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.

Abstract

s (1994) Need for Closure Scale (NFCS) confounds multiple dimensions and is redundant with existing instruments (S. L. Neuberg, T. N. Judice, & S. G. . A. W. Kruglanski and his colleagues ( 1997) dismissed these findings as "psychometric naysaying," although they presented no data that refute them. Moreover, Kruglanski et al. (1997) suggested that researchers (a) be unconcerned with the NFCS's lack of discriminant validity and (b) use the scale as if it were unidimensional. These recommendations are problematic. Using the NFCS in this manner invites interpretational ambiguity and theoretical confusion. In contrast to the Kruglanski et al. (1997) position, proper psychometric analyses play a critical role in theory testing and in the development of conceptually coherent measures of individual differences.Several years ago, Webster and Kruglanski (1994) presented their Need for Closure Scale (NFCS), an instrument designed to capture individual differences in people's desire to come to relatively quick closure in thejr decisions and judgments. Although young, the NFCS has already demonstrated impressive predictive validity: People who score high on the NFCS are more likely to exhibit impression primacy effects (Webster & Kruglanski, 1994), fall victim to the correspondence bias (Webster, 1993), assimilate new information to existing beliefs

The Development of Group Stereotypes from Descriptions of Group Members: An Individual Difference Approach

“…Personal Need for Structure and Need for Closure, however, were strongly correlated (see Table 1). This finding supports the claims of , and Neuberg, West, Thompson, and Judice (1997), that Personal Need for Structure and Need for Closure may be the same construct. Because the correlation between Personal Need for Structure and Need for Closure (r(75) = .80, p < .001), was nearly as high as the reliability of each measure, the two …”

“…As in previous research Neuberg, West, Judice, & Thompson, 1997), Personal Need for Structure and Need for Closure were strongly related in both studies, suggesting that they may be indistinguishable. The findings from these two studies go beyond previous research, however, by demonstrating that Personal Fear of Invalidity, Personal Need for Structure, and Need for Closure can affect stereotype development.…”

“…Webster and Kruglanski (1994) found that the correlation between Need for Closure and Personal Need for Structure was weak (r = .24), whereas and Neuberg, West, Judice, and Thompson (1997) found that it was strong (r = .79). More recently, Kruglanski et al (1997) agreed that Personal Need for Structure and the Need for Closure are correlated more strongly than they first thought (correlations of .67 to .79), but noted that 'this leaves about 50% of the variance in the two scales unexplained by their commonality ' (p. 1007).…”

Item selection and validation of a brief, 15-item version of the Need for Closure Scale

“…suggested that these two factors represent the freezing and seizing tendencies respectively. However, this interpretation has been heavily contested and the meaning of the two factors remained the subject of debate for years (see, e.g., Kruglanski, De Grada, Mannetti, Atash, & Webster, 1997;Neuberg, West, Judice, & Thompson, 1997;Roets & Van Hiel, 2007).…”

When the need for closure promotes complex cognition

“…Roets and colleagues (2006) made an attempt to answer the former question. Inspired by the critical comments of Neuberg and colleagues Neuberg, West, Judice, & Thompson, 1997) about the Need for Closure Scale, they verified whether the two factors constituting the scale (the Decision-Making subscale and the other four subscales) translate into a tendency towards accelerated seizing and freezing. It seemed possible that the tendency towards accelerated seizing would correlate with the DecisionMaking subscale results, while freezing would correlate with the other four subscales.…”