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Brandt MJ, Vallabha S, Turner-Zwinkels FM. The Onset of the COVID-19 Pandemic Made People Feel Threatened, but Had a Limited Impact on Political Attitudes in the United States. PERSONALITY AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY BULLETIN 2023:1461672231190233. [PMID: 37553893 DOI: 10.1177/01461672231190233] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
We investigated if the COVID-19 pandemic's onset caused changes in political attitudes. Influential theories predict that the pandemic's onset will cause people to adopt more conservative attitudes, more culturally conservative attitudes, or more extreme attitudes. We comprehensively tested the external validity of these predictions by estimating the causal effect of the pandemic's onset on 84 political attitudes and eight perceived threats using fine-grained repeated cross-sectional data (Study 1, N = 232,684) and panel data (Study 2, N = 552) collected in the United States. Although the pandemic's onset caused feelings of threat, the onset only caused limited attitude change (six conservative shifts, four extremity shifts, 12 liberal shifts, 62 no change). Prominent theories of threat and politics did not make accurate predictions for this major societal threat. Our results highlight the necessity of testing psychological theories' predictive powers in real-life circumstances.
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Obaidi M, Anjum G, Bierwiaczonek K, Dovidio JF, Ozer S, Kunst JR. Cultural threat perceptions predict violent extremism via need for cognitive closure. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2213874120. [PMID: 37155886 PMCID: PMC10194010 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2213874120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/12/2022] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Understanding the psychological processes that drive violent extremism is a pressing global issue. Across six studies, we demonstrate that perceived cultural threats lead to violent extremism because they increase people's need for cognitive closure (NFC). In general population samples (from Denmark, Afghanistan, Pakistan, France, and an international sample) and a sample of former Mujahideen in Afghanistan, single-level and multilevel mediation analyses revealed that NFC mediated the association between perceived cultural threats and violent extremist outcomes. Further, in comparisons between the sample of former Afghan Mujahideen and the general population sample from Afghanistan following the known-group paradigm, the former Mujahideen scored significantly higher on cultural threat, NFC, and violent extremist outcomes. Moreover, the proposed model successfully differentiated former Afghan Mujahideen participants from the general Afghan participants. Next, two preregistered experiments provided causal support for the model. Experimentally manipulating the predictor (cultural threat) in Pakistan led to higher scores on the mediator (NFC) and dependent variables (violent extremist outcomes). Finally, an experiment conducted in France demonstrated the causal effect of the mediator (NFC) on violent extremist outcomes. Two internal meta-analyses using state-of-the-art methods (i.e., meta-analytic structural equation modeling and pooled indirect effects analyses) further demonstrated the robustness of our results across the different extremist outcomes, designs, populations, and settings. Cultural threat perceptions seem to drive violent extremism by eliciting a need for cognitive closure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Milan Obaidi
- Department of Psychology, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen1353, Denmark
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo0373, Norway
- Center for Research on Extremism, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Oslo0373, Norway
| | - Gulnaz Anjum
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo0373, Norway
- Institute of Business Administration, Karachi75270, Pakistan
| | - Kinga Bierwiaczonek
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo0373, Norway
- Centro de Investigação e Intervenção Social, Instituto Universitário de Lisboa, Lisboa1649-026, Portugal
| | - John F. Dovidio
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT06511
| | - Simon Ozer
- Department of Psychology, Aarhus University, Aarhus8000, Denmark
| | - Jonas R. Kunst
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo0373, Norway
- Center for Research on Extremism, Department of Political Science, University of Oslo, Oslo0373, Norway
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De Cristofaro V, Pellegrini V, Livi S, van Zomeren M. Explaining immigrant threat perceptions and pro‐immigrant collective action intentions through issue‐specific moral conviction and general need for closure: The case of the US–Mexico border wall. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2853] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
| | - Valerio Pellegrini
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Stefano Livi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Martijn van Zomeren
- Department of Social Psychology Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences Groningen The Netherlands
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Jaume LC, Schetsche C, Roca MA, Quattrocchi P. Factor Structure and Internal Consistency on a Reduced Version of the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure. Front Psychol 2022; 12:813115. [PMID: 35095698 PMCID: PMC8795760 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.813115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The need for cognitive closure is a construct postulated by Kruglanski that explains the motivational aspects which influence decision-making and its impact on the social environment. Initially, it was assessed through a unidimensional scale, later criticized for its poor satisfactory reliability and validity. Regarding these criticisms, Pierro and Kruglanski developed a new 14-item scale to measure two dimensions, which were not previously evaluated: urgency tendency and permanence tendency. Although the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure is more economical in terms of assessment time, it would be optimal to develop a reduced test that can assess faster while maintaining validity and reliability. The present research aims to reduce the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure scale to the Argentinian context. To this end, we worked on a non-experimental design, assessing this scale within a sample of 690 Argentinian university students (Women = 81.16%, Men = 18.84%), and proceeded to perform reliability, as well as confirmatory factor analysis, convergent validity, and factorial invariance analysis. The results indicate a bi-factorial structure of a Need for Cognitive Closure instrument with eight items and two dimensions: urgency tendency (α = 0.76) and permanence tendency (α = 0.64), suggesting good reliability in both of them. In addition, well convergent validity was checked with other validated instruments, and finally, the factor loadings were shown to be invariant. In conclusion, it was demonstrated the reliability and validity of reducing the Revised Test of Need for Cognitive Closure in our social environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Carlos Jaume
- Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Christian Schetsche
- Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Marcelo Agustín Roca
- Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Paula Quattrocchi
- Instituto de Investigaciones, Facultad de Psicología, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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Beyond doubt in a dangerous world: The effect of existential threats on the certitude of societal discourse. JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2021.104221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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Starnes W, Kopetz C, Johnson M. For better and for worse: The role of negative affect in decisions to drink and drive. MOTIVATION AND EMOTION 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s11031-021-09876-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
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Pelletier P, Drozda-Senkowska E. Meaning-making and rumour-mongering in the shadow of terrorism: The case of the Charlie Hebdo attack in Paris. JOURNAL OF SOCIAL AND POLITICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.5964/jspp.v7i2.1127] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The January 7, 2015 Charlie Hebdo terrorist attack in Paris shattered French civilians’ sense of security and also their sense of the surrounding world. This quasi-longitudinal study investigates the temporal dynamics of meaning-making and rumour-mongering processes of French civilians (N = 161) in a real-world, post-terrorist context. The present study was conducted via questionnaire at three points in time (i.e. one week, one month and two months) following the January 7, 2015 terrorist attack in Paris. In line with the social stage model of collective coping with disasters (Pennebaker & Harber, 1993), the main results suggest that participants’ coping process of searching for meaning decreased progressively over the two-month period. However, participants’ finding the presence of meaning as an outcome did not differ across time. Moreover, participants’ belief in rumours and official information was stable over the two-month period. Such findings point to the importance of considering the temporal perspective in order to provide a better understanding of laypeople’s symbolic responses to terrorism.
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Cristofaro V, Pellegrini V, Baldner C, Zomeren M, Livi S, Pierro A. Need for closure effect on collective action intentions and behavior toward immigrants in Italy: The mediation of binding foundations and political conservatism. JOURNAL OF APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1111/jasp.12620] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Cristofaro
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Valerio Pellegrini
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Conrad Baldner
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Martijn Zomeren
- Department of Social Psychology, Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences University of Groningen Groningen The Netherlands
| | - Stefano Livi
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
| | - Antonio Pierro
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, Faculty of Medicine and Psychology Sapienza University Rome Italy
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Orehek E, Kruglanski AW. Personal failure makes society seem fonder: An inquiry into the roots of social interdependence. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0201361. [PMID: 30075001 PMCID: PMC6075750 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201361] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/19/2017] [Accepted: 07/13/2018] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
A universal consideration among people concerns the relative premium placed on social interdependence relative to self-reliant independence. While interdependence requires submission to social constraints, it also offers empowerment through coalition. While independence fosters freedom, it also imposes individual responsibility for attained outcomes whether good or bad. In four studies we obtain the first direct evidence that failure prompts a shift toward interdependence. Implications are discussed for conditions under which people are driven to collective action.
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Affiliation(s)
- Edward Orehek
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Arie W. Kruglanski
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
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Dugas M, Kruglanski AW. Shared reality as collective closure. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 23:72-76. [PMID: 29427899 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.01.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2017] [Revised: 12/26/2017] [Accepted: 01/11/2018] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
We draw on the theory of lay epistemics to understand how universal processes of knowledge formation drive the emergence, and determine the consequences of shared reality in groups. In particular, we highlight the role in these processes of the need for cognitive closure and credible epistemic authorities. Whereas the former construct explains why people seek a shared reality, the latter clarifies who the reality is shared with. In this connection, we review relevant bodies of empirical evidence that bear on the epistemic underpinnings of shared reality phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Dugas
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA.
| | - Arie W Kruglanski
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, Biology-Psychology Building, College Park, MD 20742, USA
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Shteynberg G, Gelfand M, Imai L, Mayer DM, Bell C. Prosocial thinkers and the social transmission of justice. EUROPEAN JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1002/ejsp.2256] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Garriy Shteynberg
- Department of Psychology; University of Tennessee; Knoxville Tennessee USA
| | - Michele Gelfand
- Department of Psychology; University of Maryland; College Park Maryland USA
| | - Lynn Imai
- Ivey Business School, Western University; London Ontario Canada
| | - David M. Mayer
- Ross School of Business; University of Michigan; Ann Arbor Michigan USA
| | - Chris Bell
- Schulich School of Business; York University; Toronto Ontario Canada
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Dugas M, Schori-Eyal N, Kruglanski AW, Klar Y, Touchton-Leonard K, McNeill A, Gelfand MJ, Roccas S. Group-centric attitudes mediate the relationship between need for closure and intergroup hostility. GROUP PROCESSES & INTERGROUP RELATIONS 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/1368430217699462] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
A model of the relationship between need for closure (NFC) and intergroup hostility was tested in four studies. According to the model, heightened NFC promotes glorification of the ingroup which fosters support for extreme measures against the group’s perceived enemies. In a parallel process, high level of NFC induces perceptions of ingroup victimhood, which also adds support for aggressive actions toward rival outgroups. In the first two studies, conducted in Palestine’s West Bank (Study 1) and in the United States (Study 2), NFC promoted a greater sense of moral entitlement to engage in violence against the outgroup, and this was mediated by perceived ingroup victimhood. The subsequent two studies tested the full hypothesized parallel mediation model among students in Northern Ireland (Study 3) and Jewish-Israelis (Study 4). Results largely supported the proposed model. Findings are discussed in relation to additional evidence linking NFC to phenomena of intergroup hostility.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Noa Schori-Eyal
- University of Maryland, USA
- Interdisciplinary Center Herzliya, Israel
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Randles D, Heine SJ, Poulin M, Silver RC. Experienced Adversity in Life Is Associated With Polarized and Affirmed Political Attitudes. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PERSONALITY SCIENCE 2017. [DOI: 10.1177/1948550616675668] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Many studies find that when made to feel uncertain, participants respond by affirming importantly held beliefs. However, while theories argue that these effects should persist over time for highly disruptive experiences, almost no research has been performed outside the lab. We conducted a secondary analysis of data from a national sample of U.S. adults ( N = 1,613) who were followed longitudinally for 3 years. Participants reported lifetime and recent adversities experienced annually, as well as their opinions on a number of questions related to intergroup hostility and aggression toward out-groups, similar to those used in many lab studies of uncertainty. We anticipated that those who had experienced adversity would show more extreme support for their position. There was a positive relationship between adversity and the tendency to strongly affirm and polarize their positions. Results suggest that adverse life events may lead to long-lasting changes in one’s tendency to polarize one’s political attitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Steven J. Heine
- The University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
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Brizi A, Mannetti L, Kruglanski AW. The closing of open minds: Need for closure moderates the impact of uncertainty salience on outgroup discrimination. BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2015; 55:244-62. [PMID: 26407631 DOI: 10.1111/bjso.12131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2013] [Revised: 08/26/2015] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
In three studies, we examined how dispositional need for cognitive closure (NCC) moderates the impact of various types of uncertainty salience (personal and supraliminal in studies 1 and 2; economic and subliminal in Study 3) on implicit attitudes (studies 1 and 3) and explicit discriminatory intentions (Study 2) towards outgroup members. Across all three studies, we found that uncertainty increased discrimination against outgroups among low-NCC individuals but not among high-NCC individuals. High-NCC individuals tended to be more discriminatory irrespective of uncertainty salience. These results suggest that uncertainty salience leads individuals with a low dispositional need for closure to act like those with high need for closure. The implications of the findings for theories about how uncertainty influences social attitudes and intergroup behaviour are discussed.
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Abstract
Two motivations underlying punishment can be distinguished. On the one hand, the retributive motivation prescribes that punishment should be proportional to the moral offense caused. On the other hand, according the utilitarian perspective, punishment should be aimed at protecting society by reducing the likelihood of similar infractions. Previous research did not examine whether individual differences could lead to a preference for one of the two motivations. We propose that high need for closure could be associated with higher utilitarian motivation because of its general concern for group related consequences of violations. In support of our hypothesis, in Study 1 we found that individuals high in need for closure endorsed to a greater extent a zero-tolerance policy rather than a proportional one. Study 2 further showed that closed-minded individuals sought more information related to the utilitarian, rather than the retributive perspective, when judging a violation. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Giacomantonio
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza,” Italy
| | - Antonio Pierro
- Department of Social and Developmental Psychology, University of Rome “Sapienza,” Italy
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Abstract
Terrorism is a tool designed to reach political objectives. Terrorism emerges in a social and political context, representing a form of psychological warfare aimed at achieving political goals by eliciting an emotional response in the populace of a perceived adversary. As such, terrorism requires both the ability to penetrate the enemy’s defenses and the motivation to justify violence. This article presents a means-end motivational account of terrorism, reviewing (a) the scope of the terrorist threat, (b) what drives perceiving terrorism as an instrumental means of reaching political goals, (c) how the quest for personal significance motivates adopting terrorism-justifying ideologies, and (d) how this understanding of terrorism may inform counter-terrorism policy considerations.
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Morris MW, Savani K, Mor S, Cho J. When in Rome: Intercultural learning and implications for training. RESEARCH IN ORGANIZATIONAL BEHAVIOR 2014. [DOI: 10.1016/j.riob.2014.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Dickter CL, Kittel JA. The effect of stereotypical primes on the neural processing of racially ambiguous faces. Soc Neurosci 2012; 7:622-31. [PMID: 22642396 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2012.690345] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous research has demonstrated that an early attentional component of the event-related potential (ERP), the P2, is sensitive to the distinction between the processing of racial outgroup and ingroup faces but may not be sensitive to the distinction between racially ambiguous and ingroup faces. Recent behavioral work, however, has suggested that contextual information may affect the processing of racially ambiguous faces. Thus, the first goal of this study was to examine whether the early neural processing of racially ambiguous faces would be affected by primed stereotypes. White college student participants (n = 29) completed a task in which they racially categorized monoracial Black and White faces and racially ambiguous Black-White morphs. These faces were preceded by positive and negative Black and White stereotypical primes. Results indicated that P2 amplitude to the racially ambiguous faces was moderated by the valence of the primes such that negative primes led to greater neural processing of the racially ambiguous faces than positive primes. Furthermore, the extent to which P2 amplitude was affected by prime valence was moderated by individual differences in preference for structure and categorical thinking, as well as comfort with ambiguity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheryl L Dickter
- Department of Psychology, College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, VA 23187-8795, USA.
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