COGNITIVE FLEXIBILITY AND PSYCHOLOGICAL RESILIENCE AS DETERMINATES OF EXTREMIST ATTITUDES IN YOUTH

Abstract

The aim of the current study was to see the relationship between cognitive flexibility, resilience, and extremist tendencies in young adults with a focus on the mediating factor in resilience. A convenience sample of (N=296) men and women (18-29) and different academic backgrounds was used to study this sample. Due to the goal to measure core variables, the research used standard components. Correlational analysis results revealed that there is definite positive correlation between the combination of cognitive flexibility and resilience and a negative one between these two and extremist beliefs. In hierarchical regression, they found out that the mathematical behaviour of cognitive flexibility on extremism was initially insignificant but on addition of resilience to the model the effect was no longer detected. Mediation analysis substantiated this result whereby resilience was the full explanation of the relationship between cognitive flexibility and extremism. In effect, the more flexible in thinking a young adult is, the more resilient he/she can be and therefore reduces the chances of him/her acquiring extremist ideas. The results of these studies show the importance of fostering resilience and adaptability of thoughts as psychological protective factors against radical ideation. They also provide valuable advice regarding the development of programs of intervention that will help to improve the emotional and cognitive strengths in youth.