Effects of Epistemic Motivations on the Use of Accessible Constructs in Social Judgment

Abstract

Two experiments tested the hypothesis that the use of primed constructs to interpret target information will be increased under high need for closure and decreased under high need to avoid closure. Supporting this hypothesis, Experiment I found that subjects high in need for closure (induced by increasing cognitive load) were more likely to characterize an ambiguous target in terms of primed traits. Subjects high in need to avoid closure (induced by stressing the importance of impression accuracy) were less likely to characterize the target in terms of primed traits. Experiment 2 found that subjects high in dispositional need for closure were more likely to characterize the target in terms of primed traits than subjects low in dispositional need for closure. By grouping subjects based on individual differences in need for closure, Experiment 2 provides convergent validity for the hypothesis and rules out alternative interpretations for the results of Experiment 1.