Motivated closing of the mind: “Seizing” and “freezing”

“…following and negative affect (Tomkins, 1963, 1965), uncertainty avoidance (Sorrentino & Roney, 1986; Wilson, 1973b), need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), personal need for structure (Altemeyer , 1998; Schaller, Boyd, Yohannes, & O'Brien, 1995; Smith & Gordon, 1998), need…”

“Partisan goals, which motivate them to apply their reasoning powers in defense of a prior, specific conclusion (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“The need for closure (e.g., Dittes, 1961; Kruglanski & Mayseless , 1988; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) indexes stable individual differences in the extent to which a person desires " an answer on a given topic . . . compared to confusion and ambiguity " (Kruglanski , 1990, p. 337; Kruglanski &…”

“Additional evidence for openness and curiosity being relevant to flexible thinking and behavior stems from work on opposing tendencies such as intolerance of uncertainty and the need for closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Sorrentino & Roney, 2000).”

“…processes (e.g., Rhoades & Eisenberger, 2002), individual differences in information-processing motivation (e.g., De Dreu & Carnevale, 2003; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), accountability (e.g., Lerner & Tetlock, 1999), and group members' motivation to work with the group (e.g., Weaver,…”

“When employees encounter ambiguity, they are generally motivated to reduce it (e.g., Elliot & Devine, 1994; Festinger, 1957; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) by seeking information and support to clarify the meaning, purpose, and objectives of their actions (e.g., Ashford, 1986; Heine, Proulx, & Vohs,…”

“In one condition, participants were placed under time-pressure to increase the need for closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Webster & Kruglanski, 1998).”

“Second, especially in hidden profile situations, premature closure may also play a role (Karau & Kelly 1992, Kelly & Karau 1998, Kruglanski & Webster 1996).”

“…the epistemic motivation to seize on the most readily available information and values (likely the most normative information from one’s ingroup) and then adhere to (or “freeze” on) such information in the face of alternative or inconsistent information (see also Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“PNS and PFI are both related to the construct of need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996 ; Webster & Kruglanski, 1994 ).”

“A short form of the Need for Closure scale ( Kruglanski & Webster, 1996 ), used in the present study, consists of eight items.”

“Need for closure concerns the epistemic desire to seize immediately on a firm answer to an ambiguous issue, and to “freeze” on that answer without considering other alternatives (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Webster & Kruglanski, 1994).”

“This article is intended solely for the personal use of the individual user and is not to be disseminated broadly. lanski (Kruglanski, 1989; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Pierro & Kruglanski, 2008) proposed the concept of epistemic freezing, characterized by a tendency to defend existing knowledge…”

“It is also possible to select managers who have high tolerance for ambiguity—i.e., they are comfortable with multiple interpretations and do not seek closure or resolution before conducting careful evaluations (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“In a series of studies, Kruglanski and Webster (1996) have shown that individuals vary in their tolerance for ambiguity and their emotional reactions to uncertainty, and that this disposition can be measured by questionnaire.”

“…factors already mentioned (see section 1.3), individual differences in the tendency to persevere with one’s beliefs (‘‘need for cognitive closure’’; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Webster & Kruglanski, 1994) could impede the changes in information processing that undergird the shift toward…”

“…sense of certainty, self-integrity, or broad-based meaning system that beliefs in order and nonrandomness themselves may feed into (Heine, Proulx, & Vohs, 2006; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; McGregor, 2006; Solomon, Greenberg, & Pyszczynksi, 2004; van den Bos, van Ameijde, & van Gorp, 2006).”

“In terms of lay epistemic theory (Kruglanski, 1989; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), epistemic motivation is nondirectional in that what is looked for is a rich and accurate understanding of the world rather than a specific type of knowledge or conclusion.”

“Work by Kruglanski and colleagues (e.g., Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Dijksterhuis, van Knippenberg, & Kruglanski, 1996) suggest that accuracy motivation can also be understood as a willingness to forgo “cognitive closure,” allowing reasoning to take place over a longer period of time.”

“In the case of authoritarianism, the cohesiveness secures order and predictability in the social environment and reduces the possibility of experiencing undesirable cognitive uncertainty (e.g., Duckitt, 2006; Jost, Glaser, Kruglanski, & Sulloway, 2003; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“Minimizing mental effort and achieving rapid closure (emphasized by later theories of social cognition, which portrayed people as lazy or cognitively miserly intuitive scientists; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996); 3.”

“The Need for Closure (NFC) concept was introduced by Kruglanski (1990; see also Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) to develop a theoretical framework for the cognitive–motivational aspects of decision making.”

“Although both need for cognitive closure and time pressure effectively induce variation in epistemic motivation, they may also have inadvertently introduced an urgency tendency—an inclination to attain closure as soon as possible (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“This capacity is likely moderated by individual personality differences and other factors that remain to be elucidated.(55,56,65,66) The ultimate challenge for clinical practice and research is to understand more precisely what coping with uncertainty entails and how it can be promoted.”

“This experiment manipulated the need for closure via time pressure (Kruglanski & Freund, 1983: Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“…a self-affirming experience (Fein & Spencer, 1997; Steele, 1988), comprehension goals can be intensified by surprise and weakened by time pressure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Wong & Weiner, 1981), and the motivation to avoid prejudice can be intensified by a challenge to one’s impartiality and…”

“NFC refers to an individual's “desire for a firm answer to a question and an aversion toward ambiguity,” (Kruglanski and Webster, 1996, p. 264) manifest by a tendency to seek structure, to simplify complex information, and avoid ambiguity (Kruglanski, 1990, 1996; Kruglanski et al., 2009; Webster…”

“Kruglanski (1989; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Pierro & Kruglanski, 2008) proposed the concept of ―epistemic freezing‖, characterized by a tendency to defend existing knowledge structures even when they are incorrect or misleading (see also Fiske & Taylor, 1991).”

“The need for cognitive closure refers to a preference or a desire for an answer to a question or problem, any answer, as opposed to confusion and ambiguity (Kruglanski & Webster 1996).”

“Kruglanski and colleagues (eg, Kruglanski & Webster, 1996 ) have extensively investigated the need for closure, a disposition that is akin to an epistemic vice (see DeBacker & Crowson, 2009 ).”

“The greater the proportional weight assigned to confidence or assurance as such, the stronger the individual's motivation for nonspecific cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“Whether group members engage in information-driven interaction and concomitant deep processing of information depends on individual differences such as need for cognitive closure or need for cognition ( Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).”

“In one supporting study (Landau et al., 2012), men led to feel incompetent to influence women at a subjective level responded by perceiving women in general more in terms of isolated aspects of their physical appearance. A follow-up study focused on objectification in a hypothetical workplace scenario. Men and women l…”

“…& Thomas, 1998; Walster, 1967), such that people who possess dispositionally greater needs for control or closure show greater hindsight bias (Campbell & Tesser, 1983; Musch, 2003; Tykocinski, 2001; see also Hirt, Kardes, & Markman, 2004; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Musch & Wagner, 2007).”

“Lay epistemic theory (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), self-verification theory (Swann & Read, 1981), and theories of uncertainty management (Van den Bos, Poortvliet, Maas, Miedema, & Van den Ham, 2005), compensatory conviction (McGregor, Zanna, Holmes, & Spencer, 2001), and uncertainty reduction…”

“…a variety of situations some people feel more uncertain than others and have a greater need to reduce or avoid uncertainty (e.g., Cacioppo & Petty, 1982; J. D. Campbell et al., 1996; Kruglanski, 2004; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Rokeach, 1960; Sorrentino & Roney, 1999; Webster & Kruglanski, 1994).”

“The higher an individual’s epistemic motivation, the greater the tendency to engage in deep and systematic information processing (for similar notions, see Chaiken & Trope, 1999; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Petty & Cacioppo, 1986).”

“When placed under time pressure, individuals desire firm answers and dislike ambiguities (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“Another ambiguity is that quick positive responders may have been less motivated to engage in deliberative self-evaluation rather than or in addition to being less able to engage in deliberative processing ( Kruglanski & Webster, 1996 ).”

“They give greater scrutiny to and look for reasons to reject the validity of contradictory claims (35-37).”

“In a second condition, participants were given accuracy instructions to reduce their need for closure (see Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“This is contrary to prior theorizing that speakers think about prototypical, supporting information (Kruglanski and Webster 1996).”

“Time pressure heightens need for closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) which in turn decreases the amount of knowledge that people consider before forming a judgment (cf. Mayseless & Kruglanski, 1987; see also Strack, Erber, & Wicklund, 1982).”

“Likewise, high levels of aggravation undermine the immigrant experience (Yu & Singh, 2012), and aversion to ambiguity in immigrants is associated with greater stress, expressed emotional disorder, and psychosomatic symptoms (Kosic, 2002; Kurglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“This can result in relative closed-mindedness on an issue (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996).”

“On the other side, Kruglanski and Webster (1996) pointed out that closedness can also be motivating.”

“Drawing again on survey work in public opinion ( McClosky & Brill, 1983), as well as on the cognitive style literature (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), it was expected that ideological conservatives, especially those with strong preferences for closure, would most deeply doubt the cognitive and…”

“…decontextualize, willingness to consider alternatives, actively open-minded thinking (Baron, 1988), need for cognition (Cacioppo, Petty, Feinstein, & Jarvis, 1996), and need for closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), and reported modest correlations among scales designed to measure such constructs.”

“The motivation of need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Weber, 1996) drives individuals to seek answers validated by consensus with the salient ingroup.”

“Personality variables that tap into epistemic motivation include need for cognition (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982), need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), fear of invalidity (Thompson, Naccarato, Parker, & Moskowitz, 2001), and personal need for structure (Neuberg & Newsom, 1993;…”

“Where Camus posited a “nostalgia for unity,” we have posited a unity principle (Epstein, 1981), need for coherence (Antonovsky, 1979), need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) or need for structure (Neuberg & Newsom, 1993).”

“These include, among other things, the needs for power and achievement (McClelland, 1975; Schwartz, 1992) and the needs for certainty, predictability, and structure (Fromm, 1941; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008).”

“Kosic et al. (2004) focused on “need for cognitive closure” (NCC), or desire for definite answers and aversion to ambiguity (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996), which has been shown to negatively correlate with integrative complexity (e.g., Tetlock, 1998).”