Need for Closure Effects on Affective and Cognitive Responses to Culture Fusion

Abstract

This research examined how affective and cognitive responses to culture fusion, a specific type of culture mixing that features the blending of different cultures or parts thereof into a new entity, are influenced by individual differences in Need for Closure (NFC). Two studies showed that individuals high (vs. low) in NFC felt less favorable toward culture fusion (i.e., the affective response), both at an abstract level (i.e., society structure models; Study 1, N = 191) and at a more concrete level (i.e., food stimuli; Study 2, N = 257). In addition, high NFC individuals tended to assign culturally fused stimuli to one discrete culture, rather than acknowledging them as culturally hybrid (i.e., the cognitive response). Furthermore, mediation analyses showed that the relationships between NFC and responses toward culture fusion were mediated by Right-Wing Authoritarianism. These findings are interpreted in terms of the threat to epistemic security needs posed by culture fusion.