Seizing and freezing
Under a high need for closure, people are said to seize on early information to reach a conclusion, and then freeze on that conclusion and resist revising it. The motivation can be a stable characteristic, or it can be raised by time pressure, noise or tiredness.
What it influences
A high need for closure has been linked with reliance on first impressions and stereotypes, preference for familiar and consensus views, and less willingness to consider alternatives. It has also been used to study group decision making, where members may press for agreement. A scale exists to measure the tendency, with shorter versions for research use.
A balanced view
Closure is not always bad, since decisions eventually have to be made and endless deliberation has its own costs. The trait's relationship to political beliefs is studied actively, and its size and direction may vary across issues and countries, so simple generalisations are risky.
Further reading
- Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 1049-1062.
- Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M. (1996). Motivated closing of the mind: 'Seizing' and 'freezing'. Psychological Review, 103, 263-283.
- Roets, A., & Van Hiel, A. (2011). Item selection and validation of a brief, 15-item version of the Need for Closure Scale. Personality and Individual Differences, 50, 90-94.