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Groups as epistemic providers: need for closure and the unfolding of group-centrism
Arie W Kruglanski1, Antonio Pierro, Lucia Mannetti
1Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, 20742, USA. arie@psyc.umd.edu
Abstract:
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.
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