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Behavioral Flexibility: Attentional Shifting, Rule Switching, and Response Reversal

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Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology

Synonyms

Adaptability; Cognitive flexibility; Responsiveness

Definition

Behavioral flexibility refers to the adaptive change in the behavior of an animal, in response to changes in the external or internal environment. Ongoing behavior (which might include inactivity) is stopped or modified and new behavior is initiated. Adaptive changes in behavior can vary by degree, ranging from changes that are little more than reflexes or tropic reactions (i.e., reflecting a change in environmental conditions but without the involvement of cognitive processes) to behavioral changes that are anticipatory of environmental changes. Unlike impulsivity, which is responding without inhibitory control and can be maladaptive (see “Impulse Control Disorders”), behavioral flexibility reflects a change in cognitive state in response to the perceived environmental contingencies.

Given that there is a wide range of adaptive responses, it is important to be clear about terminology, particularly if the intention...

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of St Andrews, South Street, St Andrews, Fife, KY16 9JP, Scotland, UK

    Verity J. Brown & David S. Tait

Authors
  1. Verity J. Brown
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  2. David S. Tait
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Verity J. Brown .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Section of Behavioural Pharmacology, King's College London Institute of Psychiatry P049, London, United Kingdom

    Ian P. Stolerman

  2. Brown Medical School, Butler Hospital, Providence, Rhode Island, USA

    Lawrence H. Price

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Brown, V.J., Tait, D.S. (2014). Behavioral Flexibility: Attentional Shifting, Rule Switching, and Response Reversal. In: Stolerman, I., Price, L. (eds) Encyclopedia of Psychopharmacology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_340-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27772-6_340-2

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27772-6

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