Cognitive rigidity extends a physical property metaphor to describe thought resistance to change

Evidence

Rigidity is a term from common parlance with a root meaning that makes reference to the physical world. To produce changes of form in a substance a degree of resistance must be overcome. When this resistance exceeds our expectations—when a joint moves stiffly or a lump of clay is not malleable—we are likely to call the substance “rigid.” Abstracting from the physical case we attribute rigidity to thought and behavior when they are exceptionally resistant to applied forces. An elderly person who cannot change his ideas with the changing times manifests rigidity; a patient in psychotherapy who does not relinquish his defenses, in spite of the therapist’s insightful interpretations of them, manifests rigidity. The prejudiced person is supposed to show rigidity in his refusal to give up ethnic stereotypes which are presumably contradicted by common experience. — John T. Jost and Jim Sidanius, Political Psychology, 572

Categorization

• DEFINE: Defines ‘rigidity’ by tracing its physical-mechanical root meaning and its abstract extension to cognition and prejudice.
• CANDY: The metaphor-tracing — a stiff joint or non-malleable clay becoming a description of stubborn minds and ethnic stereotyping — is an engaging way to show how psychological terms borrow from the physical world.
• XREF: connects to: Even abstract thought is built from physical and sensory metaphors — Sarah Bakewell, At the Existentialist Café: Freedom,…, 728; Rigidity in thought is a firmness that converts phenomena into resistant concepts — Catherine Malabou, The Future of Hegel: Plasticity,…, 1027; Thought is a constant knowledge-becoming that resists assessment — Édouard Glissant, Poetics of Relation, 84 (+1 more)