Motivated social cognition: Need for closure effects on memory and judgment

Abstract

In two experiments, the relation between need for closure and group perception was studied. Dispositional need for closure was measured with a scale developed by Webster and Kruglanski (1994). In Experiment 1, subjects were presented with behavioral information about a group of soccer hooligans and were asked to form an impression of this group. Subjects high in need for closure recalled relatively more stereotype-consistent information, while subjects low in need for closure recalled more inconsistent information. Furthermore, subjects high in need for closure judged the target group more stereotypically and perceived the group as more homogeneous compared to subjects low in need for closure. In Experiment 2, in which the target group consisted of nurses and in which the stimulus set was more complex, most of the results of Experiment 1 were replicated. It was concluded that dispositional need for closure is an important determinant of the way social groups are perceived and judged.