Groups as epistemic providers: need for closure and the unfolding of group-centrism.
Theory and research are presented relating the need for cognitive closure to major facets of group behavior. It is suggested that a high need for closure, whether it is based on members' disposition or the situation, contributes to the emergence of a behavioral syndrome describable as group-centrism--a pattern that includes pressures to opinion uniformity, encouragement of autocratic leadership, in-group favoritism, rejection of deviates, resistance to change, conservatism, and the perpetuation of group norms. These theoretical predictions are borne out by laboratory and field research in diverse settings.
Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, USA. arie@psyc.umd.edu
Arie W
AW
Kruglanski
Antonio
A
Pierro
Lucia
L
Mannetti
Eraldo
E
De Grada
D003071:Cognition; D003463:Cues; D006126:Group Processes; D006801:Humans; D019359:Knowledge; D010466:Perceptual Closure; D012649:Self Concept; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception