITY has a productive and venerable history in the field of psychology. Systematic research on rigidity can be traced back to the Gestalt psychologists of the late 19th and early 20th century (Cattell, 1946; Chown, 1959; Lankes, 1915; Luchins & Luchins, 1994; Muller & Schumann, 1898; Spearman, 1927; Stewin, 1983). An examination of the names associated with much of the early research on rigidity reads like an all-star roster: Raymond Cattell, Else Frenkel-Brunswik, William James, Kurt Lewin, Abraham Luchins, Milton Rokeach, Charles Spearman, and Louis Thurstone all made substantial contributions to the area. More than 100 years of systematic study of rigidity have produced a large body of research with some clear and established findings. However, controversies surrounding several fundamental aspects of rigidity remain.
Although the term rigidity may be somewhat out of vogue among personality and social psychologists today, we continue to see considerable interest in a range of highly related personality variables, such as flexibility, need for closure, and openness to experience. Indeed, every major personality inventory contains a dimension similar to rigidity. But what is rigidity? How is it measured? And what are the causes and correlates of resistance to change? For social psychologists, answers to these questions bear special importance. Social psychologists have always been interested in behavior change. As presented...