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The Psychology of Closed Mindedness
Abstract
The fundamental phenomenon of human closed-mindedness is treated in this volume. Prior psychological treatments of closed-mindedness have typically approached it from a psychodynamic perspective and have viewed it in terms of individual pathology. By contrast, the present approach stresses the epistemic functionality of closed-mindedness and its essential role in judgement and decision-making. Far from being restricted to a select group of individuals suffering from an improper socialization, closed-mindedness is something we all experience on a daily basis. Such mundane situational conditions as time pressure, noise, fatigue, or alcoholic intoxication, for example, are all known to increase the difficulty of information processing, and may contribute to one's experienced need for nonspecific closure. Whether constituting a dimension of stable individual differences, or being engendered situationally - the need for closure, once aroused, is shown to produce the very same consequences. These fundamentally include the tendency to 'seize' on early, closure-affording 'evidence', and to 'freeze' upon it thus becoming impervious to subsequent, potentially important, information. Though such consequences form a part of the individual's personal experience, they have significant implications for interpersonal, group and inter-group phenomena as well. The present volume describes these in detail and grounds them in numerous research findings of theoretical and 'real world' relevance to a wide range of topics including stereotyping, empathy, communication, in-group favouritism and political conservatism. Throughout, a distinction is maintained between the need for a nonspecific closure (i.e., any closure as long as it is firm and definite) and needs for specific closures (i.e., for judgments whose particular contents are desired by an individual). Theory and research discussed in this book should be of interest to upper level undergraduates, graduate students and faculty in social, cognitive, and personality psychology as well as in sociology, political science and business administration.
... The need for closure (NFC) is defined as "the individual's desire for a firm answer to a question, any firm answer as compared to confusion and/or ambiguity" (Kruglanski, 2004, p. 6). People high in NFC are extremely concerned about their similarity with others as it serves to maintain a solid view of the social world (Kruglanski, 2004). Since relationships help managing uncertainty, it is possible that this mechanism also applies to romantic couples. ...
... Moreover, we did not find a positive bias. As expected, for high NFC individuals reassurance may be given by the perceived similarity with the partner rather than a more positive evaluation of him/her (Kruglanski, 2004). H2 posed that the higher the actor's NFC the lower the accuracy effect. ...
... This strong result, although unexpected, is in line with our H2. A substantial literature demonstrated how the economic cognitive process adopted by high NFC individuals results in biased judgements about others (Kruglanski, 2004). However, it seems difficult to believe that high NFC individuals are so biased as to not consider the reality before making a judgement, and further studies are needed to better understand this result. ...
Individuals are motivated to have a reassuring vision of their partners’ characteristics that are central to the relationship such as romantic engagement. This can be particularly true for individuals with high levels of need for closure (NFC). In order to preserve a comforting and stable view of the relationship, they might be motivated by greater assumed similarity and lesser accuracy in perceiving partners’ romantic engagement. Three-hundred-fifteen heterosexual couples filled out a questionnaire with measures of NFC and self- and other-reported romantic engagement (harmonious and obsessive). Results showed that, for both types of romantic engagement, assumed similarity and accuracy effects were positive and significant. Moreover, NFC had a moderating role in the assumed similarity and accuracy effects in harmonious romantic engagement. In particular, high NFC individuals showed greater assumed similarity and lower accuracy compared to low NFC individuals.
... In the psychology literature, rational decision-making style and NFCC are depicted as two key aspects of the cognitive process (Barbosa et al., 2007;Kruglanski and Webster, 1996) that are particularly important in the context of entrepreneurial decision making because most contexts in which entrepreneurs make decisions, if not all, involve a high level of ambiguity and uncertainty (McMullen and Shepherd, 2006). This ambiguity and uncertainty constrains rational decision making and the availability of definite knowledge and information required for NFCC (Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski and Webster, 1996). Our theory suggests that entrepreneurs with different levels of rational decision making and NFCC diverge in how they selectively gather and process information; thus, they distribute more or less attention (i.e., weight) across multiple retrospective (period and degree of underperformance, personal investment) and prospective factors (risk of going into default, potential for growth, personal options) (DeTienne et al., 2008;Holland and Shepherd, 2013;Hoskisson et al., 2017). ...
... Accordingly, they become relatively impervious or close-minded to additional information (Kruglanski and Webster, 1996), tend to stop searching for alternatives, and jump to conclusions without consulting further evidence. This leads to the preservation of existing knowledge and resistance to new knowledge (Kruglanski, 2004;Shiloh et al., 2001;Van Hiel and Mervielde, 2003;Vermeir et al., 2002). ...
... Apart from their decision-making style, differences in how entrepreneurs process information and evaluate options in their decision making are also driven by their cognitive motivation, as captured by the concept of NFCC (Kruglanski, 2004;Schenkel et al., 2009). To better understand the effect of NFCC on entrepreneurial persistence decisions, we focus on two key mechanisms-uncertainty avoidance and the desire to process information (Kruglanski and Webster, 1996). ...
We theorize that both highly rational entrepreneurs and entrepreneurs with a high need for cognitive closure (NFCC) are likely to put more emphasis on retrospective factors (period and degree of underperformance, personal investments) and less on prospective factors (risk of going into default, potential for growth, personal options) when deciding whether to persist with an underperforming venture. Our findings from three discrete choice experiments with three independent samples of entrepreneurs (a sample of 176 Australian entrepreneurs; a narrow-replication with 128 Australian entrepreneurs; and a quasi-replication with 157 United Kingdom entrepreneurs) consistently show that entrepreneurs who perceive themselves as rational do not always demonstrate rational behavior and entrepreneurs with a high NFCC put more emphasis on retrospective factors in persistence decisions. Important theoretical and practical contributions flowing from our study are shared in the concluding section.
... Given the several implications of negative attitudes towards women as managers at the individual (von Hippel, Sekaquaptewa, & McFarlane, 2015) and organizational levels (Lyness & Heilman, 2006), it is important to investigate their potential antecedents as well as potential interventions. Accordingly, and in line with a general perspective on the person-based nature of prejudice (for comprehensive reviews see Dhont, Roets, & Van Hiel, 2011;Turner, Hodson, & Dhont, 2020), the present research, articulated in two studies, aimed to investigate the potential prejudice-reducing role of contact (actual or imagined) with women leaders in individuals characterized by a need for cognitive closure (NCC), or the desire for stable and certain knowledge (e.g., Kruglanski, 2004). ...
... The NCC can be thought of as the desire for stable and certain knowledge (Kruglanski, 2004); individuals characterized by an NCC have the desire to arrive at solutions that promise stability and certainty (i.e., the urgency, or seizing, phase) and then to hold on to this knowledge even if better answers are available (i.e., the permanence, or freezing, phase). A key point is that individuals characterized by an NCC are attracted to sources of knowledge that promise stability and certainty, whatever their content. ...
... F I G U R E 2 Attitudes towards women as managers as a function of need for cognitive closure and imagined contact (Study 2) We investigated the interplay between two forces that typically would have contrasting effects on attitudes towards women in leadership roles: the NCC and positive intergroup contact. Individuals characterized by an NCC have the desire for stable and certain knowledge (e.g., Kruglanski, 2004). Although there is no direct relationship between these desires and the content of specific stereotypes, stereotypes nonetheless can satisfy these desires. ...
This research investigated the relationship between individual preference for the need for cognitive closure (NCC) and attitudes towards women as managers and the moderating role of direct or imagined contact with women leaders. In two studies (total N = 369) collected in different countries and with different methods (Study 1: Italy, correlational; Study 2: U.S., experimental), it was found that the positive relationship between NCC and negative attitudes towards women as managers was moderated by the quality, but not the quantity of current or past direct contact experiences with women managers. In Study 1, employees with higher scores on NCC had more positive attitudes towards women managers when they had more positive work experience with women managers. In Study 2, those with higher NCC scores had less negative attitudes towards women as managers when they merely imagined (positive) contact with them (vs. a control group). These results advance the literature on the interaction between NCC and positive intergroup contact; theoretical and practical implications of NCC and positive intergroup contact are presented.
... rigidity implies that they are resistant to change, being organized in a coherent manner with little complexity and great differentiation from alternative beliefs (Tetlock, 1989;rokeach, 1960). The motivational force that contributes to the rigidity or freezing is a specific closure need (Kruglanski, 1989(Kruglanski, , 2004, which motivates society members to view the held conflict supporting beliefs as being truthful and valid because they fulfill for them various needs. It is thus extremely difficult to overcome these barriers, as at least segments of society members are well entrenched in them. 5. Societies involved in intractable conflict exert great efforts to assure that society members would adhere to the dominant conflict supporting repertoire and ignore alternative information. ...
... The contents themselves of the conflict supporting beliefs are only minor part of the problem. Theoretically they could be easily changed, but the essence of their functioning as barriers is their freezing (Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski & Webster, 1996). This freezing process is fed by structural, motivational, emotional factors that turn the conflict supporting beliefs to be rigid. ...
... soCIo-psyChologICal BarrIers to ConflICt resolutIon 223 beliefs or emotions when they satisfy human needs (eagley & Chaiken, 1993(eagley & Chaiken, , 1998. Kruglanski (2004) proposed that society members tend "to freeze on their prior knowledge if such knowledge was congruent with their needs" (pp. 17-18). in our case, the evolved repertoire helps to meet the challenges that intractable conflict poses: it helps to satisfy the deprived needs, facilitates coping with stress and is functional to withstanding the enemy through many years of conflict (Bar-Tal, 2007a). ...
... It is involved in decision-making such that it alludes to the motivational tendency towards getting a definite answer to reduce uncertainty (Raglan et al., 2014). High NCC has been associated with ambiguity intolerance, rapid decision making (Kruglanski, 2004), limited information searching (Choi et al., 2008), and reduced preference for new options (Mannetti et al., 2007). People with high NCC do not favor uncertain situations and situations that require a decision as opposed to those in which people have freedom to abstain from deciding (Kruglanski, 2004). ...
... High NCC has been associated with ambiguity intolerance, rapid decision making (Kruglanski, 2004), limited information searching (Choi et al., 2008), and reduced preference for new options (Mannetti et al., 2007). People with high NCC do not favor uncertain situations and situations that require a decision as opposed to those in which people have freedom to abstain from deciding (Kruglanski, 2004). Consequently, people with high NCC may make hasty decisions based on insufficient evidence to alleviate the unease incited by uncertainties and decision-making (Webster & Kruglanski, 1994). ...
... Heightened BIS makes individuals sensitive to the disease and contamination cues (e.g., COVID-19 vaccines) and directs cognitive and behavioral tendencies to eliminate sources of such cues. NCC would complement this relationship with a decision-making process based on simplistic information processing (for a review see Kruglanski, 2004), at the expense of thorough and careful consideration about COVID-19 vaccines. Supporting the association between NCC and vaccine hesitancy, Cole et al. (2015) revealed that individuals with high NCC are more resistant to getting vaccinated than their low NCC counterparts. ...
Vaccination has become one of the most effective ways of controlling the spread of COVID-19. Consequently, revealing the evolutionary and cognitive antecedents of COVID-19 vaccine hesitancy and vaccination intention has become crucial. Drawing on the theory of behavioral immune system (BIS), we investigate whether perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD) is associated with vaccination intentions through the need for cognitive closure (NCC) and vaccine hesitancy. The data was collected from 525 adults from Turkey. The structural equation modeling results indicate that of the two dimensions of PVD, germ aversion predicts COVID-19 vaccination intention through sequential mediation of NCC and vaccine hesitancy. Perceived infectability, on the other hand, is directly and positively related to vaccination intention. By showing the mediating role of NCC, our results offer an insight as to why germ aversion translates into vaccine hesitancy, and low vaccination intention. We discuss the potential benefits of considering the roles of BIS and NCC in campaigns and policies targeted at increasing COVID-19 vaccine uptake and suggest implications for such practices.
... Do radicalized Muslim prisoners differ from non-radicalized Muslim prisoners with regard to Kruglanski's (2004) quest for significance (QFS), need for (cognitive) closure (NFC), and their frame alignment regarding ideological and religious issues? To answer this research question N = 26 male inmates from Bavarian prisons were interviewed. ...
... Abstract: Do radicalized Muslim prisoners differ from non-radicalized Muslim prisoners with regard to Kruglanski's (2004) quest for significance (QFS), need for (cognitive) closure (NFC), and their frame alignment regarding ideological and religious issues? To answer this research question N = 26 male inmates from Bavarian prisons were interviewed. ...
... From these considerations, Kruglanski and colleagues derive three categories of events that can trigger the quest for significance: an experienced loss of significance, threats of loss of significance, and the possibility of gaining significance. A further motive that is discussed as an important factor in the radicalization process is the Need for (Cognitive) Closure (NFC; Kruglanski, 2004). According to the theory, the inability to bear ambiguity and the need for simple answers contributes to the fact that, when the need for significance is stimulated, individuals can become enthusiastic about a collectivist ideology that answers all open questions seemingly clearly and without contradiction. ...
Do radicalized Muslim prisoners differ from non-radicalized Muslim prisoners with regard to Kruglanski’s (2004) quest for significance (QFS), need for (cognitive) closure (NFC), and their frame alignment regarding ideological and religious issues? To answer this research question N = 26 male inmates from Bavarian prisons were interviewed. The radicalized prisoners or extremists ( n = 13) had been identified as Salafi or Jihadi adherents by the Bavarian Office for the Protection of the Constitution (Bayerischer Verfassungsschutz) and therefore had a security note. The comparison group were non-radicalized Muslim inmates ( n = 13); the vast majority had a migration background. The audio files of the interviews were transcribed and Mayring’s (2010) qualitative content analysis was applied. The obtained interview material was analyzed twice (each time with a different focus) for psychological differences and characteristics between the two groups of Muslim prisoners. In the first analysis, the interviews were investigated with regard to conspiracy theories, dualistic conception of the world, political sensitivity, collective and individual victimization and religious rigidity. Extremists exhibited a stronger frame alignment with respect to general conspiracy theories, dualistic conception of the world, collective victimization, and political sensitivity. Results also substantiate the idea that extremists exhibit more rigid religious behaviors than non-extremist Muslim prisoners. Contrary to our expectations, the two groups did not differ in various biographical features, for example whether they grew up in a family that actively practiced their religion. In the second analysis, we found that although the overall pattern regarding QFS turned out as expected, the radicalized inmates did not achieve higher values than their non-radicalized counterparts. However, we obtained substantial differences for subcategories of QFS. The extremist prisoners reported more norm violations as a trigger for QFS and more opportunities for gaining significance than non-extremists. This was also true for non-legitimate as well as non-criminal opportunities to gain significance. There was a substantial difference between extremists and non-extremists regarding the overall NFC characteristics. Radicalized prisoners tend to avoid ambiguous situations or uncertainty, they prefer clear, structured processes and firm beliefs. The results suggest that it is possible to differentiate non-radicalized from radicalized Muslims as they showed less quest for significance, less need for closure, less political sensitivity and a less rigorous view on religion.
... Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA), Ethnocentrism (EtCent), Prejudice against immigrants (PrejIm), Conservatism (Conser), Religiosity (Relig), Social identity (SocIn), and motivational constructs such as Need for closure (NfC), and Quest for Personal Meaning (QfPM). Kruglanski (2004) identified many of these constructs as being closely related to the concept of closed-mindedness. Although closedmindedness is primarily defined as a motivated tendency, it may also reflect a dimension of individual difference, a dispositional tendency that can manifest itself in a variety of ways, according to Webster and Kruglanski (1994). ...
... As previously stated, one of the crucial features of the mindset of militant extremists is a single-minded dedication to a cause they regard as sacred (fanaticism), and stubborn adherence to their beliefs (dogmatism). These characteristics of MEM reflect the cognitivemotivational style of closed-minded individuals (Kruglanski, 2004). In our previous work, when searching through a variety of sources, we identified several themes characteristic of MEM (16 in Saucier et al., 2009;20 in Stankov et al., 2018). ...
... As we have already explored the role of basic personality traits (Furnham et al., 2020; and dispositional constructs related to the violent aspects of militant extremismpsychopathy and sadism , only the novel construct of Disintegration was included in this study. The expectation that Death anxiety will contribute to closed-mindedness is based on studies which have: (a) investigated the role of mortality salience in facilitating the use of cognitive schemata to establish a sense of safety, order, stability, and predictability, that is, in enhancing the need for closure (Kruglanski, 2004) or (b) shown that persons who are particularly upset when confronted with the prospect of their own mortality have a high need for closure (Dechesne et al., 2000), or tend to be more conservative (Jost et al., 2007). ...
This study aimed to examine the role of socio-political attitudes and motivational tendencies supposed to mark closed-mindedness, as well as other relevant variables of individual differences (Disintegration, i.e., proneness to psychotic-like experiences/behaviors and Death Anxiety), in the Militant Extremist Mindset (MEM). A community sample of 600 young respondents (Serbs, Bosniaks, and Albanians, aged 18-30) was recruited within a multiethnic region of Serbia that experienced armed conflict during the break-up of the former Yugoslavia. The best-fitted SEM model, incorporating measurement and structural relationships between the variables, showed that the latent factor of Closed-mindedness predicted all three aspects of MEM as well as Neighborhood Grudge, that is, resentment toward neighboring ethnicities. The effects of Disintegration and Death Anxiety on MEM were entirely mediated by Closed-mindedness. Compared to previous findings, Closed-mindedness appears to represent the most important set of cognitive and motivational tendencies that channel protracted intergroup tensions into militant extremism.
... Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC) refers to the "individual's desire for a firm answer to a question, any firm answer, as opposed to confusion and/or ambiguity" (Kruglanski, 2013). More specifically, the NCC refers to the refusal of ambiguity and uncertainty in favor of an immediate, predictable, stable, and unambiguous solution (Roets et al., 2015). ...
... Even if NCC could be activated in specific situations in a state-dependent manner, it substantially refers to a stable individual difference (Viola et al., 2014). This individual difference underlies information processing leading to consequences on social and cognitive domains especially in the decision-making process (Kruglanski, 2013;Kruglanski & Webster, 1996;Schumpe et al., 2017). In this regard, psychophysiological data revealed that individuals showing high levels of NCC could report greater distress affecting peripheral bio-signals (e.g., heart rate, galvanic skin response) when making decisions (Roets & Van Hiel, 2008). ...
... These neurophysiological patterns might reflect several typical NCC-related cognitive characteristics (e.g., lower flexibility, hampered information processing, and preference for habitual response schemas). To conclude, our results increase the knowledge about the need for cognitive closure theory (e.g., Kruglanski, 2013;Roets et al., 2015) and brain areas involved in epistemic motivation processes. More broadly speaking, investigations using paradigms that include the NCC promise novel insight into the connections between epistemic motivation and brain function across various fields including social psychology, as well as neuroscience research. ...
Need for Cognitive Closure (NCC) is a construct referring to the desire for predictability, unambiguity and firm answers to issues. Neuroscientific literature about NCC processes has mainly focused on task-related brain activity. According to the Triple Network model (TN), the main aim of the current study was to investigate resting state (RS) electroencephalographic (EEG) intra-network dynamics associated with NCC. Fifty-two young adults (39 females) were enrolled and underwent EEG recordings during RS. Functional connectivity analysis was computed trough exact Low Resolution Electromagnetic Tomography (eLORETA) software. Our results showed that higher levels of NCC were associated with both i) decreased alpha EEG connectivity within the Central Executive Network (CEN), and ii) increased delta connectivity within the Default Mode Network (DMN). No significant correlations were observed between NCC and functional connectivity in the Salience Network (SN). Our data would seem to suggest that high levels of NCC are characterized by a specific communication pattern within the CEN and the DMN during RS. These neurophysiological patterns might reflect several typical NCC-related cognitive characteristics (e.g., lower flexibility and preference for habitual and rigid response schemas).
... The two above-mentioned types of conflict supporting beliefs, alongside general world-views make the cluster of societal beliefs, through which individuals perceive the reality of the conflict. The problem is not the content of these beliefs, since they can be modified by the reality, but one of their central characteristics, their freezing essence, which makes them barriers to conflict resolution (Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski & Webster, 1996). The complexity of these barriers does not belong to the beliefs or the accompanied feelings, but to their rigidity, which makes them challenging and inescapable. ...
... From a cognitive and motivational angel, Kruglanski (2004) indicates that the rigidness of beliefs can be explained by considering the need of the mankind for conflicts; as a result, people resist to accept alternative information that would promote a change. Human beings have this tendency to assume their own beliefs, as the only existing truth, or their need to projects their inner inferiorities to the adversary as the result of a projection need. ...
1 Negative socio-psychological repertoire about adversary exists in many societies plunged in conflicts. The challenge is how to make the structure of the society more flexible for a conflict resolution with enemies. This article examines the attempts of a pro-Iran-deal civil society, the-International Crisis Group, to change the negative societal beliefs regarding Iran, which exist in the American society. By using the unfreezing theory of Bar-Tal and Halperin (2011 b) as well as the NVIVO 12, which is qualitative content analysis methodology, this paper attempts to analyze this procedure from 2011 to 2016. The International Crisis Group made an effort to break the rigidity of barriers and remove their content in the American society. This trend of Iran unfreezing started in 2011 and increased in 2013, during the presidency of Hassan Rohani in Iran. Results indicate that the International Crisis Group fought against the rigid discourse that exists in the US about Iran through four main principles: removing the perception of Iran as a threat, legitimizing and humanizing Iran's image, emphasizing the importance of the course of time, and expanding new information and alternative data about the US-Iran conflict. This new information aimed at justifying Iran's actions and giving roadmaps for the future policies of the US toward Iran.
... In this paper, we propose the Need for Cognitive Closure (NFCC, Kruglanski, 1989Kruglanski, , 2004) as a cognitive mechanism explaining how perceived diversity can lead to positive and negative diversity outcomes. NFCC has been defined as the "desire for a firm answer to a question and an aversion toward ambiguity" (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996, p. 264). ...
... A motivated opening or closing of the mind in response to perceived diversity can be represented by the Need for Cognitive Closure (NFCC, Kruglanski, 1989Kruglanski, , 2004. Although NFCC can be conceptualized as a personality trait, it is also a psychological mindset that varies with situational demands (Roets, Kruglanski, Kossowska, Pierro, & Hong, 2015;Roets, Van Hiel, Cornelis, & Soetens, 2008;Webster & Kruglanski, 1994). ...
This paper makes a case for explaining diversity effects through cognitive factors as compared to demographic or other differences in backgrounds. We argue that studying perceived diversity in conjunction with diversity beliefs can explain positive and negative effects through a motivated opening or closing of the mind (Need for Cognitive Closure, NFCC). NFCC is the motivation to avoid uncertainty and ambiguity. In Study 1, we experimentally demonstrate that asking participants to think about differences among their coworkers increases their NFCC. Study 2 shows that greater uncertainty about social norms in the workplace is positively related to NFCC. Study 3 confirms the mediating role of NFCC in explaining divergent thinking attitudes in expatriates working in various multicultural cities around the world. Study 4 demonstrates that perceived diversity is positively associated with NFCC when people hold negative beliefs about diversity, whereas positive beliefs mitigate this effect. Lastly, Study 5 shows that the interaction between perceived diversity and diversity beliefs is further moderated by task type. Taken together, the present research highlights the importance of studying cognitive factors to explain diversity effects.
... For example, there are a number of findings showing that threat perception leads people to think automatically and suppresses sophisticated analytical thinking (e.g., Gailliot et al., 2006;Trémolière et al., 2012Trémolière et al., , 2014Yilmaz & Bahçekapili, 2018). At the same time, when we think of other features that distinguish liberals from conservatives, it is known that conservatives have lower levels of integrative complexity (Brundidge et al., 2014), and higher levels of need for cognitive closure (NFCC; Kruglanski, 2004), support for a hierarchical system, and preference for continuity of the status quo (Jost et al., 2003). All these features go hand in hand with intuitive and low effort thinking. ...
... For example, participants with high integrative complexity can interpret an issue and evaluate it from multiple perspectives (Brundidge et al., 2014). NFCC is defined as the tendency to give simpler responses to reduce the potential for uncertainty independently of the content of the question (Kruglanski, 2004). Likewise, preferring the status quo and familiar objects is a choice consistent with automatic and intuitive thinking processes (Eidelman & Crandall, 2009). ...
Previous research suggests that conservatives (right-wingers) tend to show more negativity bias than liberals (left-wingers) in several tasks. However, the majority of these studies are based on correlational findings and do not provide information on the cognitive underpinnings of this tendency. The current research investigated whether intuition promotes negativity bias and mitigates the ideological asymmetry in this domain in three underrepresented, non-western samples (Turkey). In line with the previous literature, we defined negativity bias as the tendency to interpret ambiguous faces as threatening. The results of the lab experiment revealed that negativity bias increases under high-cognitive load overall. In addition, this effect was moderated by the participants’ political orientation (Experiment 1). In other words, when their cognitive resources were depleted, liberals became more like conservatives in terms of negativity bias. However, we failed to conceptually replicate this effect using time-limit manipulations in two online preregistered experiments during the COVID-19 pandemic, where the baseline negativity bias is thought to be already at peak. Thus, the findings provide no strong evidence for the idea that intuition promotes negativity bias and that liberals use cognitive effort to avoid this perceptual bias.
... Social cognition is a discipline of social psychology dedicated to the study of the interaction between thought processes and social interaction (Kruglanski, 2013). One theory from the perspective of social cognition that explores these psychological phenomena is the need for cognitive closure (NFC; Kruglanski, 1989), which enables not only a better understanding of how we reason and form judgments and attitudes but also to understand better how we relate and interact with people, how we function in groups and interact with groups other than our own. ...
... One theory from the perspective of social cognition that explores these psychological phenomena is the need for cognitive closure (NFC; Kruglanski, 1989), which enables not only a better understanding of how we reason and form judgments and attitudes but also to understand better how we relate and interact with people, how we function in groups and interact with groups other than our own. The NFC is a theory that explains the motivational aspects of decision making, as well as the relationship between this aspect and the cognitive properties of the individual in the process of knowledge acquisition (Kruglanski, 2013). The construct represents a motivational tendency whose magnitude is determined by the benefits and costs of closure relative to the benefits and costs of non-closure (Roets et al., 2015). ...
The need for cognitive closure is a construct postulated by Kruglanski that explains the motivational aspects which influence decision-making and its impact on the social environment. Initially, it was assessed through a unidimensional scale, later criticized for its poor satisfactory reliability and validity. Regarding these criticisms, Pierro and Kruglanski developed a new 14-item scale to measure two dimensions, which were not previously evaluated: urgency tendency and permanence tendency. Although the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure is more economical in terms of assessment time, it would be optimal to develop a reduced test that can assess faster while maintaining validity and reliability. The present research aims to reduce the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure scale to the Argentinian context. To this end, we worked on a non-experimental design, assessing this scale within a sample of 690 Argentinian university students (Women = 81.16%, Men = 18.84%), and proceeded to perform reliability, as well as confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and factorial invariance analysis. The results indicate a bi-factorial structure of a Need for Cognitive Closure instrument with eight items and two dimensions: urgency tendency (α = 0.76) and permanence tendency (α = 0.64), suggesting good reliability in both of them. In addition, well convergent validity was checked with other validated instruments, and finally, the factor loadings were shown to be invariant. In conclusion, it was demonstrated the reliability and validity of reducing the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure in our social environment.
... Djikic and colleagues' (Djikic et al., 2013) interpretation was initially well supported by a first wave of research activities that demonstrated that need for closure supports an effortless, category-driven, stereotypic, and heuristic style of information processing (Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski & Webster, 1996). Indeed, some studies found that high need for closure is linked not only with decreased flexibility and creativity, but also increased narrow-mindedness and rigidity (Kruglanski, 2004). ...
... Djikic and colleagues' (Djikic et al., 2013) interpretation was initially well supported by a first wave of research activities that demonstrated that need for closure supports an effortless, category-driven, stereotypic, and heuristic style of information processing (Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski & Webster, 1996). Indeed, some studies found that high need for closure is linked not only with decreased flexibility and creativity, but also increased narrow-mindedness and rigidity (Kruglanski, 2004). However, the assumption that need for closure always leads to these sorts of cognitive outcomes has been called into question more recently due to a growing number of studies that have revealed conditions under which individuals with a high need for closure can deploy a complex and effortful style of information processing (Roets, Kruglanski, Kossowska, Pierro, & Hong, 2015). ...
Although philosophers have long claimed that reading fiction has the potential to improve imaginative capacities, empirical evidence on this topic is limited. We report an experiment that aims to conceptually replicate and extend previous work by Djikic and colleagues by testing whether reading literary fiction reduces the need for closure, and by testing for the first time whether it enhances openness to experience, cognitive complexity, imaginability, and divergent thinking. We also examined whether a potential fiction-based impact depends on previous exposure to print fiction or nonfiction. In a between-subjects design, N = 111 higher education students were randomly assigned to read either two literary fiction short stories or two nonfictional essays. Outcome variables were assessed after the reading assignments using a battery of questionnaire-based and behavioral indicators. The two groups of readers did not differ on any outcome measure, and results were not influenced by lifetime exposure to written fiction or nonfiction. Taken together, the current findings do not support the assumption that reading literary fiction increases imaginative capacities or related outcomes. ARTICLE HISTORY
... For activities ranging from the relatively simple and mundane to the highly complex, new knowledge is essential to assure confident decisions and reasoned actions. Given the prevalence of the knowledge formation process, and its essential psychological relevance to human thoughts, feelings, and actions, understanding how knowledge is formed and changed, is a task of considerable importance for psychological science (Kruglanski, 2004). According to Lay epistemic theory (Kruglanski, 1989), contrary to popular belief, individuals do not gather information in a chaotic and random manner. ...
... It also leads to narrow, selective attention focused on threatening stimuli that, under many circumstances, results in suboptimal performance (Easterbrook, 1959;Kossowska, 2007). For example, a sizeable majority of previous studies have demonstrated that motivation to reduce uncertainty promotes simplistic cognition relying mainly on stereotypes and heuristics, that is, simple rules that lead to fast, yet at times suboptimal decisions (Kruglanski, 2004). Some studies have shown that people who are highly motivated to reduce uncertainty make more stereotypical judgments, prefer homogeneous over diverse groups, prefer consistent over inconsistent images, prefer realistic over abstract art, and prefer normative over deviant stimuli. ...
... Society members, in this context, oftentimes prefer closure over free flow of information that can challenge their worldviews and perceptions about the conflict, the enemy, and the in-group (e.g., De Zavala et al., 2010;Hameiri et al., 2017). In fact, in these contexts, individuals are often driven by the motivation to be exposed to a specific content that confirms their held beliefs and attitudes and to avoid information that challenges their views (Kruglanski, 2004). Thus, they are likely to avoid information about the costs their society is paying for the continuation of the conflict; and even when exposed, they are likely to reject it using various defense mechanisms (e.g., Kunda, 1990;Kruglanski, 2004). ...
... In fact, in these contexts, individuals are often driven by the motivation to be exposed to a specific content that confirms their held beliefs and attitudes and to avoid information that challenges their views (Kruglanski, 2004). Thus, they are likely to avoid information about the costs their society is paying for the continuation of the conflict; and even when exposed, they are likely to reject it using various defense mechanisms (e.g., Kunda, 1990;Kruglanski, 2004). ...
Members of societies involved in an intractable conflict usually consider costs that stem from the continuation of the conflict as unavoidable and even justify for their collective existence. This perception is well-anchored in widely shared conflict-supporting narratives that motivate them to avoid information that challenges their views about the conflict. However, since providing information about such major costs as a method for moderating conflict-related views has not been receiving much attention, in this research, we explore this venue. We examine what kind of costs, and under what conditions, exposure to major costs of a conflict affects openness to information and conciliatory attitudes among Israeli Jews in the context of the intractable Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Study 1 (N = 255) revealed that interventions based on messages providing information on mental health cost, economic cost, and cost of the conflict to Israeli democracy had (almost) no significant effect on perceptions of the participants of these prices, openness to new information about the conflict, or support for conciliatory policies. However, the existing perceptions that participants had about the cost of the conflict to Israeli democracy were positively associated with openness to alternative information about the conflict and support for conciliatory policies. Therefore, in Study 2 (N = 255), we tested whether providing information about future potential costs to the two fundamental characteristics of Israel, a democracy or a Jewish state, created by the continuation of the conflict, will induce attitude change regarding the conflict. The results indicate that information on the future cost to the democratic identity of Israel significantly affected the attitude of the participants regarding the conflict, while the effect was moderated by the level of religiosity. For secular participants, this manipulation created more openness to alternative information about the conflict and increased support for conciliatory policies, but for religious participants, it backfired. We discuss implications for the role of information about losses and the relationship between religiosity and attitudes regarding democracy and conflict.
... For activities ranging from the relatively simple and mundane to the highly complex, new knowledge is essential to assure confident decisions and reasoned actions. Given the prevalence of the knowledge formation process, and its essential psychological relevance to human thoughts, feelings, and actions, understanding how knowledge is formed and changed, is a task of considerable importance for psychological science (Kruglanski, 2004). According to Lay epistemic theory (Kruglanski, 1989), contrary to popular belief, individuals do not gather information in a chaotic and random manner. ...
... It also leads to narrow, selective attention focused on threatening stimuli that, under many circumstances, results in suboptimal performance (Easterbrook, 1959;Kossowska, 2007). For example, a sizeable majority of previous studies have demonstrated that motivation to reduce uncertainty promotes simplistic cognition relying mainly on stereotypes and heuristics, that is, simple rules that lead to fast, yet at times suboptimal decisions (Kruglanski, 2004). Some studies have shown that people who are highly motivated to reduce uncertainty make more stereotypical judgments, prefer homogeneous over diverse groups, prefer consistent over inconsistent images, prefer realistic over abstract art, and prefer normative over deviant stimuli. ...
... Karara varma ihtiyacı yüksek olan bireyler, düzen ve öngörülebilirlik tercihi ile karakterize edilirken, belirsiz ve sonuçsuz kalan durumlardan kaçınmakta ve rahatsızlık hissetmektedir. Kapalı görüşlü olup, kararlılığa daha fazla ihtiyaç duymaktadırlar (Kruglanski, 2004). Yüksek karara varma ihtiyacı hisseden kişiler belirsizliğe karşı daha az toleranslıdır (Choi vd., 2008: 60) bu sebeple de düşük karara varma ihtiyacına sahip olanlara kıyasla hızlı ve doğrulayıcı bilgiler yoluyla nihai karar verme olasılıkları daha yüksek olmaktadır (Chen,vd.: 6879). ...
Dinamik ve rekabetçi iş dünyasında karara varma ihtiyacı, tüketici davranışları üzerindeki etkileri ile önemli bir itici bir güç olarak gittikçe daha fazla dikkat çekmektedir. Bu temelde, araştırmanın amacı, karara varma ihtiyacının tüketicilerin faydacı ve hedonik tüketim davranışlarına etkisini incelemektir. Bu amaca yönelik online anket uygulaması ile Türkiye genelinde 605 katılımcıdan toplanan veriler SPSS programı ile analiz edilmiştir. Analiz sonuçlarına göre karara varma ihtiyacı boyutlarının faydacı ve hedonik tüketim ile ilişkili olduğu tespit edilmiştir. Karara varma ihtiyacının boyutlarından belirsizlikten rahatsız olma boyutunun ve hızlı karar verme boyutunun hedonik tüketim üzerinde; belirsizlikten rahatsız olma, yeni fikirlere kapalı olma, öngörülebilirlik ve düzen arama boyutlarının ise faydacı tüketim üzerinde anlamlı ve pozitif yönde etkisinin olduğu sonucuna ulaşılmıştır. A B S T R A C T The need for closure in a dynamic competitive business world and its implications on consumer behavior is gaining more and more attention as a major driving force. On this basis, the aim of the research is to examine the effect of the need for closure on the utilitarian and hedonic consumption behaviors of consumers. For this purpose, the data collected from 605 participants across Turkey with the online survey application were analyzed with the SPSS method. According to the results of the analysis, it has been determined that the dimensions of the need for closure are related to utilitarian and hedonic consumption. It has been concluded that the dimensions of closure; discomfort with uncertainty and quick closure dimensions have a significant and positive effect on hedonic consumption; discomfort with uncertainty, closed to new ideas, predictability and order seeking dimensions have a significant and positive effect on utilitarian consumption. "Tüm pazarlama kararları, varsayımlara ve tüketici davranışı bilgisine dayanmaktadır." (Hawkins, Mothersbaugh ve Best, 2007)
... Moreover, a large body of evidence reveals that ideological liberalism is positively correlated with several traits that are conceptually related to intellectualism, including "integrative complexity," (Tetlock 1983;1984), "need for cognition" (e.g., Jost et al. 2003;2007), open-mindedness (e.g., Johnston, Lavine, and Federico 2017), and an ironic sense of humor (Young et al. 2019). Meanwhile, ideological conservatism is associated with non-intellectual characteristics such as a "need for cognitive closure" (e.g., Kruglanski 2004), belief in conspiracy theories (Van Der Linden et al. 2020), and authoritarianism (e.g., Barker and Tinnick 2006;Haidt 2012;Hetherington and Weiler 2008). In light of this literature, it is reasonable to anticipate that intellectual identity is associated with ideological liberalism/progressivism. ...
Epistemic hubris—the expression of unwarranted factual certitude—is a conspicuous yet understudied democratic hazard. Here, in two nationally representative studies, we examine its features and analyze its variance. We hypothesize, and find, that epistemic hubris is (a) prevalent, (b) bipartisan, and (c) associated with both intellectualism (an identity marked by ruminative habits and learning for its own sake) and anti-intellectualism (negative affect toward intellectuals and the intellectual establishment). Moreover, these correlates of epistemic hubris are distinctly partisan: intellectuals are disproportionately Democratic, whereas anti-intellectuals are disproportionately Republican. By implication, we suggest that both the intellectualism of Blue America and the anti-intellectualism of Red America contribute to the intemperance and intransigence that characterize civil society in the United States.
... Need for closure is an individual tendency associated with the endorsement of authoritarianism, which consists of individuals who seek firm answers to their questions. People with a high need for closure preferred any firm answer to confusion and ambiguity (Kruglanski 2004). School practices designed to lessen the need for closure can theoretically reduce other political attitudes explained by the endorsement of authoritarianism (Van Hiel et al. 2004). ...
This Open Access book presents an international group of scholars seeking to understand how youth from different cultures relate to modern multidimensional concepts of citizenship, and the roles that education and society have in shaping the views of the world’s future citizens. The book also explores how different aspects of citizenship, such as attitudes towards diverse population groups and concerns for social issues, relate to classical definitions of norm-based citizenship from the political sciences.
Authors from Asia, Europe, and Latin America provide a series of in-depth investigations into how concepts of “good citizenship” are shaped in different regions of the globe, using the rich comparative data from the IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Study (ICCS) 2016. In twelve chapters, the authors review the concept of “good citizenship”; how citizenship norms adherence is configured into profiles across countries; and what country, school, and background factors are related to how students adhere to citizenship norms. Recognizing contingent social and political situations in specific regions of the world, the present books offer six chapters where authors apply their expertise to offer locally relevant and pertinent observations on how young people from diverse cultures understand and relate to different dimensions of citizenship in countries of Asia, Europe, and Latin America.
The present book is of relevance for different audiences interested in civic education and political socialization, including social sciences and education, integrating topics from political science, sociology, political psychology, and law.
... The need for cognition deals with how individuals differ in terms of cognitive motivation, process information (Dickhäuser et al., 2009), their ability to remember complex information, and make precise judgments after careful deliberation of available information tasks (Cacioppo et al., 1984). On the other hand, the need for closure may be defined as an entrepreneur who refuses to overanalyse situations or business prospects in order to avoid confusion and takes a decision sooner (Kruglanski, 2004) and acts on predictable situations. However, the entrepreneur has to be sufficiently motivated and tolerant of risks before he/she may embark on an entrepreneurial process. ...
This study, which was conducted in the context of a Small Island Developing state economy, adopts exploratory, meta-theoretical, and inter-disciplinary stances to examine determinants of internal psychological resources for entrepreneurs. It contributes to existing literature and methodology through its innovative interdisciplinary theoretical framework and the use of Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) in the field of entrepreneurship. Questionnaires were randomly distributed among 711 entrepreneurs, of which 539 were deemed useful for analytical purposes. EFA was used to identify factors that determine fundamental internal psychological resources for entrepreneurs. The Kaiser-Meyer Olkin coefficient of 0.85 justified the sample size for the use of EFA. The highly significant Barlett’s test (p<0.0001) showed the presence of adequately correlated items to form clusters. A coefficient of 0.00033 on the inverse of correlation matrix ruled out the possibility of multicollinearity issues among the six key EFA constructs of internal psychological resources for entrepreneurs. Inner Strength which originates from the field of medicine is surprisingly revealed as the leading internal psychological resource valued by entrepreneurs, followed by Entrepreneurial Aspirations, Entrepreneurial Alertness, Entrepreneurial Orientation, Self-leadership, and Risk Orientation. Two other concepts (Psychological capital and Sense of Coherence) which were initially included in the theoretical framework were eliminated during the EFA because the Scree plot did not support their retention and contributed to multicollinearity issues. This study has several practical and policy implications which will enable governments and entrepreneurs to contribute more effectively and more accurately to the entrepreneurial process.
... Need for closure is an individual tendency associated with the endorsement of authoritarianism, which consists of individuals who seek firm answers to their questions. People with a high need for closure preferred any firm answer to confusion and ambiguity (Kruglanski 2004). School practices designed to lessen the need for closure can theoretically reduce other political attitudes explained by the endorsement of authoritarianism (Van Hiel et al. 2004). ...
Anti-corruption reforms introduced in Latin America in the last decade require active citizenry. In particular, efforts to strengthen transparency laws assume citizens are able to identify, condemn, and denounce corrupt acts. Thus, tolerance of corruption among citizens is problematic for these institutions. Using data from IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016, this chapter analyzes which students are at higher risk of tolerating corruption and address how schools may promote the endorsement of anticorruption norms. A series of multilevel models were used to predict tolerance of corruption. The main findings suggest that civic knowledge and endorsement of authoritarianism are the main predictors of tolerance of corruption among students, accounting for 49% of the variance at the population level. In multilevel models, open classroom discussion is negatively related to tolerance of corruption. However, once civic knowledge is entered into the model, the relationship seems to be indirect. This chapter discusses how promoting open classroom discussion and civic knowledge in schools may prevent tolerance of corruption.
... Finally, the above characteristics of agnosticism may be interrelated to a slight extent. For instance, spirituality is typically related to prosocial orientation (Saroglou, 2013) and neuroticism-like constructs have been theorized and/or found to be related, either positively or negatively, to closed-mindedness (Kruglanski, 2004;Napier & Jost, 2008). In a regression analysis, we investigated whether being agnostic versus atheist is predicted uniquely and additively by the hypothesized psychological characteristics. ...
... Need for closure is an individual tendency associated with the endorsement of authoritarianism, which consists of individuals who seek firm answers to their questions. People with a high need for closure preferred any firm answer to confusion and ambiguity (Kruglanski 2004). School practices designed to lessen the need for closure can theoretically reduce other political attitudes explained by the endorsement of authoritarianism (Van Hiel et al. 2004). ...
The current political times offer a complex global context to understand youth political attitudes and dispositions. This chapter describes both the international environment and the conceptual framework that justifies the need to better understand citizenship among youth in different countries of Asia, Europe, and Latin America. Traditional perspectives used to define citizenship fall short to the challenges of what is needed from a citizen in the 21st century, which has already brought the display of protests towards institutions, dissatisfaction with liberal democracies, the rise of authoritarianism and populism, concern about the climate crisis, and an increase of immigration. So, how can we understand and describe citizenship today? What is expected of the ideal citizen? The present book has three objectives. First, it aims to study good citizenship from both a theoretical and an empirical perspective. It finds that there are five configurations, presenting more complex interpretations that show how youth endorse different citizenship norms into distinct profiles that are internationally comparable. Second, across the different chapters, the book describes and discusses how these different configurations are distributed between countries and schools, and what is similar and what is distinctive between these profiles when compared against a range of citizenship outcomes. Third, the book focuses on specific challenges facing countries in Asia, Europe, and Latin America, and provides locally informed research questions and interpretations of findings. We use IEA’s International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016 data to explore these objectives. We briefly describe the content of each chapter in the following sections and the methodological approach used in each chapter.
... Si bien en un principio se especuló que esta disposición del pensamiento podría correlacionarse negativamente con el SMF, los resultados empíricos no encontraron correlaciones significativas entre la escala que mide la necesidad de cognición y el SMF (Macpherson & Stanovich, 2007). Por otro lado, la necesidad de cierre (Kruglanski, 2004) es un estilo de regulación epistémica que refiere a la motivación de buscar y mantener una respuesta definitiva frente a un problema, por ejemplo asegurar una opinión con respecto a un tema y así evitar la incertidumbre y la ambigüedad. Se ha mostrado que existen correlaciones positivas entre el SMF y este estilo de regulación epistémica (Sá, West & Stanovich, 1999). ...
... For example, Thomas et al. (2017) found when nurses were under conditions of increased distractions, they were more likely to make mistakes when administering medicine due to increased cognitive load. Likewise, Kruglanski (2013) found that when employees face time pressures or are fatigued, they have a higher need for cognitive closure. This heightened need for cognitive closure results in individuals making uninformed decisions based on initial cues. ...
Purpose
This paper discusses how minor counterproductive workplace behavior (CWB) scripts can be acquired or learned through automated processes from one employee to another.
Design/methodology/approach
This research is based on insights from social information processing and automated processing.
Findings
This paper helps explain the automated learning of minor CWBs from one’s coworkers.
Practical implications
While some employees purposefully engage in counterproductive workplace behaviors with the intent to harm their organizations, other less overt and minor behaviors are not always carried out with harmful intent, but remain counterproductive, nonetheless. By understanding how the transfer of minor CWBs occurs, employers can strive to set policies and practices in place to help reduce these occurrences.
Originality/value
This paper discusses how negative workplace learning can occur. We hope to contribute to the workplace learning literature by highlighting how and why the spread of minor CWBs occurs amongst coworkers and spur future research focusing on appropriate interventions.
... Lastly, emotions elicited by a sense of threat to the ingroup, such as intergroup anxiety (Brown & Hewstone, 2005;Halperin et al., 2012) and fear Pliskin, Sheppes, & Halperin, 2015) have been found to increase 23 EMOTIONS IN CONFLICT avoidant behaviors, diminishing willingness to engage with the outgroup to promote conflict resolution. Fear in conflict has been found to induce cognitive freezing (Kruglanski, 2004), leading to a focus on threatening information (Cohen-Chen et al., 2014) and preventing openness to new ideas (Clore et al., 1994;LeDoux, 1995). ...
Intractable intergroup conflicts are extreme, prolonged, and violent forms of intergroup conflict, which involve unique socio-psychological dynamics. As such, they offer challenges in using widely established and successful approaches to intergroup relations and harmony. One approach which has gained growing attention in this context addresses the role of emotions as an avenue to changing attitudes, behaviors and even support for policies in intergroup intractable conflicts. The role of emotional processes in conflicts can be studied from two very different perspectives. The first is a more descriptive one, in which scholars examine the role played by individuals’ and groups’ emotional experience in conflict situations. The second perspective, which has gained increasing attention in the recent decades, is a more interventionist one, focusing on the way emotional change (or regulation) can promote conciliatory attitudes and behaviors among the conflict's involved parties. The following chapter offers for the first time an integrative model, bringing together both the descriptive and the interventionist approaches. Put differently, this model encapsulates both the role of emotional experiences in preserving and perpetuating conflicts, and the potential role of emotion regulation in contributing to conflict resolution.
... At a general level, Kruglanski et al. (2020) describe motivation as instilling a sense of doubt or quelling the doubt. In regards specifically to information-seeking behavior and search, motivations can lead people to stop searching or to continue to seek further information (e.g., Ditto, Scepansky, Munro, Apanovitch, & Lockhart, 1998;Kruglanski, 2004). Research on information search in studies in which participants only have a non-directional motivation for accuracy, not a directional motivation (e.g., to uphold a political belief), can provide insight into potential learning that may be influenced by directional motivations. ...
The current research investigates how prior preferences affect causal learning. Participants were tasked with repeatedly choosing policies (e.g., increase vs. decrease border security funding) in order to maximize the economic output of an imaginary country and inferred the influence of the policies on the economy. The task was challenging and ambiguous, allowing participants to interpret the relations between the policies and the economy in multiple ways. In three studies, we found evidence of motivated reasoning despite financial incentives for accuracy. For example, participants who believed that border security funding should be increased were more likely to conclude that increasing border security funding actually caused a better economy in the task. In Study 2, we hypothesized that having neutral preferences (e.g., preferring neither increased nor decreased spending on border security) would lead to more accurate assessments overall, compared to having a strong initial preference; however , we did not find evidence for such an effect. In Study 3, we tested whether providing participants with possible functional forms of the policies (e.g., the policy takes some time to work or initially has a negative influence but eventually a positive influence) would lead to a smaller influence of motivated reasoning but found little evidence for this effect. This research advances the field of causal learning by studying the role of prior preferences, and in doing so, integrates the fields of causal learning and motivated reasoning using a novel explore-exploit task.
... Relatedly, socio-psychological research argues that intolerance of ambiguity and closed mindedness, factors which have shown to be closely linked to low openness, foster extreme political behaviour (Kruglanski, 2013;Onraet, Van Hiel, Roets, & Cornelis, 2011). ...
Progress within the field of radicalisation is evident. Yet while research increasingly adopts a quantitative approach to studying radicalisation processes, there is no sound empirical evidence base on the risk and protective factors for violent extremism and much research is not fit for practice. Day-to-day risk assessment and management of individuals deemed to be a potential risk to national security forms a core component of counter-terrorism. Each phase of counter-terrorism risk assessment and management requires state-of-the-art science for the identification of putative risk and protective factors, and to understand how such factors are functionally linked to violent extremism. This thesis provides a unique contribution to these research endeavours in several important ways. First, in order to explain why individuals radicalise, we have to turn our focus towards those risk factors and underlying mechanisms, which explain why and how certain individuals come to develop extremist propensities. Thus, this thesis’ main aim is to study risk and protective factors for the development of violent extremist propensities. Second, terrorism studies is over-reliant on secondary data. By conducting two unique large-scale nationally representative general population surveys, this thesis contributes towards establishing a robust empirical knowledge base. These are one of the first such surveys conducted within the field of violent extremism research. Third, radicalisation trajectories and engagement in violent extremism are characterised by complex constellations of risk as well as protective factors. Risk factors for one risk specification may not equally apply to others and the conditional and contextual nature of various factors need to be taken into consideration, which necessitates more complex analyses of patterns of relationships. This thesis draws on a range of structural equation models, conditional mediation models and interaction analyses, which allow for a better understanding of the underlying mechanisms and complex configurations of various risk and protective factors. The analytical designs embedded throughout this thesis are some of the first to test such interactions in an empirical manner. Fourth, this thesis uses an integrative framework which examines not just risk but also protective factors for violent extremism and draws on a wide range of validated theories from different disciplines to strengthen the explanation of relationships between factors. By utilising models with several risk/protective factors, this thesis overcomes some of the 'problem of specificity', as it delivers plausible answers as to why the vast majority of individuals, who are experiencing particular conditions or grievances do not develop violent extremist intentions. Such research designs may be able to identify those factors that can inform prevention and intervention programs. Fifth, radicalisation is a complex and multifaceted process with diverse pathways and outcomes to it. This inherent complexity renders radicalisation, as a construct, difficult to operationalise. A key part of conducting quantitative research is the development of adequate and validated instruments. Thus, by developing and validating psychometrically sound instruments, this thesis contributes towards rigorous quantitative research on violent extremism. This thesis addresses these issues through a number of novel research designs. First, I conduct a systematic review and synthesise the existing evidence on quantitative risk and protective factors for different radicalisation outcomes. However, several gaps as well as conceptual and methodological issues are identified, which are addressed in the following chapters. Second, I conduct a German nationally representative survey on violent extremism, and I apply structural equation modeling to employ a conceptually integrated approach to studying the individual and environmental-level determinants of differential vulnerability to extremism. The findings demonstrate the profound effect of person-environment reciprocity and, thereby, highlight key individual, developmental and social mechanisms involved in the development of extremist propensities. Increasingly, we are witnessing a seeming convergence between belief in conspiracy theories and ideological extremes. However, there is a dearth of empirical research on the relationship between conspiracy beliefs and violent extremism. Therefore, third, this thesis conducts a unique quantitative analysis on this relationship and the findings highlight the contingent effects of risk and protective factors, which are defined as ‘interactive’ or ‘buffering’ protective factors. This has major implications in regard to prevention strategies of ‘at-risk’ populations. Fourth, based on a large-scale UK nationally representative survey, I develop and validate a novel psychometric tool to measure individuals’ misogynistic attitudes. Fifth, recent incidents have demonstrated that misogynistic beliefs can lead to acts of mass violence. This thesis provides the first survey-based study on the relationship between misogyny and violent extremism by examining the underlying mechanisms and contingent effects linking misogyny to (extremist) violence. Collectively, the dissertation’s results demonstrate that multiple factors likely contribute to individual pathways into violent extremism. No single risk or protective factor exists that can explain its genesis. This has significant implications for practice and policy. Preventing and countering violent extremism (P/CVE) programs must take account of the constellation of multiple factors that interact with (and sometimes enable or disable one another) rather than solely focusing upon single risk factors. These findings stress the need to implement evidenced based prevention and interventions programs, which have to address these risk factors early on, before they properly take hold and become so deeply ingrained that they are almost intractable. Therefore, increased focus of P/CVE interventions should be put on the indirect, long-term and life-course oriented protective factors.
... The present studies focus on two previously unexamined factors likely to affect current group members' perceptions of newcomers' opportunity/threat value, and hence their willingness to accept newcomers' ideas. The first factor is current members' need for closure (NFC; Kruglanski, 2004); the second factor is current members' perceptions of their own and the newcomer's epistemic authority (EA; Kruglanski et al., 2005) on the issue under consideration. ...
New members are important sources of innovative perspectives in groups. However, it can be very difficult for newcomers’ ideas to be heard. It is likely that group members with high (vs. low) levels of need for closure (NFC) are more resistant to newcomers’ innovative ideas. Moreover, when group epistemic authority (EA) is high, members should “freeze” on the group’s ideas, regardless of the newcomer’s EA. In contrast, when group EA is low, members would be expected to “seize” the ideas proposed by newcomers with high EA. Study 1 confirmed that high (vs. low) NFC group members are more resistant to newcomers’ innovative ideas. In Study 2, in high NFC groups, evidence was obtained for seizing but not freezing. In Study 3, for group members with heightened NFC, both freezing and seizing results were obtained. Findings suggest that both NFC and EA play important roles in receptivity to newcomers’ ideas.
... Improving understanding and knowledge of the world increases the sense of predictability and subjective efficacy in dealing with the environment. The strength of epistemic motives typically increases with uncertainty or ambiguity about a target referent (e.g., Berlyne, 1962;Hogg, 2007;Kruglanski, 2004). Consistent with this notion, Festinger (1950) argued that the more ambiguous and difficult to interpret experiences are, the more people seek a social reality provided by appropriate (i.e., sufficiently trustworthy) others (see also Byrne & Clore, 1967;Deutsch & Gerard, 1955;Festinger, 1954;Gross, Holtz, & Miller, 1995;Sherif, 1936). ...
Humans have a fundamental need to experience a shared reality with others. We present a new conceptualization of shared reality based on four conditions. We posit (a) that shared reality involves a (subjectively perceived) commonality of individuals' inner states (not just observable behaviors); (b) that shared reality is about some target referent; (c) that for a shared reality to occur, the commonality of inner states must be appropriately motivated; and (d) that shared reality involves the experience of a successful connection to other people's inner states. In reviewing relevant evidence, we emphasize research on the saying-is-believing effect, which illustrates the creation of shared reality in interpersonal communication. We discuss why shared reality provides a better explanation of the findings from saying-is-believing studies than do other formulations. Finally, we examine relations between our conceptualization of shared reality and related constructs (including empathy, perspective taking, theory of mind, common ground, embodied synchrony, and socially distributed knowledge) and indicate how our approach may promote a comprehensive and differentiated understanding of social-sharing phenomena.
... A key question is whether these programs effectively persuade individuals already involved with radical extremist groups to disengage (Gunaratna, 2007, pp. 113-127;Hassan, 2007;Horgan, n.d.;Kruglanski, 2004). To be effective at prevention and disengagement, these counter-radicalization programs must encourage people to question the beliefs and values promoted in radical ideologies. ...
... A violation of educational expectations leads to discrepancies and uncertainty about the academic self-concept. Although it can be assumed that all individuals strive to avoid selfconcept discrepancies, inconsistencies stress individuals to different extents (Kruglanski, 2013). ...
Most students experience expectation violations during their academic career, such as unexpected failed tests. However, contradictory evidence does not always result in expectation change (accommodation). Expectations often persist through stronger efforts to fulfil the expectation (assimilation) or ignoring the discrepancy (immunization). Our study addresses possible situational and dispositional predictors that may be decisive influences on the use of the three coping strategies. We conducted an experimental study with n = 439 students who experienced an expectation violation in an achievement test. Dispositional coping tendencies, valence of expectation violation, and the interaction of valence and degree of expectation violation were found to predict situational coping. Furthermore, higher need for cognitive closure predicted stronger accommodation, and a large degree of expectation violation predicted stronger immunization. Thus, our study provides initial evidence on which situational and dispositional factors predict coping with expectation violations in an educational context. Expectation violation in a performance context mainly resulted in stronger efforts to protect positive achievement expectations.
http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/98864/1/hbozian.pdf
Scientific reasoning is characterized by commitments to evidence and objectivity. New research suggests that under some conditions, people are prone to reject these commitments, and instead sanction motivated reasoning and bias. Moreover, people’s tendency to devalue scientific reasoning likely explains the emergence and persistence of many biased beliefs. However, recent work in epistemology has identified ways in which bias might be legitimately incorporated into belief formation. Researchers can leverage these insights to evaluate when commonsense affirmation of bias is justified and when it is unjustified and therefore a good target for intervention. Making reasoning more scientific may require more than merely teaching people what constitutes scientific reasoning; it may require affirming the value of such reasoning in the first place.
La radicalisation continue de s’affirmer en France et dans le monde entier, comme une menace durable et de plus en plus endogène. Cette reconfiguration de la menace n’a pas beaucoup influencé la recherche sur ce phénomène articulée souvent sur la compréhension du phénomène, ses causes, les profils à risque…L’enrôlement de jeunes Français dans le djihadisme et, plus généralement, la montée des extrémismes violents suscite une réponse démocratique, y compris par de la prévention primaire. Cette menace a conduit le gouvernement à élaborer des politiques publiques centrées spécialement sur le repérage et surtout sur des logiques sécuritaires par la mise en place des plans (PLAT) en 2014 et (PART) en 2016, puis le nouveau plan, « Prévenir pour protéger » en 2018. Les différentes interventions dans ce domaine de la lutte contre les radicalisations violentes (RV) qui ciblent les adultes et les jeunes adultes se font généralement soit dans les prisons soit dans les quartiers vulnérables et impliquent rarement les dimensions émotionnelle et relationnelle. Ce travail s’inscrit donc dans une approche qui essaye de mettre en évidence les aspects les moins considérés dans les différentes initiatives de prévention des RV en proposant des approches centrées sur la solution et non pas sur le problème. En effet nous suggérons une reconsidération des manières habituelles de prévenir les RV centrées sur les aspects de la sécurité, de la justice et de la rationalité, en les complétant avec des approches qui favorisent explicitement les compétences émotionnelles et relationnelles. Il convient de souligner que cette thèse propose de vérifier sur le plan empirique les fondements d’un programme de prévention primaire et son impact réel sur des adultes et jeunes adultes à travers des indicateurs mesurables. Ainsi, le module de culture générale « Initiation à la méditation dans une démarche éthique » enseigné à la faculté de Montpellier a été conçu pour développer ces compétences dans le sens de la responsabilité, considérée dans notre modèle théorique comme étant antagoniste des RV. L’évaluation de son impact par des méthodes quantitatives montre des résultats encourageants et confirme une grande partie de nos hypothèses.
Findings in the extant literature are mixed concerning when and how gender diversity benefits team performance. We develop and test a model that posits that gender‐diverse teams outperform gender‐homogeneous teams when perceived time pressure is low, whereas the opposite is the case when perceived time pressure is high. Drawing on the Categorization‐Elaboration Model (CEM; van Knippenberg, De Dreu, & Homan, 2004), we begin with the assumption that information elaboration is the process whereby gender diversity fosters positive effects on team performance. However, also in line with the CEM, we argue that this process can be disrupted by adverse team dynamics. Specifically, we argue that as time pressure increases, higher gender diversity leads to more team withdrawal, which, in turn, moderates the positive indirect effect of gender diversity on team performance via information elaboration such that this effect becomes weaker as team withdrawal increases. In an experimental study of 142 four‐person teams, we found support for this model that explains why perceived time pressure affects the performance of gender‐diverse teams more negatively than that of gender‐homogeneous teams. Our study sheds new light on when and how gender diversity can become either an asset or a liability for team performance.
Based on the results from a story-retelling workshop for social work students in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People’s Republic of China (PRC), this paper suggests that narrative activities can make unique contributions in nurturing students’ openness to diversity, and such potential is under-researched. This research is a pilot randomized controlled trial (RCT). The workshop arranged students to read website materials and had real dialogues with the protagonist, and then randomly assigned for students to participate in the story-retelling group or the analytical writing group. Psychological changes and reading behaviour of the two groups were compared. The findings showed that the story-retelling group was more efficient than the analytical writing group in increasing critical openness and decreasing the need for cognitive closure. Such results open a discussion about the value of narrative approaches in social work education.
In the modern world, the processes of globalization, migration, increased social mobility, the availability of tourism and other ways of meeting cultures lead to the activation of intercultural communication. More and more people become bearers of more than one culture (biculturals). The choice of an identity model in scientific publications is often considered as a result of environmental influences, but intrapsychic factors, including cognitive styles, are not sufficiently considered. Existing studies give a rather vague picture. The purpose of this work is to generalize the available data on the role of the cognitive component in the identification processes, to identify possible predictors of hybrid and alternative identification, to build a model of the influence of cognitive factors on the choice of an identification model. The author's hypothetical model of cognitive predictors of hybrid or alternative identity (in the schema format) is proposed. We see further prospects for working on the problem in the empirical testing of the proposed model.
La presente obra recoge las creencias sociales y el ethos del conflicto configurado en varias regiones de Colombia, que se han constituido como Barreras psicosociales para la construcción de la paz y la reconciliación en Colombia. En este sentido presentamos los resultados de la investigación de igual nombre, realizados por grupos de investigación de varias universidades (UPB - Medellín y Bucaramanga, Javeriana - Cali, San Buenaventura - Medellín, Sur colombiana, Uniclaretiana y Católica del Norte, cuyo objetivo ha sido comprender las creencias sociales que han emergido en el contexto colombiano y que han devenido en Barreras para la paz. La construcción del enemigo, la idealización de la paz, la falta de confianza en el Estado y en lo político, el desconocimiento de la historia del conflicto colombiano, el fatalismo por la ausencia de cambios en la realidad cotidiana de la gente; la construcción de un ethos y cultura de la violencia en la forma de tramitar los conflictos.
Why do people support autocratic forms of governance? Political psychology suggests that certain psychological traits predispose people to express authoritarian attitudes, especially under conditions of normative threat. However, such research has not explored whether perceptions of existential threats drive support for autocracy. Nor has this research explored whether the types of threats that activate autocratic support might vary across socioeconomic contexts. I extend existing work and show that closed personalities are more likely to support autocracy under conditions of threat. I also show that, in developing countries, “crisis threats”—poor economic performance, rampant crime, or corruption—activate closed personalities' needs for order and security heightening their autocratic support. Using public opinion data, I show how crisis threats activate closed personalities' support for autocracy in Latin America. The findings demonstrate the utility of personality psychology for understanding contemporary patterns of support for autocracy. The results also shed light on the possible roots of public support for autocratic leaders and forms of governance worldwide.
An important question confronting feminist philosophers is why women are sometimes complicit in their own subordination. The dominant view holds that complicity is best understood in terms of adaptive preferences. This view assumes that agents will naturally gravitate away from subordination and towards flourishing as long as they do not have things imposed on them that disrupt this trajectory. However, there is reason to believe that ‘impositions’ do not explain all of the ways in which complicity can arise. This paper defends a phenomenological account of complicity, which offers an alternative explanation.
En el marco de la macroinvestigación Barreras psicosociales para la construcción de la paz y la reconciliación en Colombia, desde la Universidad Surcolombiana se elaboró el presente capítulo que recoge las creencias sociales que configuran barreras para la paz en treinta ciudadanos de la ciudad de Neiva. Se desarrolló una investigación cualitativa con enfoque fenomenológicohermenéutico, realizando entrevistas en profundidad y semiestructuradas a ciudadanos del común de esta ciudad para indagar sobres sus puntos de vista en torno al conflicto, sus actores, la construcción de paz, la negociación política y la reconciliación. La información se trató con un análisis de contenido categorial, por matrices y una codificación teórica de primero y segundo nivel. En los resultados se destaca la construcción de un enemigo único en la insurgencia armada, particularmente la de las Farc, y la pérdida de credibilidad en este grupo, pero también en la negociación política del conflicto armado. De tal manera que la paz aparece como utópica e irrealizable, luego de un proceso de naturalización de la violencia, que sigue haciendo impensable la idea de que Colombia pueda alcanzar la paz, reforzando creencias de tipo victimista, que sin lugar a duda han permeado las subjetividades en esta región.
Several studies demonstrated that a high need for closure (NFC) is associated with higher prejudice toward the out-group. This study aims to investigate how this effect can be moderated by attributions of morality to the in-group and the out-group. A questionnaire was administered to 725 participants. The results showed a positive relationship between NFC and prejudice when the in-group was evaluated as more moral than the out-group. This relationship was weaker when the out-group was evaluated as more moral than the in-group. These findings implicated that it is possible to reduce prejudice in individuals with high NFC by manipulating perceptions of in-group and out-group morality.
This study uses the theory of planned behavior as a framework to predict intentions of noncompliance with social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic while also assessing the predictive role of intolerance of uncertainty and sociodemographic variables. A total of 2,056 Brazilian participants completed measures on attitudes, injunctive, and descriptive norms, and perceived behavioral control toward social distancing. They also answered about their political ideology, income, employment status, gender, age, and educational level. Our findings indicate that positive attitudes toward complying with physical distancing, stronger descriptive norms using ingroup members as referents, and weaker perceived behavioral control over the action of breaching social distancing predict stronger adherence. Besides, individuals who support right-wing parties, younger people, and males are more prone to noncompliance. We suggest designing interventions that foster positive attitudes toward social distancing and address the negative consequences that violating social distancing can cause to in-group members to persuade individuals to stay at home. We also discuss the need for support from prominent political figures to increase adherence to this preventive measure.
This article considers the implications of the mainstreaming of ‘right-wing extremism’ for what, and whom, we understand as ‘extreme’. It draws on ethnographic research (2017-2020) with young people active in movements routinely referred to in public and academic discourse as ‘extreme right’ or ‘far right’. Based on interviews, informal communication and observation, the article explores how actors in the milieu understand ‘extremism’ and how far this corresponds to academic and public conceptualisations of ‘right-wing extremism’, in particular cognitive ‘closed-mindedness’. Emic perspectives are not accorded privileged authenticity. Rather, it is argued, critical engagement with them reveals the important role of ethnographic research in gaining insight into, and challenging what we know about, the ‘mind-set’ of right-wing extremists. Understanding if such a mind-set exists, and if it does, in what it consists, matters, if academic research is to inform policy and practice to counter socially harmful practices among those it targets effectively.
In this article, we review evidence showing that both the activation and the application of stereotypes may be influenced by motivation. When an applicable stereotype supports their desired impression of an individual, motivation can lead people to activate this stereotype, if they have not already activated it spontaneously. Motivation can also lead people to apply this stereotype to individuals to whom they might not have applied it otherwise. On the other hand, when an applicable stereotype casts doubt over their desired impression of an individual, motivation can lead people to inhibit the activation of this stereotype. Even if people are unable to inhibit its activation, motivation may still lead them to inhibit its application to this individual. People pick and choose among the many stereotypes applicable to an individual, activating those that support their desired impression of this individual and inhibiting those that interfere with it.
This research defines self-ascribed epistemic authority as an individual's perception of his or her own expertise and knowledgeability in a domain. It was predicted that: (1) individuals with high self-ascribed epistemic authority would benefit more from experientially-based information than individuals with low self-ascribed epistemic authority, and (2) individuals with high perceived “authority-gap” between themselves and an external communicator would benefit more from information that communicator provides than ones with low perceived “authority-gap.” Both predictions were supported in an experiment comparing the learning of mathematical principles through experience and through instruction. These findings were discussed in reference to the relation between learning and persuasion, the role of self as an informational source, and the function of experience as a mediator of cognitive change.
We outline a uniform model of human judgement wherein individuals combine situational information with relevant background knowledge to form conclusions. Several judgemental parameters are identified whose specific intersections determine whether given situational information would affect judgements. Abstraction of features from surface manifestations and focus on underlying commonalities afford theoretical integration across judgemental domains and across processes previously assumed to qualitatively differ. The resulting “unimodel” is juxtaposed conceptually and empirically to popular dual‐mode frameworks, and implications are drawn for a general rethinking of human judgement phenomena.
Subjects were requested to choose between gambles, where the outcome of one gamble depended on a single elementary event, and the other depended on an event compounded of a series of such elementary events. The data supported the hypothesis that the subjective probability of a compound event is systematically biased in the direction of the probability of its components resulting in overestimation of conjunctive events and underestimation of disjunctive events. Studies pertaining to this topic are discussed.
Occupational role stress has received increased attention in recent years. However, there have been few systematic efforts to review potential moderators of the role stress–strain relationship. The few narrative reviews that do exist conclude that the evidence for individual difference moderators is mixed and inconclusive. The purpose of this review was to utilize meta-analysis to determine whether intolerance of ambiguity represents a significant vulnerability factor in the role stress–strain relationship. Results indicated that intolerance of ambiguity does moderate the impact of role ambiguity. The implications of this finding for future job stress research and stress management programs are discussed.
This paper uses newly available evidence to shed light on the circumstances and causes of the 6 October 1973 Yom Kippur surprise attack of Egyptian and Syrian forces on Israeli positions at the Suez Canal and the Golan Heights. The evidence suggests that an important circumstance that accounts for the surprise effect these actions managed to produce, despite ample warning signs, is traceable to a high need for cognitive closure among major figures in the Israeli intelligence establishment. Such a need may have prompted leading intelligence analysts to “freeze” on the conventional wisdom that an attack was unlikely and to become impervious to information suggesting that it was imminent. The discussion considers the psychological forces affecting intelligence operations in predicting the initiation of hostile enemy activities, and it describes possible avenues of dealing with the psychological impediments to open–mindedness that may pervasively characterize such circumstances.
Three studies examined the impact of the need for cognitive closure on manifestations of in-group bias. All 3 studies found that high (vs. low) need for closure increased in-group favoritism and outgroup derogation. Specifically, Study 1 found a positive relation between need for cognitive closure and both participants' ethnic group identification and their collective self-esteem. Studies 2 and 3 found a positive relation between need for closure and participants' identification with an in-group member and their acceptance of an in-group member's beliefs and attitudes. Studies 2 and 3 also found a negative relation between need for closure and participants' identification with an out-group member and their acceptance of an out-group member's beliefs and attitudes. The implications of these findings for the epistemic function of in-groups are discussed.
We argue that the speaker designs each utterance for specific listeners, and they, in turn, make essential use of this fact in understanding that utterance. We call this property of utterances audience design. Often listeners can come to a unique interpretation for an utterance only if they assume that the speaker designed it just so that they could come to that interpretation uniquely. We illustrate reasoning from audience design in the understanding of definite reference, anaphora, and word meaning, and we offer evidence that listeners actually reason this way. We conclude that audience design must play a central role in any adequate theory of understanding.
In this essay I attempt to establish the centrality of a fundamental idea-ambivalence-as a psychological postulate that is essential for understanding individual behavior social institutions, and the human condition generally. In this effort I examine the strengths and limitations of an alternative postulate-the rational-choice model of behavior-and argue for supplementing it with a conception of ambivalence. The idea of ambivalence is essential for explaining phenomena such as reactions to death and separation, but also is required in our understanding of love, social organizations, social movements, consumer attitudes, political practices and institutions, as well as the fundamental values of the Western democratic tradition.
Two studies investigated need for cognitive closure effects on group interaction. In both, participants in four-person groups role-played the members of a corporate committee dividing a monetary reward among meritorious employees. The entire interaction sequence was videotaped and content-analyzed by independent observers. Study 1 investigated need for closure as both a dispositional and a situational variable (induced via time pressure). Bales' (1970) interaction process analysis (IPA) yielded that both forms of this need were positively related to the preponderance of task-oriented responses and negatively related to the preponderance of positive social–emotional acts. Study 2 compared groups composed of members high on a dispositional need for closure with those composed of members low on this need. In the discussions of high (vs low) need for closure groups, there were greater conformity pressures and a less egalitarian participation. Need for closure thus appears to affect both the contents of member responses in a group context and the process whereby group interaction may unfold. 1999 Academic Press Order of authorship was determined alphabetically and does not reflect relative contribution.
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Much social behavior is predicated upon assumptions an actor makes about the knowledge, beliefs and motives of others. To note just a few examples, coordinated behavior of the kind found in bargaining and similar structured interactions (Dawes, McTavish, & Shaklee, 1977; Schelling, 1960) requires that participants plan their own moves in anticipation of what their partners' moves are likely to be; predicting another's moves requires extensive assumptions about what the other knows, wants, and believes. Similarly, social comparison theory (Festinger, 1950; Festinger, 1954; Woods, 1988) postulates that people evaluate their own abilities and beliefs by comparing them with the abilities and beliefs of others -- typically with abilities and beliefs that are normative for relevant categories of others. In order to make such comparisons, the individual must know (or think he or she knows) how these abilities and beliefs are distributed in those populations. Reference group theory (Merton & Kitt, 1950) incorporates a similar set of assumptions. In communication, the fundamental role of knowing what others know 1 is
A theory of epistemic behavior is applied to the problem of cognitive therapy. The theory addresses the process whereby all knowledge is acquired and modified. The task of cognitive therapy is to modify some types of knowledge, those with aversive consequences to the individual. Any knowledge is assumed to be inevitably biased, selective and tentative. It is assumed to be affected by three epistemically relevant motivations: the need of structure, the fear of invalidity and the need of conclusional contents. Such motivations can be appropriately enlisted in the aid of uprooting the patient's dysfunctional beliefs or “frustrative hypotheses” concerning his/her failures to attain important goals. Unlike major alternative approaches, the present one: (1) disputes the dysfunctional misconception hypothesis whereby neurotic inferences are distorted or biased as compared to normal inferences, (2) questions the value of constructing a priori lists, or taxonomies of dysfunctional beliefs, and (3) qualifies the suggestion that own behavior or personal experience is a superior vehicle of belief-induction. Instead, the persuasive value of behavior or experience is assumed to be restricted to cases in which the individual trusts his own ability to interpret the events at hand.
Major current notions of persuasion depict it as attainable via 2 qualitatively distinct routes: (a) a central or a systematic route in which opinions and attitudes are based on carefully processed arguments in the persuasive message and (b) a peripheral or heuristic route in which they are based on briefly considered heuristics or cues, exogenous to the message. This article offers a single-route reconceptualization that treats these dual routes to persuasion as involving functionally equivalent types of evidence from which persuasive conclusions may be drawn. Previous findings in the dual-process literature are reconsidered in light of this "unimodel," and novel data are presented consistent with its assumptions. Beyond its parsimony and integrative potential, the unimodel offers conceptual, empirical, and practical advantages in the persuasion domain.
The present study examined the immediate and delayed effects of unobtrusive exposure to personality trait terms (e.g., "reckless," "persistent") on subjects' subsequent judgments and recollection of information about another person. Before reading a description of a stimulus person, subjects were unobtrusively exposed to either positive or negative trait terms that either could or could not be used to characterize this person. When the trait terms were applicable to the description of the stimulus person, subjects' characterizations and evaluations of the person reflected the denotative and evaluative aspects of the trait categories activated by the prior exposure to these terms. However, the absence of any effects for nonapplicable trait terms suggested that exposure to trait terms with positive or negative associations was not in itself sufficient to determine attributions and evaluations. Prior verbal exposure had little effect on reproduction of the descriptions. Moreover, no reliable difference in either evaluation or reproduction was found between subjects who overtly characterized the stimulus person and those who did not. Exposure to applicable trait terms had a greater delayed than immediate effect on subjects' evaluations of the stimulus person, suggesting that subjects may have discounted their categorizations of the stimulus person when making their immediate evaluations. The implications of individual and situational variation in the accessibility of different categories for judgments of self and others are considered.
This chapter advances to a testable middle-range theory predicated on the politician metaphor: the social contingency model of judgment and choice. This model does not map neatly in any of the traditional levels of analysis: the individual, the small group, the organization, and political system. The unit of study is the individual in relation to these social milieux. The model borrows, qualifies, and elaborates on the cognitive miser image of the thinker that has been so influential in experimental work on social cognition. The model adopts the approval and status-seeker image of human nature that has been so influential in role theory, symbolic interactionism, and impression management theory. The model draws on sociological and anthropological theory concerning the necessary conditions for social order in positing accountability to be a universal feature of natural decision environments. The social contingency model is not tightly linked to any particular methodology. The theoretical eclecticism of the model demands a corresponding commitment to methodological eclecticism. The social contingency model poses problems that cross disciplinary boundaries, and that require a plurality of methodologies. The chapter ends with considering the potential problem of proliferating metaphors in social psychological theory.
This chapter brings together the work of Hackman and Moms, Bales, and Jaffe and Feldstein into a model that is both manageable and intricate enough to capture the subtle details of ongoing group process. It describes a conceptual model that speaks directly to questions related to the dimensions of amount and structure and discusses data from three studies that are suggestive of the importance of these two dimensions to an understanding of group process. It also presents an automated data collection system that requires no human observers. The chapter defines process in terms of talking (Shaw, 1964), including both the amount of talking and the patterns of talking among group members. The chapter considers the amount and structure of content-free measures and the way they both can be affected by factors about the task facing the group, the overall group, and the individual members. The amount of vocal activity can range from silence to everyone speaking at once. Although much of the research on brainstorming has contrasted nominal groups with real groups, group interaction can range from none at all (in nominal groups) to various levels (in various real groups).
Research on acculturation has revealed a variable relationship between acculturation and mental health, which is due to the presence of a number of moderating factors. Some of these factors, namely, modes of acculturation, acculturative experience with the host society. contact with the culture of origin. and individualistic values have been examined in order to understand better the relationship of these factors with acculturative stress. In the present research, Central American refugees (N=101) who were resettled in Canada completed a questionnaire dealing with their attitudes, behaviours, values, and levels of acculturative stress. Results indicated that different factors are involved in the prediction of psychological and somatic aspects of acculturative stress, with contact with the culture of origin and modes of acculturation being the best predictors.Dans le domaine de l'acculturation. les études ont montré l'inconstance du lien entre les variables de l'acculturation et la santé mentale, ceci en raison de l'intervention d'un certain nombre de facteurs modérateurs. Afin de mieux saisir l'impact de ces facteurs sur le stress d'acculturation. on a examiné 1'effet du mode d'acculturation, de l'expérience avec la société d'accueil, du contact avec la culture d'origine ainsi que des valeurs individualistes et collectivistes des individus. Dans la présente recherche, 101 réfugiés d'Amérique centrale au Canada ont répondu à un questionnaire portant sur leurs attitudes, comportements, valeurs et le niveau de stress d'acculturation. Plusieurs facteurs permettent de prédire les aspects psychologiques et somatiques du stress d'acculturation. les meilleurs prédicteurs étant le contact avec la culture d'origine et les modes d'acculturation.
This research compares the relative effectiveness of imported and indigenous measures of personality perception for Hong Kong Chinese. The first study reports on the extraction of six factors of self-perception using bipolar, adjective rating scales from the U.S.A. tapping the Big Five (Digman, 1990), and Openness to Experience (McCrae & Costa, 1985; 1987). The second study reports on the extraction of six factors of self-perception derived from scales developed indigenously by Chinese psychologists. In the third study, the overlap of the imported and the indigenous dimensions is examined, and their relative power in explaining various criterion measures is assessed. The imported factors adequately explained all but one of the indigenous factors, although in complex combinations. Neither scale was better than the other in predicting the criterion variables. Imported measures may cut the phenomenal world differently from indigenous measures, but still enable scientists to predict behaviours just as effectively. In consequence, if replicated with other criterion variables, the present results would challenge the investment required to develop local instrumentation on scientific grounds.
This study examines the characteristics of ideal best friends endorsed by Chinese adolescents. A comprehensive measure of person perception was used in order to assess those dimensions of personality where gender, similarity, and Complementarity might be related to the rating of ideal best friends. Results indicated that ideal female best friends were rated higher on the communal dimension of Helpfulness; ideal male best friends were rated higher on the agentic dimensions of Extroversion, Assertiveness, and Application. Similarity effects were found for Openness to Experience, Extroversion, and Emotional Stability; complementarity effects for Assertiveness. These results were explained in terms of Chinese gender stereotypes and the requirements for harmonious dyadic interaction.Cette étude examine les caractéristiques de l'amitié idéale chez des adolescents chinois. Une évaluation complète de la perception personnelle est utilisée pour établir si, parmi les dimensions de la personnalité, le sexe, la similarité et la complémentarité pourraient influencer l'estirnation du “meilleur ami idéal”. Les résultats montrent que la meilleure amie idéale reçoit une cote plus élevée à la dimension cornmunautaire de Serviabilité; le meilleur ami idéal, lui, reçoit une cote plus élevée aux dimensions particulières d'Extroversion, d'Affirmation de soi et d'Application. Des effets de similarité sont notés pour l'Ouverture à l'expérience, l'Extroversion et la Stabilité émotive; des effets de complémentarité apparaissent pour l'Affirrnation de soi. Ces résultats sont expliqués en fonction des stéréotypes sexuels des chinois et des besoins d'interaction dyadique harmonieuse.
Examined the role of tolerance for ambiguity (TA) in the feedback-seeking (FBS) process and differentiated among 3 FBS strategies: monitoring the work environment, solicitations from supervisors, and solicitations from coworkers. Questionnaire data collected by S. J. Ashford and L. L. Cummings (see record
1985-21594-001) from 172 employees at a public utility were re-evaluated. Correlations between job-related TA and all FBS behaviors were significant and generally stronger than those for problem-solving TA. Job-related TA predicted both FBS from supervisors and monitoring behaviors to assess performance and promotion potential, while problem-solving TA predicted FBS from supervisors concerning advancement potential. Ss high in TA sought more feedback about advancement potential from supervisors than did Ss low in TA. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the relationships between role stress measures (ambiguity, conflict, and overload) and psychological strain (tension at work and job dissatisfaction) in 79 male and 11 female middle managers in a large public organization (median age 37 yrs). Role stress was associated with low job satisfaction and high tension levels at work, but these relationships were moderated by personality characteristics. Ss with Type A personality showed stronger relationships between role ambiguity and psychological strain than those with Type B personality. Role ambiguity was significantly associated with high tension at work in Ss classified as externals on Rotter's Internal–External Locus of Control Scale but not in internals. When Ss were classified as either tolerant or intolerant of ambiguity using the Budner Scale for Tolerance–Intolerance of ambiguity, role ambiguity was significantly associated with psychological strain in the latter group but not in the former. (10 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
100 undergraduates were arbitrarily categorized into 2 groups and informed that ingroup and outgroup members were either similar or dissimilar to themselves on attitudes and beliefs. Then Ss divided rewards between a member of the ingroup and a member of the outgroup. The ingroup was favored in the assignment of rewards across all conditions, indicating that mere categorization is sufficient to produce intergroup discrimination. Ingroup favoritism was further enhanced when the ingroup held similar beliefs to those of the S, but similarity or dissimilarity of outgroup members did not differentially affect discriminative behavior. Thus, intergroup characteristics may be more important than outgroup characteristics as a contributor to intergroup behavior. Ss did not report ingroup favoritism as the preferred strategy for distributing rewards, as might be expected according to the social norm explanation. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Investigated the effects on intergroup negotiation behavior of varying the degree to which individuals serving as representatives for their group are accountable to their constituents. The task assigned negotiators was to achieve, through a series of alternating offers, a mutually-acceptable distribution of an unequal amount of money. As predicted, results indicate that (a) representational role obligations, particularly when accompanied by direct accountability to one's constituency, increase the competitive behavior of negotiators; and (b) negotiators bargaining under moderate and high accountability contingencies choose to accept a much smaller share of the outcome for their team rather than reach no agreement. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
To investigate certain implications of an interpersonal hypothesis-testing framework, reciprocal and nonreciprocal communications were operationalized in terms of whether or not they provided feedback from the other person. It was predicted that as the duration of the communication increases, there is a greater increment when such communication is reciprocal rather than nonreciprocal in (a) the accuracy with which one perceives another, (b) the confidence one has in those perceptions, and (c) the differentiation exhibited in such perceptions. 64 female undergraduates received 5 or 15 min of reciprocal or nonreciprocal communication from 1 of 2 female targets. Several measures were obtained of the extent to which the Ss demonstrated accuracy, confidence, and differentiation in their ratings of the target. As a check on the validity of the hypothesis-testing concept, the measures were correlated with the number of questions and comments addressed toward the target by Ss in the reciprocal conditions. Results confirm the experimental hypotheses and indicate that the hypothesis-testing concept has some construct validity. It is concluded that the feedback provided by reciprocal communication is an important determinant of accuracy, confidence, and differentiation in interpersonal perception. (20 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
In the reporting of a situation or event, a speaker can sometimes be seen to have omitted or ‘glossed over’ a constituent component. There are times when that component is something a speaker would rather not have the coparticipant know. Sometimes, however, the speaker is willing, indeed eager, to share this material with the coparticipant, but is constrained from simply producing it then and there (the matter being possibly bizarre, risqué, or in other ways problematic). In either case, whether the problematic component is delivered or not (i.e., whether a ‘gloss’ is ‘unpackaged’) can depend upon what the coparticipant does. This report focuses on the ways in which a coparticipant's activities are implicated in the maintaining as-is, or unpackaging, of a ‘glossed’ component. (Sociology, psychology, ethnomethodology, conversation analysis, sociolinguistics)
Recent research on impression formation has demonstrated that perceivers can categorize the action of target actors in terms of the traits that those behaviours represent, and that they do so in a spontaneous fashion, with neither the intent of categorizing nor the awareness of categorizing. This has resulted in a discussion about what these inferences refer to. Are they simple summaries of the behaviour without implications for the personalities of the people enacting those behaviours, or are they inferences about the target's disposition? The current experiment uses a procedure from the person memory literature to establish that these inferences are in fact references to the qualities of the target actors. Set size effects demonstrate that perceivers are organizing their inferred traits in person nodes; the person serves as the superordinate cue to which inferences are attached. This not only provides evidence that inferences formed spontaneously refer to the personality characteristics of the target, but also provides the first evidence of person organization under simple instructions to memorize stimulus information. The implications of the richness of the target information for spontaneously forming person inferences and for person organization in general are discussed.
This study assesses the impact of non-specific epistemic needs—the need for structure and the fear of invalidity—on expectancy of control and performance following unsolvable problems. Subjects answered a questionnaire tapping their non-specific epistemic needs and were exposed to either no feedback or failure in unsolvable problems. Then their expectancies of control and performance were assessed. The results showed that a high need for structure was associated with a transfer of the expectancy of uncontrollability and worse performance following failure. The results are discussed in terms of Kruglanski's lay epistemic theory.
The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship of race and gender to managers' ratings of promotion potential for a sample of 1268 managerial and professional employees. Hierarchial regression analysis showed that controlling for age, education, tenure, salary grade, functional area, and satisfaction with career support, both race and gender were significantly related to promotion potential. Females were rated lower than males, and Blacks and Asians were rated lower than Whites. There were no interaction effects between race and gender.
Recent research indicates that people tend to overestimate the likelihood of an alternative, particularly when an alternative is considered in isolation rather than as part of a set of alternatives. The present experiment shows that subjective market share overestimation and noncomplementary market share estimates are more likely to be observed for individuals who are high (vs. low) in concern about cognitive closure or when a small (vs. large) set of alternatives is considered. Implications of the results for understanding managerial decision making are discussed.
The purpose of the study was to examine the influence of cultural variability and self-monitoring on conflict communication styles. Specifically, the cultural variability dimension of individualism-collectivism was used as the key theoretical dimension in explaining conflict style differences between Taiwan and the United States. In addition, the personality factor of self-monitoring was used as a covariate to analyze possible conflict style differences of individuals. Multivariate analysis of covariance was employed to examine the relationship between the independent variables and the set of conflict dependent variables. Consistent with predictions, Taiwan respondents used an obliging style and an avoiding style more than their United States counterparts. Inconsistent with the predictions, the Taiwanese respondents used integrating and compromising styles more than the United States respondents. Finally, self-monitoring was found to be related to the dominating style of conflict.
This research is concerned with task-oriented decision situations where the decision maker faces two options, one superior on a factor directly related to the given task (called the A factor) and the other superior on a factor not central to the accomplishment of the task but tempting to the decision maker (called the B factor). According to the elastic justification notion, the decision maker may find it unjustifiable to choose the B-superior option over the A-superior option if there is no uncertainty in the A values of the two options, but will construct a justification and become more likely to choose the B-superior option if there is uncertainty. In support of this proposition, two experiments employing a simulated decision situation found that subjects were indeed more likely to choose the B-superior option when there was uncertainty in the A factor than when there was not, no matter whether the uncertainty resided in one of the options (Experiment 1) or in both options (Experiment 2).
Teigen (1974a, 1974b, 1983) observed that the numerical probabilities assigned to a set of exhaustive and mutually exclusive events frequently exceed one. Three experiments were performed to examine why these inflated numerical probability judgments form and what they reflect about people's subjective beliefs. Some work suggests that numerical probability overestimations stem from a fundamental misunderstanding of the rules of probability calculation. Our findings, though, indicate that biased hypothesis testing processes operate that contribute to the subjective overestimation of the likelihood of a hypothetical event. People tend to perceive events to be more plausible than is possible because of confirmatory processes characterizing the selective testing of a hypothesis. Our findings indicate that these processes may lead to the unwarranteddisconfirmationof a focal hypothesis when the evidence for all of the alternatives is weak.
Publisher Summary Cognitive dissonance occurs when a cognition that a person holds follows from the obverse of another. This chapter examines those relationships and proposes a new definition of cognitive dissonance. The state of the empirical findings to move toward a more comprehensive view of dissonance is reviewed in the chapter. When one understands what produces dissonance, it still needs further elaboration of the process to understand adequately the cognitive changes that ensue. The concept of dissonance must be differentiated into the concepts of dissonance arousal and dissonance motivation. It leads to the cognitive changes that are generally associated with cognitive dissonance. The integrative review of dissonance research is provided in the chapter. This survey narrows the scope of the theory, because it identifies the limited conditions under which dissonance effects are most likely to arise; cognitive dissonance is not the product of opposing cognitions. Dissonance theory concepts are applied to a broad range of phenomena so that the formulation remains exceedingly important.
A variable of personality which has been shown to have considerable predictive value in both social and clinical psychology is that which is variously labelled authoritarianism, dogmatism, fascism, and anti-scientific attitude. The term ‘conservatism’ is preferred because it is less value-toned than other alternatives. Previous tests of this dimension are criticized on a number of grounds and the development of a new test which circumvents these deficiencies is described. The ‘Conservatism Scale’ is found to be a remarkably reliable, valid, and economical instrument.
Three experiments explored need-for-for-closure effects in the question-answer paradigm. In experiment 1, participants under high (vs. low) need for closure selected more abstract interview questions. In Experiments 2 and 3, such questions elicited more abstract answers--answers that casually implicated the object (vs. the subject) of the sentence and that prompted a less positive perceived rapport between the interviewer and the interviewee. These findings are discussed in reference to the role of motivation in language and the possible interpersonal consequences of motivated language use.
Social psychololgy's status as a theoretical discipline is assessed. Whereas it has excelled as an experimental science, the field has generally eschewed broad theorizing and tended to limit its conceptualizations to relatively narrow, "mid-range" notions closely linked to the operational level of analysis. Such "theory shyness" may have spawned several negative consequences, including the tendency to invent new names for old concepts, fragmentation of the field, and isolation from the general cultural dialogue. Recently, steps have been taken to encourage greater theoretical activity by social psychologists, and there are now several major outlets for theoretical contributions. Further initiatives are needed, however, to instigate theoretical creativity, including ways of overcoming disciplinary risk aversion and the training of young social psychologists in ways and means of theory construction.
Cognitive change was hypothesized to be related to level of S's feeling of uncertainty. Judgments of a photographic stimulus under varying conditions of feedback and quality of stimulus were elicited. The results indicated that change in judgment (cognitive change) is associated with change in level of uncertainty, and the conditions of cognitive change were similar to the Lewinian conceptualization of social change.
This paper describes a general theory of attitude change which takes into account original attitude toward the source of the message, original attitude toward the concept evaluated by the source, and the nature of the evaluative assertion. Predicted changes in attitude toward both source and concept are based upon the combined operation of a principle of congruity, a principle of susceptibility as a function of polarization, and a principle of resistance due to incredulity for incongruous messages. Comparison of predictions with data obtained in a recent experiment provides a test of the theory." The authors indicate that they are aware that there are many other variables than those considered in this article which contribute to attitude change.
A laboratory situation was devised so as to emulate the phenomenon of successive generations. Groups were established, and individuals were gradually replaced with naive Ss. The attempt was to see whether an idea inculcated in the first "generation," could be sustained through subsequent "generations." Sherif's (1936) Autokinetic Effect (AKE) was utilized. Confederates helped establish false norms. As new members of the "generation" arrived, replacing the confederates, they were exposed to the AKE phenomenon, but to the falsified norms. Gradually, measurement of AKE in the experimental group shifted from the original "faked" norm to that found in a control group. It was hypothesized that individuals tend to formulate opinions through a compromise between their personal ideas and those of those around them. From Psyc Abstracts 36:04:4GD49J.