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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.
... However, intolerance of uncertainty does not always lead to negative outcomes; rather, it can play a motivating role in the search for meaning in certain situations (Kruglanski, 2004;Steger et al., 2006). Individuals who are intolerant of uncertainty may seek greater meaning in their lives due to concerns about experiencing a loss of meaning in the face of uncertainty (Vess et al., 2009). ...
... Individuals who are intolerant of uncertainty may seek greater meaning in their lives due to concerns about experiencing a loss of meaning in the face of uncertainty (Vess et al., 2009). Kruglanski (2004) suggests that individuals may turn to the search for meaning to cope with uncertainty, and this pursuit can help individuals regain their sense of control and purpose in the face of uncertainty. In this context, intolerance of uncertainty can motivate individuals to engage in a deeper search for meaning, accelerating their processes of personal development and finding purpose in life (Steger et al., 2008). ...
... While uncertainty negatively affects individuals' perception of mean- ing during this period, its positive effect on the search for meaning indicates that emerging adults actively engage in efforts to find meaning. Specifically, emerging adults with high levels of anxiety in the face of uncertainty experience a weakened perception of meaning in life due to a diminished sense of control (Duckworth et al., 2013;Kiang & Fuligni, 2010); however, they also compensate for this loss by turning to the search for meaning (Kruglanski, 2004;Vess et al., 2009). This finding aligns with previous research highlighting the significance of meaning in individuals' coping processes with stress and uncertainty (Steger et al., 2006). ...
This study aimed to examine the mediating role of meaning in life (presence of meaning and search for meaning) in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and subjective well-being across different life stages. The research fo-cused on three distinct age groups: emerging adults (18-24 years), young adults (25-44 years), and middle-aged adults (45-65 years). A total of 1155 participants (672 female, 483 male) from Türkiye participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was used to test the mediating role of meaning in life in the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and subjective well-being. The findings revealed that the presence of meaning positively predicted subjective well-being, while the search for meaning negatively predicted it. Intolerance of uncertainty decreased the presence of meaning while increasing the search for meaning. These effects varied significantly across life stages. The presence of meaning played a stronger role in mediating model in older individuals, whereas the search for meaning was a more influential factor among young adults. The results provide valuable insights into how the impact of meaning in life on subjective well-being evolves across developmental stages. By addressing the relationship between uncertainty and well-being within the context of life stages, these findings contribute to understanding the individual and social functions of meaning in life within Turkish culture.
... In the present study, we focus on the need for cognitive closure (NCC; Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski and Fishman, 2009) to operationalize epistemic motives associated with endorsing conspiracy theories. In contrast to personality traits such as intolerance of ambiguity (Frenkel-Brunswik, 1949) or dogmatism (Rokeach, 1960), NCC explicitly captures the cognitive-motivational dynamic underlying epistemic needs for certainty. ...
... Initially grounded in the theory of lay epistemics (Kruglanski, 2004), NCC is defined as a desire to be certain about an issue and avoid ambiguity (Kruglanski and Webster, 1996;Webster and Kruglanski, 1994). According to Kruglanski and Webster (1996) individuals high in NCC are characterized by a tendency to accept need-satisfying information more quickly ("seizing") and to maintain a judgment that has been reached to preserve cognitive closure ("freezing"). ...
... These results have several implications for theory and practical measures to combat adverse beliefs surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. Following Kruglanski (2004), we reasoned that NCC prompts individuals to seize on any kind of information to reach a state of certainty. This does not necessarily imply a preference for conspiratorial accounts of public events but rather opens the door to the possibility that individuals with high levels of NCC will adopt information from trusted official sources. ...
Introduction
This research examines the effect of individual differences in the need for cognitive closure and political trust on the endorsement of COVID-19 conspiracy theories. We hypothesize that individuals high in cognitive closure and low in political trust will seize on conspiracy accounts of the pandemic. In contrast, we expect that individuals high in cognitive closure and political trust are more likely to disregard conspiracies surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.
Method
To test our preregistered hypotheses, we rely on data from multiple waves of a representative survey among the German population ( N = 2,883). The need for cognitive closure and general political trust was assessed before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, while belief in COVID-19 conspiracy theories and specific trust in handling the crisis was fielded during the second wave of the pandemic.
Results
We find that individuals with a high need for cognitive closure are more likely to accept conspiracy narratives, but the effect size is small. At the same time, pre-pandemic trust and concurrent trust in political and medical institutions are strongly negatively related to conspiracy beliefs. We find no support for a moderating effect of political trust.
Conclusion
This study finds only small effects for individual differences in the need for cognitive closure but strong effects for political trust in explaining conspiracy beliefs. It underlines the importance of a lack of trust in political institutions for democratic societies in the age of misinformation and post-truth politics.
... A key factor that has repeatedly been shown to bias cost-benefit assessments in decision making is need for closure, which is characterized by a desire to quickly obtain a definitive answer or solution (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996). Individuals high in need for closure tend to prefer the status quo, seek familiarity, and dislike uncertainty (Kruglanski, 2004;Mannetti et al., 2007;Otto et al., 2016)-processes that are also known to affect interpersonal relationships (Gunaydin et al., 2018;Joel et al., 2013;Joel & MacDonald, 2021). Although the correlates of need for closure have been widely investigated in decision-making research, this dispositional difference has so far received no attention from relationship scientists. ...
... Need for closure (NFC) is the motivation to obtain a definite answer to a question or a solution to a problem and makes people behave in ways that will quickly achieve and preserve closure (Kruglanski, 1989;Kruglanski & Webster, 1996). When faced with uncertainty, high NFC individuals experience increased arousal (Roets & Van Hiel, 2008) and hence put significant effort into rapidly arriving at a decision to avoid uncertainty (Jaśko et al., 2015;Kruglanski, 2004). Uncertainty avoidance of high NFC individuals might make them averse to romantic breakups because the prospect of leaving behind a relationship brings about considerable uncertainty such as how to restructure life without one's partner (Berger & Calabrese, 1975;Tong, 2013). ...
Decision making is a fundamental aspect of relationships, as romantic partners often evaluate costs and benefits of their relationship and contemplate whether to maintain it. A key factor that has repeatedly been shown to influence decision-making processes is need for closure, that is, the desire to quickly obtain a definitive answer or solution. Individuals who strongly desire closure prefer the status quo, seek familiarity, and dislike uncertainty, which might strengthen their intention to maintain an enduring relationship. Across five studies recruiting university students and community samples, we explored, for the first time, the role of need for closure in relationship commitment. In Study 1, individuals with a higher need for closure reported greater commitment to their romantic relationships. Studies 2a and 2b replicated these findings and showed that relationship satisfaction and investment, but not alternative quality, may explain the link between need for closure and commitment. Study 3 revealed that need for closure was linked with willingness to sacrifice-a downstream consequence of commitment. Using a three-wave longitudinal design, Study 4 found that within-person variation in need for closure was small, and need for closure explained mainly between-(but not within-) person differences in commitment. This study failed to replicate the mediating role of relationship satisfaction and investment observed in Studies 2a and 2b, thereby indicating caution in interpreting mechanisms suggested by our prior studies. Overall, the findings demonstrated a consistent between-person association of need for closure with relationship commitment, and revealed important research avenues to further understand how individual differences in decision making predict commitment.
... FoMO denotes when an individual is absent in an environment, he/she feels anxious about it, exhibits pervasive apprehension that others might be having certain rewarding experiences, and thus desires to stay continually connected with this environment [27]. The need for cognitive closure (NFCC) refers to a strong desire for certain answers in an individual's response to an uncertain situation [28,29]. Identified as an indicator of problematic use of online environments, anxiety is felt by users when they participate in generative AI environments. ...
... Empirical support for such influences appears in the fields of consumer behavior and psychology [68,70]. NFCC is conceptualized as a unidimensional construct with five distinct dimensions: preference for order, preference for predictability, decisiveness, discomfort with ambiguity, and close-mindedness [28]. ...
Based on the person-affect-cognition-execution theory, this research examines how generative artificial intelligence anxiety and fear of missing out contribute to problematic ChatGPT use. The study also tests whether the need for cognitive closure influences those two factors’ impacts on problematic ChatGPT use. With a total of 257 valid samples, data collection comes from 10 occupations in Taiwan that may be replaced by ChatGPT. The authors employ the software SmartPLS4.0 to evaluate the measurement model and the structural model. The results show that generative artificial intelligence anxiety has a significantly direct correlation with problematic ChatGPT use, and this generative artificial intelligence anxiety is mediated by fear of missing out. Furthermore, the need for cognitive closure significantly positively moderates the relationship between fear of missing out and problematic ChatGPT use. This paper extends the literature on the existing effect of generative artificial intelligence anxiety by considering professional workers who may be replaced by ChatGPT and by examining the mediating role of fear of missing out and the moderating role of need for cognitive closure as possible mechanisms between generative artificial intelligence anxiety and problematic ChatGPT use.
... Some scholars have argued that right-wingers are universally more likely to reject science than people on the left (e.g. Kruglanski, 2004;Mooney, 2012), whereas others have claimed that both sides of the political spectrum are equally predisposed to reject science when it contradicts their ideological worldview (e.g. McCright et al., 2013;Nisbet et al., 2015). ...
... There is, however, no consensus whether there is ideological symmetry in science rejection or, in other words, whether liberals are equally predisposed to reject identity-incongruent science. On one side of this debate, the intrinsic thesis posits that conservatives are characterized by distinct personality traits that make them more likely than liberals to disregard information that challenges their worldview (Jost et al., 2003;Kruglanski, 2004). This account is supported by studies that revealed cognitive differences between liberals and conservatives in which the latter were more likely to avoid dissonant information (e.g. ...
Citizens’ trust in science increasingly depends on their political leaning. Structural equation models on survey data from 10 European countries (N = 5,306) demonstrate that this science polarization can be captured by a model with four levels of generalization. Voters of populist parties distrust the system and elite in general, which indirectly fuels a broad science skepticism. At another level, right-wingers have less trust in science as a whole than left-wingers. After accounting for this general skepticism, left-wingers and right-wingers are, however, similarly prone to contest ideology-incongruent research fields and specific claims. These findings have three implications. First, research on science skepticism should carefully consider all four levels and their interplay. Second, the science polarization between populist and non-populist voters has fundamentally different origins than the effect of left-right ideology. Third, a four-level model can expose ideological symmetries in science rejection that have previously remained largely undetected in observational studies.
... Within this framework, several studies have focused on analyzing the relationship between the need for cognitive closure (NCC) and power compliance (Bélanger et al. 2015;Pierro et al. 2012;Di Santo et al. 2020). NCC has been defined as a stable desire for epistemic certainty ("sure" and "rapid" knowledge) or any definitive answer that contrasts with confusion and ambiguity (Kruglanski 2004). Research has steadily found that people with a higher NCC are more likely to comply with authoritarian, direct, forceful, and controlling approaches to influence others (i.e., harsh power tactics) (Bélanger et al. 2015;Pierro et al. 2012;Di Santo et al. 2020). ...
... A high NCC induces a preference for autocratic influence structures that allow the formation of rapid consensus with the leader's directives (Pierro et al. 2003) as people high in NCC dislike ambiguity, make decisions quickly, and form firm and lasting impressions and judgments (Kruglanski 2004;Roets et al. 2015). Aligned with the idea that supervisors' harsh (as opposed to soft) power tactics accelerate consensus formation because of their greater clarity, firmness, and lack of ambiguity, they are a means of achieving the rapid closure desired by subordinates with a high NCC (Bélanger et al. 2015;Pierro et al. 2012;Di Santo et al. 2020). ...
The present paper builds on previous research exploring the relationship between the need for cognitive closure (NCC) and employees’ compliance with harsh social power to propose a moderating role of perceived tightness within a work unit in organizational settings. Specifically, the study aimed to test the cross-level interaction between NCC and the perceived work unit tightness in fostering employee compliance with harsh power. Using a convenience sampling method, we enrolled 290 employees from pre-existing work units in Italian organizations in a cross-sectional study. We obtained employee scores on the NCC scale, willingness to comply with harsh social power tactics, and ratings of their perceived work unit tightness. Multilevel modeling was applied to test cross-level interaction. The model revealed a positive effect of NCC on the willingness to comply with harsh social power tactics when employees perceived their unit culture as tight. This study advances previous research by showing the role of tight culture in shaping the relationship between NCC and power compliance.
... Studies have shown that conservative values are linked to traditional gender roles and the reinforcement of heteronormative standards (Ekehammar, Akrami, and Araya 2000;Ficarrotto 1990;Sidanius, Pratto, and Bobo 1996). Furthermore, conservatism is often associated with nationalism and racism, as these ideologies share a common foundation in the preservation of traditional values and resistance to change (Christopher and Mull 2006;Hodson and MacInnis 2017;Kruglanski 2013;López-Sáez, García-Dauder, and Montero 2020). ...
... Counihan 2019). Additionally, the valorization of local and traditional food practices can sometimes lead to discriminatory attitudes, where foreign culinary influences are viewed with suspicion or outright rejection (Kruglanski 2013). ...
This study delves into the complex ways in which narratives about food function as mediums for conveying nationalist and racist ideologies, highlighting a broad view that encompasses discriminatory ideologies like xenophobia, nativism, suprematism, and protectionism. Given the pivotal role of food in cultural identity and symbolism—a role particularly pronounced in the rich food heritage of Italian culture—this research offers profound insights into the subtle manifestations of nationalism and racism within the context of Italian food culture. Employing semi-structured interviews with thirty individuals from diverse backgrounds in the Italian food sector, including production, preparation, and distribution, the study unveils that expressions of nationalism and racism often stem from a deep-seated impulse to defend and protect Italian cultural heritage. However, the investigation also uncovers the inherent ambiguities and contradictions in these attitudes, illustrating how nationalist and racist sentiments are frequently set aside in efforts to promote and globalize Italian culinary traditions. This paradox underscores the complex and often contradictory nature of cultural nationalism and racism, challenging the consistency of such ideological stances in the face of globalization.
... It is defined by Kruglanski (1994, p. 1050) as "an unwillingness to have one's knowledge confronted (hence, rendered insecure) by alternative opinions or inconsistent evidence." Closed-minded individuals exhibit a preference for expedient cognitive processing, often considering a smaller amount of information prior to reaching a purchase decision (Kruglanski, 2004). Once a conclusion is reached, these individuals tend to be reluctant to reassess the chosen course of action or to assimilate new information (Roets et al., 2015). ...
... For EEORs, attributing the potentially deceptive nature of the review to internal factors offers a simpler causal explanation than considering external factors that could be at play (Riquelme and Román, 2023). By making internal attributions (i.e., their own insufficient effort in reading reviews), they maintain a sense of control and predictability, which is comforting to those who are resistant to new or challenging information control (Kruglanski, 2004). Stated formally. ...
... High (low) levels of epistemic motivation are known to result in a lower (higher) need for cognitive closure and thus, a higher (lower) need for cognition (Bodenhausen, Macrae, and Hugenberg 2003;Carlston 2013;Kruglanski 1999Kruglanski , 2004Kruglanski and Webster 1996;Petty and Cacioppo 1986). Kruglanski (1989) also notes that epistemic motivation is affected by situational variables (here, a top management goal of informativeness). ...
... This influence on managers' cognitive processes in this scenario results from a higher need for cognition and a lower need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski 1989). Thus, these managers would be leery of hasty judgemental commitments and be open to gather all relevant information before making a final decision (Kruglanski 2004;Kruglanski, Pierro, Mannetti, and De Grad 2006;Kruglanski and Webster 1996). In summary, we expect the lower perceived decision uncertainty and the higher epistemic motivation to result in managers making more normative exclusion decisions (i.e., excluding an ambiguous charge in constructing a non-GAAP measure when it is appropriate to do so). ...
Purpose
This paper aims to examine how managers make non-GAAP exclusion decisions depending on the regulatory guidance provided and their motivations. Guidance detail is a double-edged sword: resolving uncertainty but risking rule-based compliance over principled judgment.
Design/methodology/approach
This paper uses the context of non-GAAP measures in reporting, given the history of Securities and Exchange Commission changes in guidance detail. Drawing on theories of epistemic motivation and process accountability, this paper manipulates the goal of management (informativeness vs. opportunism) and guidance detail to examine effects on management decisions to exclude an ambiguous charge.
Findings
The 2×2 between participants experiment with 132 managers reveals that more detailed guidance increases likelihood of exclusion of an ambiguous charge. This paper further finds that this exclusion is more likely when management is given an informativeness goal, a result of a mediating effect of epistemic motivation. However, these findings only hold at low levels of process accountability.
Practical implications
The findings regarding the psychological concepts recognize the influence of perceived decision uncertainty by suggesting how managers respond to the level of regulatory guidance detail, offering regulators and auditors a basis for understanding and anticipating managerial reporting choices. Also, awareness of heightened epistemic motivation under the informativeness goal provides a nuanced practical understanding of non-GAAP decision drivers. Finally, the finding that effects are more pronounced for managers with lower process accountability highlights the significance of organizational accountability structures in guiding managerial choices, which can inform board-level governance and control decisions.
Originality/value
Pragmatically, this paper finds that detailed guidance leads to more appropriate exclusion decisions under a goal of informativeness but finds no such evidence where the goal is opportunism. No prior study has examined how the level of detail in guidance affects managers’ disclosure choices.
... Dla radzenia sobie z cywilizacyjną transformacją (Giddens, 2002;Marody, 2014;Rorty, 1993Rorty, , 1999, ryzykiem (Beck, 2002), wieloznacznością i płynnością (Bauman, 1995), a przede wszystkim niepewnością konsekwencji zmian społecznych i technologicznych w przyszłości na pierwszy plan w rozwoju jednostki wysuwają się praktyki emancypacyjne (Czerepaniak--Walczak, 2006) i elementarne dla nich dyspozycje krytyczne jednostki -rozumiane zarówno jako postawa, jak i metoda myślenia. Analizowane w znaczeniu cech osobowości i nastawienia, łączą się najczęściej z odwagą, nonkonformizmem, refleksyjnością (Czerepaniak-Walczak, 1997;Hatton, Smith, 1995;Perkowska-Klejman, 2018, otwartością na wieloznaczność (Kossowska, 2005;Kruglanski, 2016). Jako metoda stanowią również wyróżnik tzw. ...
... Wśród uwarunkowań personalnych należy wskazać dominujący konformizm, niecierpliwość i brak odwagi oraz "pozorowaną" refleksyjność, skrótowo odniesioną do konwergencyjnych wzorców. W wymiarze intelektualnym z ważnymi barierami są schematyzm, sztywność i inercja poznawcza oraz potrzeba domknięcia i upraszczania (Kossowska, 2005;Kruglanski, 2016;Mudyń, 1995;Strumska-Cylwik, 2005), które nie pozwalają nauczycielom wyjść poza horyzont aktualnych spraw i fasadowych deklaracji -autentycznie i krytycznie reinterpretować własne postawy i rolę zawodową. Deklaracyjność, a także nie do końca przekonująca ornamentacja wypowiedzi mogą wskazywać również na znaczną apatię intelektualną, niewiedzę i niską kulturę poznawczą, a często na celowy antyintelektualizm (Klus-Stańska, 2005Klus-Stańska, Nowicka, 2009;Paul i in., 1995), wyrażający się w podkreślaniu pozbawionych teoretycznego backgroundu "umiejętnościach praktycznych nauczyciela". ...
Functioning in a situation of change and uncertainty has become an important determinant of contemporary teachers’ condition. The article assumes the essential role of critical dispositions (especially the so-called critical orientation): courage, reflectiveness, rationality, reality, scepticism, progressive engagement, intellectual submissiveness, principle, independence, flexibility and tolerance for ambiguity, mindfulness and openness, and curiosity as mediators in the purchase of critical rationality, as well as in coping with non-obviousness of events. The qualitative analysis of essays’ content for 66 future teachers of preschool and early school education was concentrated on decoding their aspirations and plans within the process of creating the status change and on revealing by narrators their critical dispositions. Adopting a qualitative text analysis strategy allowed for capturing an in-depth, contextual view of the examined problem. Analysis of the content and form of written statements indicate significant negligence of this development area for students, which may be a derivative of macro-social, educational and personal barriers. Within the light of elaborated research material, it seems to be a matter of great importance to promote the value of critical dispositions as well as to create and apply programmes developing them during the process of preparing future teachers for their professional careers in the situation of cultural and technological changes.
... Related research on the need for cognitive closure suggests that the ingroup provides a validated common reality and belief system, helping people overcome their discomfort with uncertainty (Kruglanski 2004;Kruglanski et al. 2006). This work aligns with the UIT proposition that uncertainty reduction is a central motivation for ingroup identification (Hogg 2000). ...
Researchers in the field of intergroup contact recently proposed that contact can broaden the mind, a process referred to as cognitive liberalisation. Under the right conditions, contact can increase flexible and creative thinking, as well as encourage the adoption of less rigid worldviews. The current research takes a novel approach by exploring whether contact can also “liberalise” people from the need to rely on intergroup bias to manage discomfort with uncertainty. We draw on Uncertainty‐Identity Theory to argue that intergroup contact can ameliorate the regulatory function of intergroup bias for reducing subjective uncertainty. Using three large‐scale Project Implicit datasets (Ntotal = 25,046), we tested whether contact moderates the relationship between intolerance of uncertainty and intergroup bias and found that intolerance of uncertainty was associated with intergroup bias among people who do not experience contact with gay, transgender, or disabled people, but this association was generally weaker or non‐significant among people who experience contact. These results add to growing support for the liberalising impact of intergroup contact by elucidating a new benefit: Reduced reliance on intergroup bias as a means of managing subjective uncertainty.
... The partner's low Openness was predictive of behavioral jealousy in women. Individuals who score low on Openness are usually expected to be "closed-minded" (see Kashima et al., 2017;Knežević, Lazarević, Međedović, et al., 2022;Kruglanski, 2013), meaning they are likely to have conservative and traditional attitudes in general, including their views of social roles and related behaviors. Specifically, in men, this might include, for instance, going out and socializing with female friends while resenting such behavior in their partners and trying to impose "appropriate" behavior. ...
A high number of studies on romantic jealousy in heterosexual couples has accumulated in the past decades, including those intended to explain how this phenomenon relates to personality traits. This study aimed to advance current knowledge by using the HEXACO model supplemented by the Disintegration trait and presenting novel findings on how these traits in couples relate to their own and their partners’ (cognitive, behavioral, and emotional) jealousy while also assessing traits’ explanatory power for each aspect of jealousy. The HEXACO-PI-R Inventory, the DELTA-20 instrument, and the Multidimensional Jealousy Scale were administered to the sample of 400 heterosexual participants (200 couples dating or being married), and the correlations and the Actor-Partner Interdependence Model (APIM) were applied. As the APIM showed, both women and men tend to have higher levels of cognitive and emotional jealousy if they score lower on Honesty-humility. Women tend to achieve higher scores in cognitive and emotional jealousy if they score higher in Emotionality. Men tend to score higher in all aspects of jealousy if their partners score lower on Agreeableness. Low Openness in men may contribute to behavioral jealousy in women, while high Disintegration in women could facilitate the development of emotional jealousy in men. In general, the effects of a partner’s personality traits on jealousy in women were weaker compared to the effects on jealousy in men.
... This cratic experience simultaneously provides positive feelings. 12 From the perspective of contemporary psychology, the idea of experiencing power in aesthetic experience as a result of grasping the structure-whole (gestalt) and mastering chaos looks pretty close to the need for cognitive structure (Neuberg & Newsom, 1993;Rietzschel et al., 2007), and the need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski, 2004). The main difference is that nowadays, psychologists emphasize not so much the sense of power but primarily the control of information inconsistency and even fear and uncertainty. ...
This article presents the oldest theory of the striving for power in European psychology; it was created in the philosophical–psychological Lvov–Warsaw School which itself derived from the thinking of F. Brentano. Despite humanistic inspirations, the theory represents a biological position close to the evolutionary tradition. The core of the theory of striving for power is the concept of ambition, taken from Greek philosophy (Plato and Aristotle). It offers an original classification of interpersonal relationships in the light of the universal striving (common to all people) for a sense of power/strength. It also provides an original interpretation of religious and aesthetic experience. Despite them being similar, the theory was created several years before Alfred Adler’s concept of striving for a sense of power. It emphasizes the aspect of competition and social comparisons more strongly than Adler but connects them closely with the ideas of value and ambition. Regardless of the passage of time, its potential still seems significant, primarily as a counterweight—or at least a complement—to contemporary theories of power because it also identifies power as personal growth and self-transcendence.
... Effectively implementing interventions in contexts of intergroup hostilities is difficult -it is not easy to effectively and durably change minds, emotions and behaviours (see Box 2 for an example of an effective implementation). Here we describe how to overcome two psychological barriers that might influence the impact and sustainability of intergroup intervention success in the real world: motivation (for example, resistance to change 35,149 ) and conformity (for example, uncritical adherence to the ingroup's narratives 150 ). ...
... Además, desde este modelo teórico también se plantea que la necesidad de certidumbre es un factor que favorece el extremismo. Se piensa que la pérdida de significado promueve una actitud tendente a la búsqueda de certeza, lo que ha sido denominado Necesidad de Cierre Cognitivo (NCC), la cual se define como la motivación para buscar y conservar una respuesta clara y definitiva ante un problema, o sea, como algo opuesto a la ambigüedad y/o la incertidumbre (Kruglanski, 2004;Kruglanski y Webster, 1996). Estos mismos autores defienden que la NCC se puede definir en función de dos tendencias actitudinales, la de urgencia y la de permanencia. ...
El objetivo de este trabajo es detallar las fases que conforman el proceso de radicalización y las variables psicosociales implicadas en cada una de ellas, postulándose que el extremismo violento es el vector resultante de dicho proceso. Para tal fin, tras hacer una aproximación comprensiva de los conceptos de violencia y búsqueda de significado, se plantean los factores y mecanismos psicosociales asociados a las tres fases que conforman el proceso de radicalización violenta: crisis personal, adoctrinamiento ideológico y legitimación de la violencia. También se hace un análisis funcional de los factores de riesgo y protección involucrados en las distintas fases del el proceso de radicalización, prestando una especial atención a la fase de crisis personal en conexión con la pérdida de autonomía psicológica.
... These barriers, deeply rooted in cognitive, emotional, and motivational processes, are reinforced by pre-existing rigid beliefs, worldviews, and emotions, leading to distorted and selective information processing. Social psychologists refer to these obstacles as "freezing factors" (Kruglanski 2004), which cause a rigid, inflexible approach to conflict. Needs deprivation ("others have, we do not"), stress, feelings of superiority, and a heightened sense of justice further entrench this rigidity, closing off any cognitive space for viewing reality outside a conflictual framework. ...
Social representations of the war, anchored in historical experience and cultural values, play a motivational role in justifying collective behavior. Following Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the research delves into the meanings associated with war through a social representation approach. Employing Doise’s sociodynamic approach, researchers identify the semantic field linked with war and analyze its organizing principles, revealing the variability of representations. In total, 313 Italian participants (female = 241, 75.4%; age range = 18–74) completed a questionnaire featuring a free association task with the word “war”, providing demographic and political and religious orientation data. Lexical correspondence analysis, utilizing Spad-t software, highlights three polarized themes: the emotional dimension aroused by war, media-conveyed imagery, and the underlying causes of conflict. The social anchoring analysis projects variables such as gender and political orientation onto a factorial plane. Finally, cluster analysis dissects psychological anchoring, identifying four distinct groups characterized by their descriptions of war: effects, reasons, emotions, and images. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
... The need for cognitive closure (NFCC, Kruglanski, 2004) is the epistemic motivation to prefer firm answers to a question, pushing toward uncertainty reduction. Individuals high in NFCC experience a compelling urge to promptly reach conclusions and maintain them permanently (Kruglanski, & Webster, 1996). ...
Social crises and threatening situations can undermine the sense of certainty leading individuals to seek self-affirming means such as subscribing to belief systems and ideologies that are unambiguous, all-encompassing, and explanatory such as populism. In two cross-sectional datasets collected in Italy one year apart, we tested the indirect effect of different kinds of threats (i.e., threats related to COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine Conflict) on populist attitudes through Need for Cognitive Closure (Webster & Kruglanski, 1994, NFCC). In 2022 (N = 1668), we found that both the perceived threat posed by COVID-19 and the threat posed by the Russia-Ukraine Conflict were positively related to NFCC, which in turn was positively related to high levels of populist attitudes. When controlling for the indirect effect of NFCC, COVID-19 threat still held a significant direct effect on populist attitudes, suggesting a partial mediation. The effect of the threat related to the ongoing war on populist attitudes was fully mediated by NFCC. In 2023 (N = 1152), similarly to what we found in the data collected in 2022, the effect of the COVID-19 threat on populist attitudes was partially mediated by NFCC. Whereas the effect of the threat posed by the war was not mediated by NFCC, but directly and positively linked to populist attitudes. Our findings highlighted how populism serves an explanatory function and sense-making when uncertainty arouses from threatening circumstances. Moreover, they underscore the importance of considering contextual variations and distinct threat types when exploring the dynamics of threat perception, and cognitive processes such as perception of uncertainty, and populist attitudes. The results are discussed in light of the relevant literature on threats and the circumstances at the time of the data collection.
... Need for Cognitive Closure Scale (NCCS; Webster & Kruglanski, 1994;Kruglanski, 2004). The NCCS assess the individuals' motivation to seek and maintain a definitive answer to a given problem, to avoid confusion, ambiguity, and uncertainty. ...
The Personal Need for Structure (PNS) scale assesses individuals’ tendency to seek out clarity and structured ways of understanding and interacting with their environment. The main aim of this study was to adapt the PNS scale to Spanish and assess its psychometric properties. There are two versions of the PNS scale being used, which vary in the number of dimensions (1 vs. 2), and in the number of items (12 vs. 11; because one version excludes Item 5). Therefore, an additional aim of this study was to compare the two existing versions of the PNS scale. This comparison aimed to address the debate regarding the inclusion of Item 5, and the number of dimensions that comprise the PNS scale. A sample of 735 individuals was collected. First, through an approach combining exploratory and confirmatory analyses, evidence was found in favor of the scale being composed of two related but distinguishable factors: Desire for Structure and Response to the Lack of Structure. Scores on these subscales showed acceptable internal consistency and test-retest reliability. Evidence supporting the invariance of the internal structure across sociodemographic variables such as gender and age was found. Validity evidence was also analyzed by examining the relationships with other relevant measures. The results indicated that Item 5 can be excluded without reducing scores validity or reliability, which supports preceding research in the literature. In conclusion, the PNS scale was satisfactorily adapted to and validated in Spanish and its use in this context is recommended.
... those in society whom they perceive to be like them). They also tend to be closed-minded (Kruglanski, 2013). Altemeyer further found that right-wing authoritarianism is anything but rare; rather, it is pervasive in society. ...
We suggest that toxic creative leaders succeed by creating a fantastic future in a fantasy world that we call “Wonderland.” They make what was thought to be impossible, not only possible but actual. The game is similar to board games that bring one of the players playing them to some wonderful destination at the end of the game. The future they create, however, is an illusion, designed to appeal to people who feel under-appreciated, disempowered, victimized, deprived of material or other resources, or in need of a radical change that will empower them. The creatively toxic leaders are usually underestimated and their overwhelming skills at acquiring and maintaining power are viewed as malleable for other powerful people’s purposes. Ultimately, the toxic creative leaders take over and end up manipulating rather than being manipulated by those who had sought to use the leaders for their own ends. We discuss some of the ways that can be used to combat toxic creative leaders so that what should have been “never again” stays that way—in the realm of impossibility.
... Beyond respective debates between scholars of dual-process theories, the basic assumptions of qualitatively different dualprocesses in general has been put into question (e.g., Refs. [32][33][34][35][36][37]. It is not easy to differentiate experimentally between these views, as many contributions have shown (see Refs. [19,26,38]). ...
Background
Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has shown to have effects on different domains of cognition yet there is a gap in the literature regarding effects on reflective thinking performance.
Objective
The current study investigated if single session and repeated anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC induces effects on judgment and decision-making performance and whether these are linked to working memory (updating) performance or cognitive inhibition.
Methods
Participants received anodal tDCS over the right DLPFC once (plus sham tDCS in a second session) or twice (24 h apart). In the third group participants received a single session of sham stimulation only. Cognitive characteristic measures were administered pre-stimulation (thinking disposition, impulsivity, cognitive ability). Experimental tasks included two versions of the Cognitive Reflection Test (numeric vs verbal-CRT), a set of incongruent base-rate vignettes, and two working memory tests (Sternberg task and n-back task). Forty-eight participants (mean age = 26.08 ± 0.54 years; 27 females) were recruited.
Results
Single sessions of tDCS were associated with an increase in reflective thinking performance compared to the sham conditions, with stimulation improving scores on incongruent base rate tasks as well as marginally improving numeric CRT scores (compared to sham), but not thinking tasks without a numeric component (verbal-CRT). Repeated anodal stimulation only improved numeric CRT scores. tDCS did not increase working memory (updating) performance. These findings could not be explained by a practice effect or a priori differences in cognitive characteristics or impulsivity across the experimental groups.
Conclusion
The current results demonstrate the involvement of the right DLPFC in reflective thinking performance which cannot be explained by working memory (updating) performance or general cognitive characteristics of participants.
... The need for cognitive closure is the one factor that can hinder or impede the required engagement to control the inherent uncertainty associated with mastering complex tasks [18], [19]. As articulated by Kruglanski and his colleagues [19], [20] the need for cognitive closure shows a motivated inclination to simplify complex information, actively seek structure, and avoid ambiguity In psychology the significant impact of the need for cognitive closure on cognitive processes is associated with problem−solving including how we explore different possible solutions [21], [22] Kruglanski [23] defined the need for cognitive closure as "desire for a firm answer to a question, any firm answer as compared to confusion and/or ambiguity." The pace of this process varies among individuals, some may form a conclusive opinion promptly with limited information, while others may consistently refrain from making decisions regardless of the available evidence. ...
... 7-10 People may also dislike others who violate norms or have unusual ideas. [11][12][13] Surprising situations and people with unusual ideas often register as potential threats. Surprise can impair performance. ...
Pediatricians sometimes think about medical ethics as the field of determining right and wrong in in answering difficult moral questions that occur at the bedside. But an emphasis on rapidly determining right and wrong when faced with ethical dilemmas can lead clinicians to miss important issues underlying both the question and their approach to answering it. We argue that ethical reflection is not merely a process of getting to the right answer but also a way to probe beyond the original question to better understand the stakeholders’ perspectives and priorities. In this Ethics Rounds, we present the case of an infant born at 23 weeks’ gestation who initially faced numerous complications of prematurity, but has progressed beyond acute critical illness. His father requests a transition to palliative care at a point this option would not typically be offered. The straightforward response to this father’s request is “no.” However, we reexamine the father’s request from the perspective of a neonatologist, a clinical ethicist, and a conflict mediator. Why is the father making this request? Why do clinicians feel rushed to respond? The authors discuss how elements of surprise and implicit biases can push clinicians to hasty answers. We introduce tools used in clinical ethics consultation and conflict mediation that can facilitate alternative responses from the clinical team. Employing the “Ladder of Inference,” ascertaining the “View from Everywhere,” and differentiating positions from interests can help clinicians explore the context of ethical questions and lead to more fruitful resolutions.
... Third, more and more national governments are becoming autocratic (Albright 2018;Applebaum 2021;Dictatorship Countries 2024;Levitsky and Ziblatt 2018). Dictatorships encourage a closed-mindedness that supports them (Kruglanski 2013). Those who are open to other ideas or who, worse, promote them, may find themselves silenced, imprisoned, or killed. ...
Technology alters both perceptions of human intelligence and creativity and the actual processes of intelligence and creativity. Skills that were once important for human intelligence, for example, computational ones, no longer hold anywhere near the same importance they did before the age of computers. The advantage of computers is that they may lead us to focus on what we believe to be more important things than what they have replaced. In the case of penmanship, spelling, or arithmetic computation, such an argument could bear fruit. But in the case of human creativity, the loss of creative skills and attitudes may be a long-term loss to humanity. Generative AI is replicative. It can recombine and re-sort ideas, but it is not clear that it will generate the kinds of paradigm-breaking ideas the world needs right now to solve the serious problems that confront it, such as global climate change, pollution, violence, increasing income disparities, and creeping autocracy.
... This theory posits that what individuals look for is a rich and thorough understanding of situations rather than a specific type of knowledge or conclusion. In this sense, epistemic motivation is inversely related to an individual's need for cognitive closure, which leads to a tendency to reach quick conclusions, and once closure is attained, maintaining them for as long as possible [66]. That is, an urgency tendency to seize and a permanence tendency to freeze [67]. ...
In this study we investigate whether the preference for deliberate and deep information processing, also known as epistemic motivation, affects an important feature of model-driven decision support practice, namely, to serve as an aid to surface and manage cognitive conflict within the group. We report on an experimental study that adopts a process-oriented methodology to examine the conflict management behaviours and trajectories of groups high and low in epistemic motivation. Our findings reveal that groups exhibited a variety of patterns of conflict management despite using the same model-driven decision support approach. In addition, three facets of epistemic motivation (discomfort with ambiguity, decisiveness, preference for order and structure) were significant co-variates of the variance in groups’ conflict management trajectories. Notably, only a small proportion of groups high in epistemic motivation were able to confront their conflict and resolve it in positive ways. Our findings have significant implications for the theory and practice of model-driven decision support.
... Effectively implementing interventions in contexts of intergroup hostilities is difficult -it is not easy to effectively and durably change minds, emotions and behaviours (see Box 2 for an example of an effective implementation). Here we describe how to overcome two psychological barriers that might influence the impact and sustainability of intergroup intervention success in the real world: motivation (for example, resistance to change 35,149 ) and conformity (for example, uncritical adherence to the ingroup's narratives 150 ). ...
... For instance, threatening information is prioritized, selective recall of fearrelated information is facilitated, and receptivity to novel ideas is obstructed (Clore et al., 1994;Isen, 1990;LeDoux, 1996). Potentially, very intense fear even induces cognitive inflexibility (Kruglanski, 2004) and can lead to aggressive reactions (Eibl-Eibesfeldt & Sütterlin, 1990;Lazarus, 1991). These impacts extend to the political realm, where threat and resulting fear responses can influence attitude formation and political actions, particularly within the context of intergroup engagement. ...
Social media messages can elicit emotional reactions and mobilize users. Strategic utilization of emotionally charged messages, particularly those inducing fear, potentially nurtures a climate of threat and hostility online. Coined fear speech (FS), such communication deliberately portrays certain entities as imminently harmful and drives the perception of a threat, especially when the topic is already crisis-laden. Despite the notion that FS and the resulting climate of threat can serve as a justification for radical attitudes and behavior toward outgroups, research on the prevalence, nature, and context of FS is still scarce. The current paper aims to close this gap and provides a definition of FS, its theoretical foundations, and a starting point for (automatically) detecting FS on social media. The paper presents the results of a manual as well as an automated content analysis of three broadly categorized actor types within a larger radical German Telegram messaging sphere (2.9 million posts). With a rather conservative classification approach, we analyzed the prevalence and distribution of FS for more than five years in relation to six crisis-specific topics. A substantial proportion between 21% and 34% within the observed communication of radical/extremist actors was classified as FS. Additionally, the relative amount of FS was found to increase with the overall posting frequency. This underscores FS's potential as an indicator for radicalization dynamics and crisis escalation.
... Paradoxically, this can reduce a person's ability to modify behavior, even when faced with new evidence that novel solutions are needed (Shalev 2015). Finally, ambiguity also increases resistance to behavioral change (Jost et al. 2003), as do situations where a rapid response is needed (Kruglanski 2004). ...
According to El Ourmi (89), radicalization, which has become a major concern for all countries for several years, is a psycho-affective process which leads the individual to present assertions as incontestable truths, without recourse to a critical spirit therefore reflecting a psychological closure towards otherness. In order to effectively combat this phenomenon, primary prevention strategies are developed in conjunction with military actions. Thus we propose through this reflection carried out on the basic of rich literature obtained thanks to a documentary review, to see to what extent “responsibility education programs” advocated by Hagège (78), can effectively arouse critical thinking, and promote acquisition of skills (epistemic, emotional, attentional, relational and axiological), and constitute a process antagonistic to violent radicalization. The expected results are the adaptation of these programs to the African socio-educational context, and their integration into the school and professional curriculum. Keywords: Responsibility Education Programs, Antagonistic Process, Violent Radicalization, School and Professional Curriculum.
רבים מהנושאים הפוליטיים השנויים במחלוקת הנידונים בכיתה מתקשרים ליחסים בין קבוצות חברתיות המסווגות כקבוצות-פנים וכקבוצות-חוץ. מערכת החינוך הישראלית מתאפיינת בשונות חברתית ותרבותית, כך שמגוון הקבוצות החברתיות מתקיים גם בכיתות ובבתי-הספר. השיח על הקבוצות החברתיות השונות לוקה לעיתים קרובות בהטיות ובסטריאוטיפים אשר פוגמים ביחסים בין הקבוצות בבית הספר ובחברה. כחלק מכישוריהם של אנשי ונשות חינוך נדרשים להם כשירות ורגישות תרבותית הכוללים ידע ומיומנויות רב-תרבותיים לטובת קידום אקלים בית-ספרי מכיל. המאמר הנוכחי מציג עקרונות רב-תרבותיים מבוססי תיאוריה ומחקר להפחתת הטיות בין קבוצות ולשיפור עמדות בין-קבוצתיות הנגזרים מהפסיכולוגיה החברתית. העקרונות כוללים: מתן מידע והיכרות עם קבוצות, דה-קטגוריזציה ואינדיבידואציה של קבוצת-החוץ (למשל: על-ידי הצגת המגוון בתוך הקבוצה, הצגת סטריאוטיפים מנוגדים או חיוביים), רה-קטגוריזציה של קבוצת-החוץ (למשל: על-ידי הבלטת זהות משותפת עם קבוצת הפנים או זהות כפולה של קבוצת-החוץ והצבת מטרת-על משותפת לקבוצות הפנים והחוץ) וכן דמיון בין-קבוצתי. עקרונות אלה מוצעים כאן לשימוש בקרב אנשי ונשות חינוך במטרה לקדם כשירות ורגישות תרבותית בבתי הספר. המודעות לעקרונות האלה ויישומם בחינוך מסוגלים לתרום להיכרות עם "האחר", לראייה הטרוגנית של קבוצות, למציאת נקודות דימיון בין תרבויות, לאיתור המשותף והמחבר בין הקבוצות, לשבירת סטריאוטיפים, להפחתת הטיות בין-קבוצתיות ולקרבה בין הקבוצות. כל אלה יש בכוחם לתרום לשיח מכבד על קבוצות חברתיות שבתורו יסייע לאקלים חינוכי מיטבי ומכיל בבית הספר ובחברה.
The fear of interpretation at school is a result of the fear of error present among students during the lecture. The risk of error is a part of learning. It is one of its pillars. Knowledge and skills do not progress without errors. Therefore, it is important not to punish students for making mistakes but give feedback concerning the mechanism of thinking, especially in the process of interpretation. The fear is a result of the anxiety that contact with literature and its interpretation can change one’s thinking and feelings. Everybody needs to stay in the circle of his or her inner convictions, which is the phenomenon of cognitive closure. Literary work often subverts the stable and coherent view of reality. Thus, when it comes to interpretation, the task of the teacher is, on the one hand, to inspire independent thinking and, on the other hand, to check the need for cognitive closure.
- ئامانجی توێژینەوەکە بریتییە لە دەرخستن و زانینی ئاستی ئالودەبون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان و پەیوەندی بەڕێکخستنی خود لا خوێندکارانی کۆلیجی پەروەردەی بنەڕەتی زانکۆی سلێمانی، بۆ ساڵی خوێندنی (٢٠٢٣-٢٠٢٤)، کۆمەڵگەی توێژینەوە بریتییە لە سەرجەم خوێندکارانی بەشەکانی کۆلێجی پەروەردەی بنەڕەت، کە ژمارەیان (2281) خوێندکارە، نموونەی توێژینەوەکە پێک دێت لە (554) خوێندکار لەوانە (118) خوێندکار لە ڕەگەزی نێر، (436) خوێندکار لە ڕەگەزی مێ، بە شێوەیەکی هەڕەمەکی سادە هەڵبژێردران، توێژەر میتۆدی وەسفی پەیوەندیی بەکارهێنا بە پێی سروشتی توێژینەوەکە، وێڕای سوود وەرگرتن لە توێژینەوەکانی پێشوو و سەرچاوەکانی دیکە توێژەر دوو فۆرمی ڕاپرسی ئامادەکرد بۆ هەریەکێک لەگۆڕاوەکان ،پێوەری ئالودەبوون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان لە(20) بڕگە پێکهاتبوو ، هەروەها پێوەری ڕێکخستنی خود لە(22) بڕگە پێکهاتبوو ،بۆ دڵنیابوون لە ڕاستی و شیاوی ئامرازەکە توێژەر هەستا بە جێبەجێکردنی بەسەر ژمارەیەک لە شارەزایان و پسپۆڕانی ڕێگاکانی وانە وتنەوە و پەروەردە و دەروونزانی ،دواتر بۆ دەرهێنانی جێگیری ئامرازەکە شێوازی دووبارەکردنەوەی تاقیکردنەوەیان بەکارهێنا ،لەئەنجامدا دەرکەوت کە ڕێژە ڕاستگۆیی لای شارەزایان بۆ پێوەری (ئالودەبون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان)بریتی بوو لە(90%)،هەروەها بەهای جێگیرییەکەی بریتی بوو لە(0.86) ،رێژەی ڕاستگۆیی بۆ(پێوەری ڕێکخستنی خود)بریتی بوو لە(95%) هەروەها جێگیرییەکەی بریتی بوو لە(0.81) دواتر جێبەجێکرا بەسەر نموونەی بنەڕەتی توێژینەوەکە و توێژەر دەستیکرد بە بەتاڵکردنەوە و شیکردنەوەی وەڵامەکانی خوێندکاران بە بەکارهێنانی بەرنامەی SPSS بۆ زانستەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان و خستنەڕووی ئەنجامی توێژینەوەکە لەگەڵ چەند دەرئەنجام و پێشنیار و ڕاسپاردەیەک، كە گرنگترين دەرئەنجامەكان بريتيى بوون لە: 1. ئالودەبوون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان لە ئاستێکی نزمدایە لای نموونەی توێژینەوەکە. 2. جیاوازی ئاماری هەیە لە ئالودەبوون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان بەپێی گۆڕاوی ڕەگەز و قۆناغی خوێندن لای نموونەی توێژینەوەکە. 3. ڕێکخستنی خود لای نموونەی توێژینەوەکە لەئاستێکی بەرزدایە. 4. جیاوای ئاماری هەیە لەئاستی ریکخستنی خود بەپێی گۆڕاوی ڕەگەز و قۆناغی خوێندن لای نموونەی توێژینەوەکە. 5. پەیوەندییەکی پێچەوانە هەیە لەنێوان گۆڕاوی ئالودەبوون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان و ڕێکخستنی خود ، تاوەکو ئالودەبوون بەتۆڕەکۆمەڵایەتییەکان بەرزبێت ڕیکخستنی خود نزمدەبێتەوە و بەپێچەوانەوە.
In response to the climate crisis, organizations are encouraging employees to adopt pro-environmental behavior (PEB). While descriptive norm interventions (e.g., many people engaging in PEBs) are generally positive, mixed findings suggest an alternative approach may maximize effects. Using self-concordance theory, we hypothesize that the attribution of normative behavior (intrinsic/extrinsic) interacts with personal values to motivate behavior, especially for those with extrinsic values. In a time-lagged experiment with 1,712 participants, we tested descriptive norms with either intrinsic or extrinsic attributions, a norm-only condition, or no norm. Surprisingly, self-concordant attributions did not increase PEB, and extrinsic attributions led to a greater increase than intrinsic or norm-only conditions. Organizational pro-environmental support correlated independently with PEB but the moderation effect was non-significant. These counterintuitive findings suggest further exploration and implications for future research.
Transforming the course of protracted and bloody conflicts requires changing the behaviors and minds of society members who take part in these conflicts. While studies examining the psychology of such societies point to the barriers that conflict-supporting narratives create for changing minds and behavior, a novel psychological intervention offers a new direction to facilitate openness for attitude change based on the Information Process Model (IPM). Previous studies indicated the effectiveness of this intervention in creating an unfreezing of conflict attitudes and increasing support for peace negotiation in different conflict areas. However, since the psychological process underlying its effectiveness remains underexplored, the aim of the current research is to examine the experiences of participants exposed to IPM-based messages and the role of cognitive and emotional ambivalence in facilitating the unfreezing of conflict-supporting narrative and contemplating alternative beliefs. The first study (n = 234) examines how IPM (vs. control) videos increase engagement with and ambivalence towards conflict-supporting narratives using quantitative and qualitative analysis of written Decisional Balance responses. The second study (n = 24) delves into the expressions of cognitive and emotional ambivalence following exposure to different segments of an IPM video using semi-structured interviews, and further assesses their potential influence on facilitating contemplation with newly provided information.
Crises create a cycle where people clam up or open up to new problems that may affect adapting to handling problems creatively. This chapter aims to propose a socio-cognitive conceptual model outlining the reciprocal relationship between crises and creative problem-solving in which prosocial motivation is involved. We overview what adaptive and maladaptive responses to crises are like, followed by a few antecedents of prosocial motivation including what motivation is underlying prosocial behaviors, how the collectivism–individualism dimension affects shaping self-image in the relationship with others, and how people deal with uncertainty tolerance. Then, the conceptual model of crises affecting creativity was proposed in which the more tolerant one is to uncertainty in life, the more they are prosocially inclined. The augmented prosocial motivation would allow us to take a wider perspective that would result in better creative performance. Finally, we overview a few strategies for teaching creative problem-solving during crises.
This study explores the representation of radical and anti-radical ideologies among German Islamic TikTok creators, analyzing 2983 videos from 43 accounts through qualitative content analysis. The results reveal two main content clusters: religious practice involving social/lifestyle issues and political activism around Muslim grievances. Victimization, found in 150 videos, was the most common indicator associated with radicalization and emerged as a source of political activism and subversive discourse. Overall, indicators of radicalism were scarce, suggesting that visible mainstream Islamic creators do not exhibit high levels of radical ideology. However, this also reflects a selection bias in the design of this study, which systematically overlooks fringe actors. In addition, religious advocacy was the most common topic (1144 videos), serving as a source of guidance and motivation, but was occasionally linked to sectarianism and rigid religious interpretations. Male creators posted more religious/theological videos; female creators posted more lifestyle videos. However, gender distinctions are limited due to the low representation of female creators (6). Some topics, such as the hijab, served as an intersection between religious practice and politicized narratives. This study highlights TikTok’s role in promoting diverse ideological views and shaping community engagement, knowledge sharing, and political mobilization within Germany’s Muslim digital landscape.
In this article, we explore the dynamics of reactions to uncertainty through the lens of a theory of orienting vs. multiple perspectives. In offering real-life examples of situations in which people have contrasting opinions and points of view on different topics, each rooted in different psychological perspectives, we illustrate how a contrasting multiplicity of viewpoints can give rise to both socially 'disturbing' vs. 'appealing' uncertainty. We then introduce the theory, outline the mechanisms of orienting vs. multiple perspectives in reacting to socially induced uncertainty, and review some representative theory-generated research illustrations showing both the denial and the acknowledgment of multiple perspectives. Next we delve into the themes of uncertainty reduction with respect to symbolic self-completion, diffusion of gratitude, position exchange, and polycultural psychology. Finally, we explore a subset of recently observed phenomena typically ascribed to ecological threats, epistemic uncertainty, and significance loss, and interpret them through the lens of the theory. These phenomena serve as further examples of the potential effects of orienting and multiple perspectives. Finally, we draw conclusions and derive implications for researchers willing to extend and apply such integrative analysis to still different social phenomena.
Prominent theories of belief and metacognition make different predictions about how people evaluate their biased beliefs. These predictions reflect different assumptions about (a) people’s conscious belief regulation goals and (b) the mechanisms and constraints underlying belief change. I argue that people exhibit heterogeneity in how they evaluate their biased beliefs. Sometimes people are blind to their biases, sometimes people acknowledge and condone them, and sometimes people resent them. The observation that people adopt a variety of “metacognitive positions” toward their beliefs provides insight into people’s belief regulation goals as well as insight into way that belief formation is free and constrained. The way that people relate to their beliefs illuminates why they hold those beliefs. Identifying how someone thinks about their belief is useful for changing their mind.
Public Abstract
The same belief can be alternatively thought of as rational, careful, unfortunate, or an act of faith. These beliefs about one’s beliefs are called “metacognitive positions.” I review evidence that people hold at least four different metacognitive positions. For each position, I discuss what kinds of cognitive processes generated belief and what role people’s values and preferences played in belief formation. We can learn a lot about someone’s belief based on how they relate to that belief. Learning how someone relates to their belief is useful for identifying the best ways to try to change their mind.
Istanbul Convention, which is a polarizing issue between conservative (right-wing) and liberal (left-wing) people in Turkey, is an important step in the struggle against violence against women. This thesis aims to investigate the reasons behind this polarization in the culture-war issues and make claims about possible reconciliation. In this regard, two studies were conducted, including the relationship of Moral Foundations Theory. Study 1 is qualitative research about opinions toward the Istanbul Convention and violence against women. Results of Study 1 show that violence against women is a problem that compromise exists between liberals and conservatives, but there is a polarization toward the Istanbul Convention issue in
the context of moral foundations and political ideologies literature. In addition, people’s level of awareness toward the convention is crucial to this situation. Study 2 is an experimental study investigating the moral framing effect on the polarization towards the Istanbul Convention, controlling the level of partisanship, awareness toward the convention, and demographic variables. Results of Study 2 show there is partial support for the hypotheses. Political orientation and type of framing have significant effects on the level of support for the Istanbul Convention, but the interaction of these two variables is non-significant. The results were discussed for researchers and policy-making authorities.
This chapter will study Pareto’s sociological theory through four sections corresponding to his thought’s most critical aspects.
The first section is dedicated to his political sociology, which coincides with the theory of the decay and circulation of the élite.
The second section is dedicated to Pareto’s theory of social action.
The third section concerns Pareto’s theory of knowledge based on the power of sentiments in social life. The text will try to understand what role ideologies play in historical change, according to Pareto’s sociology.
The final section is dedicated to exploring the relationship between Pareto and fascism.
The term “authentic interpretation” is usually understood as an interpretation with universally binding force made by the authority that established the given provision. As a rule, it is indicated that it has little impact on legal practice. Meanwhile, according to the authors, in practice, authentic interpretation has much more significance than what is usually associated with it. They point out that the concept of authentic interpretation is characterized by a high degree of ambiguity. Various legal constructs are characterized in terms of authentic interpretation. The monograph aims to organize the statements relating to the problem of authentic interpretation. The findings made are referred to legal practice. The importance of the issues raised allows the authors to formulate a general conclusion that the issues taken up in the monograph can be classified as key issues for the science of legal interpretation.
In this work, we analyze the root causes of support for populism through a motivational lens. We propose that threats elicited in periods of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic are likely to increase the support for populist attitudes through three motivational processes: the need for personal significance (Kruglanski et al., Perspectives on Psychological Science 17:1050–1071, 2022), the need for collective significance (Kruglanski et al., American Psychologist 68:559–575, 2013; Jasko et al., Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 118:1165–1187, 2020), and the need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, Psychological Review, 103(2):263–283, 1996). These motivations can be activated in several circumstances. For example, the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic can induce a sense of uncertainty about the circumstance surrounding the event, which leads individuals to search for clarity and responses. The threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic can also undermine the sense of self-certainty and group-certainty, which induces individuals to search for self-affirming means such as strongly identifying with relevant social groups and subscribing to identity-defining self (Hogg et al., 2010). Polarized ideological platforms that offer certainty and simplicity as well as self-affirming means are particularly suited to address these needs. Accordingly, partially building on the results obtained in two studies, one conducted at the beginning of the pandemic (Spring 2020), and one a year into the pandemic (Spring 2021) in Italy (Study 1, n = 2010; Study 2, n = 1837), we argue that populist narratives play two functions. First, their clear-cut and dichotomous core that draws a line between good and evil is certainty-promoting and thus appealing to those seeking closure. Second, populist narratives promise empowerment, social recognition, and dignity by providing significance-bestowing values to pursue, such as fighting various alleged enemies of the ‘people’. According to this argument, the results showed that the relation between the threat posed by the COVID-19 pandemic and populist attitudes was mediated by epistemic and significance-affirming motivations (i.e., personal and collective need for significance). Specifically, we found that the higher the perceived COVID-19 threat, the higher the need for cognitive closure, the quest for individual significance, and the quest for collective significance. These motivational forces, in turn, were positively related to populist attitudes.
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.
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
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.
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)
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.
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.
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.
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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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)
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.
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.
"In an attempt to investigate the relations between abstract reasoning ability, ethnocentrism, and "intolerance of ambiguity', a test of syllogistic reasoning together with attitude scales measuring ethnocentrism and "intolerance of ambiguity' were filled out anonymously by 57 students in a classroom setting. The results indicate that: (1) ethnocentrism is positively associated with 'intolerance of ambiguity,' (2) ethnocentrism is related to a poor ability to reason abstractly." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved).
Three experiments examined the effects of motivational variables on the epistemic (or knowledge acquisition) process. The motivations considered were need for cognitive structure and fear of invalidity, and the epistemic phenomena studied were subjective confidence and hypothesis generation. In the first experiment a tachistoscopic task was employed to examine the effects of fear of invalidity upon (1) subjects' initial and final confidence in a hypothesis and (2) shifts in confidence occasioned by successive items of new information. The second experiment replicated and extended the first by investigating the effects of need for structure over and above those of fear of invalidity. The third experiment employed an object recognition task and investigated the process of hypothesis generation assumed to mediate motivational effects on subjective confidence. It was found that both initial confidence and informationally induced confidence shifts were of higher magnitude when subjects' need for structure was high rather than low, and when subjects' fear of invalidity was low rather than high. Furthermore, the number of alternate hypotheses generated was higher under high (versus low) fear of invalidity, and low (vs high) need for structure. The above findings were discussed in reference to Kruglanski's theory of lay epistemology.