High Need For Closure Research Articles

Does framing climate change policies to fit with epistemic needs for predictability reduce conservatives’ opposition?

AbstractA short‐term obstacle to united political action to fight climate change in various countries is opposition to pro‐environmental policies among conservatives. Three preregistered studies test the hypothesis that because conservatives have a higher need for closure than liberals (Hypothesis 1), framing pro‐environmental policies in a way that appeals to the need for closure, reduces conservatives’ opposition to these policies (Hypothesis 2). Study 1 confirms Hypothesis 1. Next, two studies test Hypothesis 2 and find that conservatives are less opposed to pro‐environmental policies proposed by a politician (Study 2) or an NGO (Study 3) if these policies are framed in a way that appeals to the need for closure, while the opposite is the case for liberals. Across these two studies, we also test the underlying process but find no evidence for the idea that differences in need for closure mediate the effect (Hypothesis 3a). Instead, the effect is primarily driven by inferences about group membership and ingroup bias (Hypothesis 3b, non‐preregistered). That is, these data suggest that framing policies to appeal to closure needs reduces conservatives’ opposition because they infer that the policy is proposed by a fellow conservative.

Who scapegoats? Individual differences moderate the dual-motive model of scapegoating

Rothschild and colleagues (2012) proposed that people scapegoat to maintain either their moral identity or control. Two experiments manipulated the threat posed by Climate Change to examine how individual differences moderate who blames a scapegoat. Study 1 (N = 835) found variation in Personal Need for Structure moderated scapegoating when climate change was a chaotic hazard, but not after reminders of one’s own culpability. A second preregistered study (N = 1183) found that whereas those with a high Need for Closure scapegoated when a causally uncertain depiction of climate change threatened their control, those high in Collective Narcissism scapegoated when culpability threatened their group’s moral image. This suggests differences in certainty and status concerns predict scapegoating in different contexts. (119)

When do they push the right buttons? Need for closure and the role of perceived control in situations of uncertainty

The present research examined the role of heightened perceived control as a strategy to cope with uncertainty in need for closure (NFC). We assume that in the situation of uncertainty, NFC is associated with using strategies that heighten perceived control. To test this assumption we run two studies using a causal learning paradigm wherein participants' goal was to find out whether clicking a button had any effect on a triangle lighting up with no specific instructions on how to approach the task. Two within-subject factors, i.e., certainty schedules and type of interval, were introduced to vary the uncertainty experienced in the task. In Study 1 (N = 45) we demonstrated that the task indeed induced varying degrees of uncertainty depending on these factors and that NFC related to more presses (i.e., effortful means). In Study 2 (N = 94) we demonstrated also that high NFC was associated with more presses which was linked to heightened perceived control.

From Close to Ghost: Examining the Relationship Between the Need for Closure, Intentions to Ghost, and Reactions to Being Ghosted

Ghosting—the act of ending a relationship by ceasing communication without explanation—is a type of ostracism that threatens a person’s basic psychological needs for belonging, self-esteem, meaningful existence, and control. The experience of ghosting creates uncertainty within the relationship and may vary based on individual differences in the need for closure, which is the desire to avoid ambiguity. Across three preregistered studies with emerging adults, we predicted that a greater need for closure would be associated with lower intentions to use ghosting (Studies 1 and 2) and lower needs satisfaction after being ghosted (Study 3). Results from Study 1 ( N = 553) and Study 2 ( N = 411) were inconsistent, but together indicate that a higher need for closure is not negatively associated—and may be positively associated—with ghosting intentions. In Study 3 ( N = 545), participants who recalled a time when they were ghosted reported lower needs satisfaction than included and directly rejected participants. Further, a higher need for closure was associated with lower needs satisfaction after being ghosted and after being directly rejected, but with greater needs satisfaction after being included. Overall, these findings suggest that the need for closure is less influential when deciding how to end a relationship, but it appears to play an important role in amplifying both positive and negative experiences within a relationship.

The myth of regaining control: Ostracism increases superstitious tendencies.

Whether and how interpersonal experiences predispose people to show superstitious tendencies have been largely unexamined by past studies. By adopting a multimethod approach, three studies tested (a) whether ostracism increases superstitious tendencies through thwarted perceived control, (b) whether the dispositional need for closure moderates the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies and (c) whether restoring ostracized people's thwarted control weakens their superstitious tendencies. The results revealed that ostracized participants had higher superstitious tendencies than nonostracized participants did (Studies 1-3). Moreover, thwarted control mediated the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies (Study 2). In addition, the dispositional need for closure moderated the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies, such that the effect was stronger among participants with a high need for closure (Studies 1-2). Finally, restoring ostracized participants' perceived control weakened the effect of ostracism on superstitious tendencies (Study 3). Altogether, these findings feature the essential role of thwarted perceived control in understanding the link between ostracism and superstitious tendencies and the implication of control restoration in weakening the link. They also highlight the importance of dispositional characteristics in moderating people's responses to superstitions following ostracism and related forms of interpersonal maltreatment.

Death and Sexuality: Mortality Salience Increases Heteronormative Preferences and Stereotyping Among Those with High Need for Closure

ABSTRACT Terror Management Theory has shown that mortality salience can increase outgroup stereotyping and dislike of people who are different. We examined heterosexual participant reactions to profiles of homosexual and heterosexual men after mortality salience utilizing need for closure (NFC) as a moderating variable. We also examined the role of death-thought accessibility (DTA) in these effects. Among those with high NFC, mortality salience increased stereotyping and preference for the heterosexual individual. This effect only occurred when participants examined the profiles before completing the DTA measure. Control participants showed parallel reactions to the mortality salience condition when completing the DTA measure first. We found no reliable effects of mortality salience increasing DTA, and defensiveness decreasing DTA. The current findings demonstrate how two different death reminders can affect reactions to homosexual men among those in high NFC. Potential reasons for the lack of support for DTA in these effects are discussed.

By all means necessary: Closed mindedness, ingroup morality, and weapon ownership

AbstractThis research investigated the motivational underpinnings of attitudes towards weapon ownership. We propose that people who have a strong need for closure (NFC) would be more likely to approve of weapon ownership, but that this relationship would be serially mediated by the endorsement of binding moral foundations and fear of immigrants. Specifically, heightened NFC would promote moral concerns for the safety of one's group (i.e., the binding foundations), which, in turn, would trigger fear of immigrants, or the belief that immigrants threaten one's society. In turn, fear of immigrants would generate the approval of defensive means (i.e., weapons). We tested this serial mediation model in three studies with Italian and US samples, where NFC was both measured (Studies 1 and 3; N = 286 and N = 278) and experimentally induced (Study 2; N = 290). The results supported the proposed model. These findings suggest that a high NFC might explain individuals’ approval of weapon ownership through their moral priorities, which heighten their prejudice towards immigrants.

Motivated team innovation: Impact of need for closure and epistemic authority

New members are important sources of innovative perspectives in groups. However, it can be very difficult for newcomers’ ideas to be heard. It is likely that group members with high (vs. low) levels of need for closure (NFC) are more resistant to newcomers’ innovative ideas. Moreover, when group epistemic authority (EA) is high, members should “freeze” on the group’s ideas, regardless of the newcomer’s EA. In contrast, when group EA is low, members would be expected to “seize” the ideas proposed by newcomers with high EA. Study 1 confirmed that high (vs. low) NFC group members are more resistant to newcomers’ innovative ideas. In Study 2, in high NFC groups, evidence was obtained for seizing but not freezing. In Study 3, for group members with heightened NFC, both freezing and seizing results were obtained. Findings suggest that both NFC and EA play important roles in receptivity to newcomers’ ideas.

My partner looks, swims, and quacks like a duck: The need for cognitive closure in the interpersonal perception of romantic engagement in close relationships.

Individuals are motivated to have a reassuring vision of their partners' characteristics that are central to the relationship such as romantic engagement. This can be particularly true for individuals with high levels of need for closure (NFC). In order to preserve a comforting and stable view of the relationship, they might be motivated by greater assumed similarity and lesser accuracy in perceiving partners' romantic engagement. Three-hundred-fifteen heterosexual couples filled out a questionnaire with measures of NFC and self- and other-reported romantic engagement (harmonious and obsessive). Results showed that, for both types of romantic engagement, assumed similarity and accuracy effects were positive and significant. Moreover, NFC had a moderating role in the assumed similarity and accuracy effects in harmonious romantic engagement. In particular, high NFC individuals showed greater assumed similarity and lower accuracy compared to low NFC individuals.

Need for Closure, Morality, and Prejudice

Abstract. Several studies demonstrated that a high need for closure (NFC) is associated with higher prejudice toward the out-group. This study aims to investigate how this effect can be moderated by attributions of morality to the in-group and the out-group. A questionnaire was administered to 725 participants. The results showed a positive relationship between NFC and prejudice when the in-group was evaluated as more moral than the out-group. This relationship was weaker when the out-group was evaluated as more moral than the in-group. These findings implicated that it is possible to reduce prejudice in individuals with high NFC by manipulating perceptions of in-group and out-group morality.

Price No Object!: The Impact of Power Distance Belief on Consumers’ Price Sensitivity

The role of culture in consumers’ price search and behavior has received limited attention in the literature. In the present research, the authors examine how the cultural dimension of power distance belief (PDB)—the extent to which people accept and endorse hierarchy—influences consumers’ price sensitivity. The authors propose that consumers high (vs. low) in PDB are less price sensitive because they have a higher need for closure, which motivates them to “seize and freeze” on a current offer and quickly arrive at the final purchase decision rather than search for a better price. Accordingly, the relationship between PDB and price sensitivity is moderated by variables that alter consumers’ need for closure, such as social density. Six studies (and five more summarized in the Web Appendices) using a variety of operationalizations of the key variables provide robust support for the relationship between PDB and price sensitivity and shed light on the underlying mechanisms and boundary conditions. Theoretical and managerial implications are discussed.

The Role of Psychological Factors in Older Adults' Readiness to Use eHealth Technology: Cross-Sectional Questionnaire Study.

BackgroundInformation and communication technology (ICT) use among older adults has been on the rise in recent years. However, the predictors and mechanisms behind older adults’ acceptance and use of ICT are not clear.ObjectiveThis study aimed to systematically describe ICT usage among Czech older adults and to evaluate the factors influencing their ICT use and readiness to use digital technology to promote health (eHealth readiness). The primary focus was on psychological factors and the role of persons close to older adults.MethodsThe research utilized cross-sectional survey data from a quota-based sample of Czech older adults (>50 years) and persons close to them further referred to as close persons (N=250 dyads). A structural equation modeling framework was used to evaluate relationships between psychological factors, ICT use, and eHealth readiness.ResultsCzech older adults’ use of ICT is low with the exception of cell phone usage (cell phone usage by 173/250, 69.2%; other devices used by 50/250, 20.0% of older adults or less). Apart from age (β=−.21; P<.001), eHealth readiness was predicted by ICT use (β=.65; P<.001). eHealth readiness was also indirectly affected by the need for cognitive closure (NFCC): individuals with a high need for closure perceived more barriers to ICT (β=.23; P=.01) and more reported barriers were linked to lower ICT usage (β=−.21; P=.001). The expected positive relationships between eHealth readiness of persons close to older adults and ICT use and eHealth readiness of older adults were not significant, but the total effect of eHealth readiness of persons close to older adults on eHealth readiness of older adults was positive and significant (β=.18; P=.01), indicating some level of influence of persons close to them on older adults’ attitudes and behaviors.ConclusionsThis study provided the first systematic examination of Czech older adults’ ICT usage and eHealth readiness. Novel predictors (NFCC and close persons’ variables) were evaluated and yielded actionable results. More research is needed to clarify the role of persons close to older adults.

Sympathy as knowledge of the other in need: An investigation into the roles of need for closure and the moral foundations on sympathy toward immigrants

AbstractAlthough sympathy is a powerful other‐focused motivation, not all individuals will experience sympathy when it is appropriate. Immigrants, as a disadvantaged out‐group, are especially in need of sympathy and, given the tensions of the immigration debate, are at‐risk for low sympathy. Indeed, past research has found that sympathy is less likely to be experienced toward disliked out‐groups. In the current research, we investigated the role of need for closure (NFC), or the general desire for epistemic certainty, on the experience of sympathy toward immigrants in Italy, a nation where the immigration debate is becoming increasingly fractious. Consistent with past research on the roles of NFC and the binding moral foundations (i.e., a concern for the well‐being of groups) on prejudice toward out‐groups, we propose that individuals with a high NFC, and who endorsed the binding moral foundations (i.e., a concern for the well‐being of groups), would be particularly likely to have decreased sympathy toward immigrants in Italy. In line with past research and our hypotheses, in three studies we found that the binding foundations mediated the NFC effect on decreased sympathy toward immigrants in Italy. Conceptually, these individuals can strongly adopt traditional cultural norms as a way to acquire stable knowledge; this can make sympathy toward immigrants less likely, as they both stand outside “traditional” morality, as well can threaten the stability of natives’ knowledge.

Towards a Better Understanding of Lawyers’ Judgmental Biases in Client Representation: The Role of Need for Cognitive Closure

Previous research demonstrates that lawyers and law students are, on average, prone to overconfidence bias and self-serving judgments of fairness when they take on a representative lawyering role. This is the first study to investigate individual differences in susceptibility to these biases. Expanding on two previous experiments (Loewenstein, et al., 1993; Babcock, Loewenstein & Issacharoff, 1998), and utilizing as our sample 468 law students from twelve geographically diverse U.S. law schools, we examined whether differences in students’ Need for Cognitive Closure (NFC) — a motivational desire for clear answers over ambiguity — would affect both their judicial outcome predictions and their “fair settlement value” assessments of a simulated personal injury case when assigned randomly to the role of plaintiff’s or defendant’s counsel. We also investigated whether high- or low-NFC scores would have any effect on the efficacy of a “consider-the-opposite” (“list the weaknesses of your case”) prompt given to half of our subjects in an attempt to de-bias these assessments. We found that a high need for closure intensifies self-serving bias in both students’ judicial predictions and fair value assessments, and that bias in students’ judicial predictions could be mitigated through de-biasing interventions, even with students high in need for closure. Bias in fairness assessments persisted, despite de-biasing prompts.

A cognitively-gated place? The role of need for closure in a biased perception of the place\u2019s past

Biased memory of the past is often a starting point for intergroup conflicts. In three correlational studies, we examined the relationship between need for closure (NFC) and historical ethnocentric bias, a tendency to overestimate the role of one’s ethnic group in the multicultural history of the city of residence. In addition, we checked whether this relationship would be mediated by an individual preference for essentialist places. We found that higher NFC was related to increased historical ethnocentric bias. Moreover, this relation was mediated by preference for an essentialist type of a place. Our results may contribute to understanding the role of individual differences and preferred type of place in shaping a biased representation of the past. Furthermore, our research findings point to the importance of raising awareness of the multicultural past among high NFC individuals.

"Aha"ptics: Enjoying an Aesthetic Aha During Haptic Exploration.

Perceptual insight, like recognizing hidden figures, increases the appreciation of visually perceived objects. We examined this Aesthetic Aha paradigm in the haptic domain. Participants were thinking aloud during haptic exploration of 11 visually nonaccessible panels. They explored them again evaluating them on liking, pleasingness, complexity, and interestingness. Afterwards they rated photographs of the panels on the same variables. Haptic pleasingness was predictable by the strength of insight (Aha!) during free exploration and the material feel. Liking was increased when complexity was high in addition. Pleasingness and interest were negatively related to each other but predicted liking in a combined model. Personality and explorative strategies were considered, for example, strength of insight was increased for ambiguity-tolerant people, and people with high need for closure explored more globally. Evaluations of haptic and visual explorations correlated significantly, and in both modalities, complexity correlated more strongly with interest than with liking. Our study transfers the Aesthetic Aha effect to the haptic domain and reveals slight differences in its hedonic quality with a potentially higher relevance of pleasingness. We suggest that revealing a (meaningful) structure during exploration-visually or haptically-can enhance positive affect and interest hereby benefits from an increased level of complexity.

The Motivated Cognitive Basis of Transphobia: The Roles of Right-Wing Ideologies and Gender Role Beliefs

Transgender individuals challenge the traditional assumption that an individual’s gender identity is permanently determined by their assigned sex at birth. Perceiving ambiguity surrounding indeterminate gender identities associated with transgender individuals may be especially disturbing for those who generally dislike ambiguity and have preference for order and predictability, that is, for people scoring higher on Need for Closure (NFC). We tested the associations between NFC and transphobia in two studies using community samples from the United Kingdom (n = 231) and Belgium (n = 175), and we examined whether right-wing ideological attitudes and traditional gender role beliefs mediated these relationships. Confirming our expectations, we found that NFC was significantly associated with transphobia through both stronger adherence to social conventions and obedience to authorities (i.e., right-wing authoritarianism) and stronger endorsements of traditional gender roles in the UK and Belgium, as well as through stronger preferences for hierarchy and social inequality (i.e., social dominance orientation) in the UK. Our results suggest that transgender individuals are more likely to be targets of prejudice by those higher in NFC at least partly due to the strong preference for preserving societal traditions and the resistance to a perceived disruption of traditional gender norms. Hence, attempts to reduce transphobia might be especially challenging among those high in NFC. Nevertheless, prejudice-reducing interventions could incorporate techniques that satisfy epistemic needs for predictability, certainty, and simple structure which may have higher chances of success among high NFC individuals.

Fear of self-annihilation and existential uncertainty as predictors of worldview defense: Comparing terror management and uncertainty theories

ABSTRACTTerror management theory (TMT) proposes that thoughts of death trigger a concern about self-annihilation that motivates the defense of cultural worldviews. In contrast, uncertainty theorists propose that thoughts of death trigger feelings of uncertainty that motivate worldview defense. University students (N = 414) completed measures of the chronic fear of self-annihilation and existential uncertainty as well as the need for closure. They then evaluated either a meaning threat stimulus or a control stimulus. Consistent with TMT, participants with a high fear of self-annihilation and a high need for closure showed the greatest dislike of the meaning threat stimulus, even after controlling for their existential uncertainty. Contrary to the uncertainty perspective, fear of existential uncertainty showed no significant effects.

When Do Conflicts Feel Right for Prevention-Focused Individuals? The Debiasing Effect of Low Need for Closure

ABSTRACTBoth lay beliefs and research findings suggest that people tend to avoid conflicts if interpersonal harmony is highly valued. Counter to this widely accepted convention, we adopt the perspective of motivated social cognition to argue that conflict avoidance is subject to the joint effect of the need for epistemic security (need for closure) and the motivation to prevent losses (prevention focus). Such effect is mediated by negative anticipation towards the consequences of confronting conflicts. Results across three studies indicated that individuals with relatively high need for closure and high prevention focus show the strongest conflict avoidance tendency due to their heightened negative anticipation. However, with low need for closure, the negative anticipation and conflict avoidance tendency of high prevention-focused individuals are weakened or even disappear. This research offers a novel theory about the mechanism of conflict avoidance. The findings about the debiasing role of low need for closure also provide rich implications for conflict resolutions.

Cognitive Structuring and Its Cognitive-Motivational Determinants as an Explanatory Framework of the Fear-Then-Relief Social Influence Strategy.

According to the fear-then-relief technique of social influence, people who experience anxiety whose source is abruptly withdrawn usually respond positively to various requests and commands addressed to them. This effect is usually explained by the fact that fear invokes a specific program of action, and that when the source of this emotion is suddenly and unexpectedly removed, the program is no longer operative, but the person has not yet invoked a new program. This specific state of disorientation makes compliance more likely. In this paper, an alternative explanation of the fear-then-relief effect is offered. It is assumed that the rapid change of emotions is associated with feelings of uncertainty and confusion. The positive response to the request is a form of coping with uncertainty. In line with this reasoning, while individuals with a high need for closure (NFC) should comply with a request after a fear-then-relief situation, low NFC individuals who are less threatened by uncertainty should not. This assumption was confirmed in the experiment.