Individual Differences in Argument Scrutiny as Motivated by Need for Cognitive Closure

Abstract

Two experiments examined whether the type of information that determines persuasion varies as a function of the message recipients' chronic motivation for cognitive closure. Results of Study 1 indicated that individuals relatively high in dispositional need for closure processed a persuasive message according to heuristic cues and failed to attend systematically to the message content. In contrast, individuals relatively low in dispositional need for closure scrutinized the message content, presumably due to a greater motivation to process information. Study 2 tested the hypothesis that individuals high in dispositional need for closure may process a message systematically if a heuristic cue was unavailable to provide an easy means for closure. The data supported this hypothesis. These findings suggest that the interaction between the motivation for closure and the type of information available moderates the route to persuasion pursued.