Decision Making Individual Differences Inventory - Need for (Cognitive) Closure Scale

Need for (Cognitive) Closure Scale (NFCS)

Kruglanski, A. W., Webster, D. M., & Klem, A. (1993). Motivated resistance and openness to persuasion in the presence or absence of prior information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 861-876. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.861

Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1049-1062. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1049

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(1), 90-94. doi: 10.1016/j.paid.2010.09.004

See also Thompson et al.'s (2001) Personal Need for Structure as well as their Personal Fear of Invalidity.
Revised short (15-item) version is available for use: Roets & Van Hiel (2011) NFC scale revised - short version.doc

Purpose		The NFCS was designed to assess individuals' "motivation with respect to information processing and judgment." Need for cognitive closure is defined as a desire for an answer in order to end further information processing and judgment, even if that answer is not the correct or best answer.
Questions		42 items using 6-point ratings (1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree)
Sub-scales		5 sub-scales: Desire for predictability Preference for order and structure Discomfort with ambiguity Decisiveness Close-mindedness
Domain
Psychometrics
Sample items		I don't like to go into a situation without knowing what I can expect from it. (Desire for predictability) I think that having clear rules and order at work is essential for success. (Preference for order and structure) I'd rather know bad news that stay in a state of uncertainty. (Discomfort with ambiguity) I usually make important decisions quickly and confidently. (Decisiveness) I do not usually consult many different opinions before forming my own view. (Close-mindedness)

Scale:

Kruglanski, A. W., Webster, D. M., & Klem, A. (1993). Motivated resistance and openness to persuasion in the presence or absence of prior information. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 65(5), 861-876. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.65.5.861

Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1049-1062. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.67.6.1049

Uses:

Berenbaum, H., Bredemeier, K., & Thompson, R. J. (2008). Intolerance of uncertainty: Exploring its dimensionality and associations with need for cognitive closure, psychopathology, and personality. Journal of Anxiety Disorders, 22(1), 117-125. doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2007.01.004

Colbert, S. M., Peters, E. R., & Garety, P. A. (2006). Need for closure and anxiety in delusions: A longitudinal investigation in early psychosis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 44(10), 1385-1396. doi:10.1016/j.brat.2005.06.007

Kruglanski, A. W. (2004). The psychology of closed mindedness. New York: Psychology Press.

Pierro, A., & Kruglanski, A. W. (2008). Seizing and freezing on a significant-person schema: Need for closure and the transference effect in social judgment. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 34(11), 1492-1503.doi: 10.1177/0146167208322865

Roets, A., Van Hiel, A., & Cornelis, I. (2006). The dimensional structure of the need for cognitive closure scale: Relationships with "seizing" and "freezing" processes. Social Cognition, 24(1), 22-45. doi:10.1521/soco.2006.24.1.22

Schenkel, M. T., Matthews, C. H., & M.W., F. (2009). Making rational use of 'irrationality'? Exploring the role of need for cognitive closure in nascent entrepreneurial activity Entrepreneurship and Regional Development, 21 (1), 51-76. doi:10.1080/08985620801912467

Discussion of PNS & NFCC:

Kruglanski, A. W., Atash, M. N., DeGrada, E., Mannetti, L., Pierro, A., & Webster, D. M. (1997). Psychological theory testing versus psychometric nay-saying: Comment on Neuberg et al.'s (1997) critique of the need for closure scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(5), 1005-1016.doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.73.5.1005

Neuberg, S. L., Judice, T. N., & West, S. G. (1997). What the need for closure scale measures and what it does not: Toward differentiating among related epistemic motives. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 72(6), 1396-1412. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.72.6.1396

Neuberg, S. L., West, S. G., Judice, T. N., & Thompson, M. M. (1997). On dimensionality, discriminant validity, and the role of psychometric analyses in personality theory and measurement: Reply to Kruglanski et al.'s (1997) Defense of the need for closure scale. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73(5), 1017-1029. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.73.5.1017