The Effect Of Uncertainty On Extremist Mind-set:the Dual Function Of Need For Cognitive Closure

The extremist mind-set accompanied by the prevalence of extremism is widely concerned in the field of social psychology.Western researchers commented on uncertainty is one of the roots of extremism by the corollary that periods of large-scale societal instability and uncertainty coincide with sociopolitical and ideological extremism.The existing research mainly from two directions to explore the psychological relationship between uncertainty and extremism,one is to choose the specific subject,such as terrorists and extremists,to depict the extremist mind-set;the other is from the perspective of group behavior to describe the possible link between uncertainty and extremism,for instance,people may through group identification and zealously cling to all-embracing ideologies to deal with uncertainty.However,personal extreme behavior is becoming increasingly prominent in daily life.How does the extremist mind-set of ordinary people emerge,what’s the impact of normal mental process on extremist mind-set,have become an urgent concern.In addition to uncertainty,the need for cognitive closure(NFCC)become an important variable in this article,attribute to its motivation function in response to the uncertainty.The present article is framed by a discussion of the relationship between uncertainty and extremism mind-set,explore in which the role of need for cognitive closure plays.The first study adopted the dot probe paradigm to examine the characteristics of individuals’ extremist mind-set under uncertainty situations,and to explore the mediating role of the NFCC.eighty-three College Students participate in this study.From the reaction time index,the results showed:(a)for extremist mind-set significant differences emerged between high and low level of uncertainty,the participant under high level of uncertainty shows a stronger attentional bias towards extreme stimulation;(b)the effect of uncertainty on extremism mind-set mediated through need for cognitive closure is significance,uncertainty positively predicted NFCC and that NFCC subsequently positively predicted extremist mind-set.The second study comprised seventy-seven subjects and used the visual search combing recognition task paradigm,to examine the extremist mind-set and its link with perceived uncertainty,and explore the moderating role of the NFCC.The results showed:(a)No significant differences between the perceived uncertainty and memory bias towards extreme stimulation emerged;(b)the moderating effect of NFCC was significance,perceived uncertainty increased memory bias towards extreme stimulation among high-NFCC individuals but not among low-NFCC individuals.In short,the present article describe the extremist mind-set by measuring the individuals’ cognitive bias towards extremism stimulation.Classical paradigms adopted in the study to explore the psychological relationship between uncertainty and extremist mind-set and finally found that NFCC plays a double role in the relationship:On the one hand,NFCC can be changed by circumstances.To some extent,uncertainty situations fuels extremism mind-set via the NFCC.On the other hand,as a stable trait,the NFCC can moderates the impact of perceived uncertainty on extremist mind-set.