When do they push the right buttons? Need for closure and the role of perceived control in situations of uncertainty

Sankaran, Sindhuja, Kossowska, Malgorzata and Von Hecker, Ulrich ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8873-0515 2023. When do they push the right buttons? Need for closure and the role of perceived control in situations of uncertainty. Personality and Individual Differences 213 , 112316. 10.1016/j.paid.2023.112316 Item availability restricted.

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Abstract

The present research examined the role of heightened perceived control as a strategy to cope with uncertainty in need for closure (NFC). We assume that in the situation of uncertainty, NFC is associated with using strategies that heighten perceived control. To test this assumption we run two studies using a causal learning paradigm wherein participants' goal was to find out whether clicking a button had any effect on a triangle lighting up with no specific instructions on how to approach the task. Two within-subject factors, i.e., certainty schedules and type of interval, were introduced to vary the uncertainty experienced in the task. In Study 1 (N = 45) we demonstrated that the task indeed induced varying degrees of uncertainty depending on these factors and that NFC related to more presses (i.e., effortful means). In Study 2 (N = 94) we demonstrated also that high NFC was associated with more presses which was linked to heightened perceived control.

Item Type:	Article
Date Type:	Publication
Status:	Published
Schools:	Psychology
Publisher:	Elsevier
ISSN:	0191-8869
Date of First Compliant Deposit:	28 June 2023
Date of Acceptance:	15 June 2023
Last Modified:	11 Nov 2024 18:00
URI:	https://orca.cardiff.ac.uk/id/eprint/160651

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