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Need for Closure Scale×Motivated Reasoning Experiment×
FieldPolitical PsychologyPolitical Psychology
FamilyProcess / pipelineProcess / pipeline
Year of origin19942006
OriginatorDonna M. Webster & Arie W. KruglanskiCharles Taber & Milton Lodge
TypeSelf-report individual-difference scaleSurvey/lab experiment
Seminal sourceWebster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1049-1062. DOI ↗Taber, C. S., & Lodge, M. (2006). Motivated skepticism in the evaluation of political beliefs. American Journal of Political Science, 50(3), 755-769. DOI ↗
AliasesNFCS, Need for Cognitive Closure Scale, Webster-Kruglanski ScaleDirectional Motivated Reasoning Study, Biased Assimilation Experiment, Disconfirmation Bias Paradigm
Related44
SummaryThe Need for Cognitive Closure Scale, developed by Webster and Kruglanski (1994), measures a stable individual difference in the desire for a firm, definite answer to a question and an aversion to ambiguity and uncertainty. High need for closure is a key epistemic-motivation construct in political psychology, linked to conservatism, prejudice, intolerance of dissent, and resistance to belief change.A motivated reasoning experiment tests whether people process political information to reach conclusions they are directionally motivated to hold rather than the most accurate ones. Building on Kunda's (1990) theory and crystallized by Taber and Lodge (2006), these designs expose partisans to attitude-congruent and incongruent arguments and measure biased assimilation, disconfirmation bias, attitude polarization, and selective exposure.
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ScholarGateCompare methods: Need for Closure Scale · Motivated Reasoning Experiment. Retrieved 2026-06-24 from https://scholargate.app/en/compare