Cited by 2,494Social and Intergroup PsychologyDeath Anxiety and Social ExclusionPersonality Traits and Psychology

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Individual differences in need for cognitive closure.

Webster, Donna M., Kruglanski, Arie W.·1994·Journal of Personality and Social Psychology

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Abstract

This article introduces an individual-difference measure of the need for cognitive closure. As a dispositional construct, the need for cognitive closure is presently treated as a latent variable manifested through several different aspects, namely, desire for predictability, preference for order and structure, discomfort with ambiguity, decisiveness, and close-mindedness. This article presents psychometric work on the measure as well as several validation studies including (a) a "known-groups" discrimination between populations assumed to differ in their need for closure, (b) discriminant and convergent validation with respect to related personality measures, and (c) replication of effects obtained with situational inductions of the need for closure. The present findings suggest that the Need for Closure Scale is a reliable and valid instrument of considerable potential utility in future "motivated social cognition" research.

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Authors: Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W.
Affiliations: University of Maryland, College Park (US)
ORCID: Kruglanski, Arie W.
Venue: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1994
Volume: 67
Issue: 6
Pages: 1049-1062
ISSN: 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
1939-1315
DOI: 10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1049
OpenAlex: W4236213745
Cited by: 2,494
References: 0
Citations by year: 2026: 98 · 2025: 145 · 2024: 128 · 2023: 117 · 2022: 141 · 2021: 146 · 2020: 154 · 2019: 175 · 2018: 144 · 2017: 125 · 2016: 105 · 2015: 106 · 2014: 105 · 2013: 87 · 2012: 84
FWCI: 55.47
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institute of Mental Health (5R01MH 4612-02)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
Keywords: need for cognitive closure, individual differences, personality traits, cognitive closure, decision-making
MeSH terms: Cognition, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Social Behavior

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Individual differences in need for cognitive closure.

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