Development and psychometric validation of the cognitive flexibility scale for Indian adolescents

Abstract

A large number of instruments have been developed to measure cognitive flexibility, reflecting its growing recognition as an emerging and significant construct in psychology. The study reports on the development of a cognitive flexibility scale for adolescents, and the assessment of its internal consistency, test- retest reliability and validity. An exploratory sequential research design comprising three phases was employed. Phase 1 focused on item generation and testing an initial pool of items, leading to the development of a set of potential items for the scale. Phase 2 involved conducting a pilot study to assess the preliminary items, leading to the selection of the final set of items. Phase 3 was a validation phase where the scale was administered to a larger sample. Item analysis was used to assess the internal consistency of the scales, and Exploratory Factor Analysis to explore the properties of the CFS. Exploratory Factor Analysis using the principal axis identified a three-factor structure for the 26-item CFS. Internal consistency for the CFS (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.79) was found to be acceptable. The cognitive flexibility scale provides a validated tool that will allow educators and researchers to assess the cognition of secondary school students, enabling them to plan interventions for them.