Rigidity of thought and behavior: 100 years of research.

Genetic, Social, and General Psychology Monographs, May, 2002 by Schultz, P. Wesley; Searleman, Alan

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,...

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