The pitfalls of doing the right thing for the wrong reason

In a previous model of the Wisconsin Card Sorting task, the correct sorting rule shifted several times from one sorting criterion (e.g., color matching) to another criterion (e.g., shape matching). Yet a few of the cards matched a template simultaneously on the old and the new criterion. It was found that correct answers on those cards slowed the change from the old to the new rule. An analogy can be drawn to real-life situations involving changes of prevailing rules, such as a change from a neurotic to an adaptive pattern in psychotherapy or a change from an incorrect to a correct method for solving algebra problems. Actions that fit both the old and the new rules can adventitiously prolong the survival of the maladaptive old rule.