Cited by 2,379Social and Intergroup PsychologyDeath Anxiety and Social ExclusionPsychology of Social Influence

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

Kruglanski, Arie W., Webster, Donna M.·1996·Psychological Review

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Abstract

A theoretical framework is outlined in which the key construct is the need for (nonspecific) cognitive closure. The need for closure is a desire for definite knowledge on some issue. It represents a dimension of stable individual differences as well as a situationally evocable state. The need for closure has widely ramifying consequences for social-cognitive phenomena at the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and group levels of analysis. Those consequences derive from 2 general tendencies, those of urgency and performance. The urgency tendency represents an individual's inclination to attain closure as soon as possible, and the permanence tendency represents an individual's inclination to maintain it for as long as possible. Empirical evidence for present theory attests to diverse need for closure effects on fundamental social psychological phenomena, including impression formation, stereotyping, attribution, persuasion, group decision making, and language use in intergroup contexts.

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“answer, and are impulsive in judging and decision making [24].”
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Effects of Employees’ Positive Affective Displays on Customer Loyalty Intentions: An Emotions-as-Social-Information Perspective
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“For instance, they were considered to have either a high or a low need for closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996a,b; Webster & Kruglanski, 1998), to be high or low on the need for cognition (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982), or to possess “learning” or “performance” goals (Dweck, 1999).”
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“Such clarity can satisfy individuals ’ fundamental needs for structure, predictability, and certainty (Fromm, 1941; Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Whitson & Galinsky, 2008).”
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“A second reason for exaggerated consensus after threat is that consensus might appeal to a momentary need for cognitive closure (Kruglanski & Webster, 1996) in response to the preoccupation and impairment of cognitive resources that threats may cause (cf. Baumeister, Twenge, & Nuss, 2002).”
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“[62, 71, 72] Other situational factors, including the urgency of decision making and available time and resources for making a choice, may increase aversive responses to uncertainty.[59, 73] The importance of these various”
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“…been used to operationally define the need for cognitive closure (cf. Kruglanski & Freund, 1983; Shah, Kruglanski, & Thompson, 1998; for reviews see Kruglanski & Webster, 1996; Webster & Kruglanski, 1998) based on the assumption that, under time pressure, the implicit threat of failing to meet a…”
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“More accessible than the earlier, more „academic‟ review by Kruglanski and Webster (1996) (see References).”
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“Because a preference for order is one of the manifestations of NFCC (Kruglanski and Webster 1996; Webster and Kruglanski 1994), to examine whether the item “I like order” could indeed serve as a proxy for NFCC, we conducted a pretest among 214 participants.”
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Authors: Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M.
Affiliations: University of Maryland, College Park (US)
ORCID: Kruglanski, Arie W.
Venue: Psychological Review
Publisher: American Psychological Association (APA)
Published: 1996-04
Volume: 103
Issue: 2
Pages: 263-283
ISSN: 0033-295X (ISSN-L)
1939-1471
DOI: 10.1037/0033-295x.103.2.263
OpenAlex: W1994106556
Cited by: 2,379
References: 87
Citations by year: 2026: 105 · 2025: 104 · 2024: 75 · 2023: 78 · 2022: 110 · 2021: 130 · 2020: 150 · 2019: 96 · 2018: 135 · 2017: 107 · 2016: 98 · 2015: 92 · 2014: 107 · 2013: 88 · 2012: 108
FWCI: 80.97
Type: journal article
Language: en
Open access: closed
Locations: Psychological Review (publishedVersion)
PubMed (publishedVersion)
Funders: National Institutes of Health (5r01mh052578-05, 5k05mh001213-03)
National Institute of Mental Health (1R01 MH 52578, KO5/MH01213)
Topics: Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social and Intergroup Psychology
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Psychology of Social Influence
Keywords: need for closure, cognitive closure, impression formation, stereotyping, attribution, persuasion, group decision making, individual differences, social cognition
MeSH terms: Cognition, Decision Making, Humans, Intelligence, Language, Personality

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

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