PLoS ONE (Jan 2023)

Study protocol: How does cognitive flexibility relate to other executive functions and learning in healthy young adults?

  • Ke Tong,
  • Yuan Ni Chan,
  • Xiaoqin Cheng,
  • Bobby Cheon,
  • Michelle Ellefson,
  • Restria Fauziana,
  • Shengchuang Feng,
  • Nastassja Fischer,
  • Balázs Gulyás,
  • Natalie Hoo,
  • David Hung,
  • Kastoori Kalaivanan,
  • Christelle Langley,
  • Kean Mun Lee,
  • Li Ling Lee,
  • Timothy Lee,
  • Irene Melani,
  • Nadhilla Melia,
  • Jia Ying Pei,
  • Lisha Raghani,
  • Yoke Loo Sam,
  • Peter Seow,
  • John Suckling,
  • Yan Fen Tan,
  • Chew Lee Teo,
  • Ryutaro Uchiyama,
  • Hui Shan Yap,
  • Georgios Christopoulos,
  • Henriette Hendriks,
  • Annabel Chen,
  • Trevor Robbins,
  • Barbara Sahakian,
  • Zoe Kourtzi,
  • Victoria Leong,
  • CLIC Phase 1 Consortium

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0286208
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 18, no. 7
p. e0286208

Abstract

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BackgroundCognitive flexibility (CF) enables individuals to readily shift from one concept or mode of practice/thoughts to another in response to changes in the environment and feedback, making CF vital to optimise success in obtaining goals. However, how CF relates to other executive functions (e.g., working memory, response inhibition), mental abilities (e.g., creativity, literacy, numeracy, intelligence, structure learning), and social factors (e.g., multilingualism, tolerance of uncertainty, perceived social support, social decision-making) is less well understood. The current study aims to (1) establish the construct validity of CF in relation to other executive function skills and intelligence, and (2) elucidate specific relationships between CF, structure learning, creativity, career decision making and planning, and other life skills.MethodsThis study will recruit up to 400 healthy Singaporean young adults (age 18-30) to complete a wide range of cognitive tasks and social questionnaires/tasks. The richness of the task/questionnaire battery and within-participant administration enables us to use computational modelling and structural equation modelling to examine connections between the latent constructs of interest.Significance and impactThe current study is the first systematic investigation into the construct validity of CF and its interrelationship with other important cognitive skills such as learning and creativity, within an Asian context. The study will further explore the concept of CF as a non-unitary construct, a novel theoretical proposition in the field. The inclusion of a structure learning paradigm is intended to inform future development of a novel intervention paradigm to enhance CF. Finally, the results of the study will be useful for informing classroom pedagogy and the design of lifelong learning policies and curricula, as part of the wider remit of the Cambridge-NTU Centre for Lifelong Learning and Individualised Cognition (CLIC).