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Separating Ability From Need: Clarifying the Dimensional Structure of the Need for Closure Scale

Ghent University, arne.roets{at}UGent.be

Alain Van Hiel

Ghent University, alain.vanhiel{at}UGent.be

The validity of the Need for Closure Scale (NFCS) has recently been debated in the research literature. In the present study, it is argued that the traditional Decisiveness scale primarily taps ability content instead of the hypothesized motivational need; therefore, new items that explicitly probe the need for quick and unambiguous answers were developed. It was shown that these need items form a reliable scale (Study 1); were predictive of the seizing process over and beyond ability, whereas the old Decisiveness scale was not (Study 2); and were sensitive to experimentally manipulated levels of task motivation (Study 3). Finally, a reassembled NFCS with the new items replacing the traditional Decisiveness items showed superior fit as a unidimensional model. In the Discussion, it is argued that the specific position of Decisiveness is due to its particular operationalization, not to its theoretical status.

Key Words: need for closure • dimensional structure • motivated cognition • ability • decisiveness

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