The impact of closed-mindedness on the assessment of threat: an empirical study

Colin A. Wastell, Nicole Weeks, Alexander Wearing, Piers Duncan, Wajma Ebrahimi

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    Abstract

    In the past decade official reports into intelligence failures have asserted that analysts are subject to the effects of everyday cognitive limitations. The present study examined the influence of an individual's inclination toward closedmindedness on a computer administered simulated intelligence analysis task. Results indicate that several components of closed-mindedness as measured by the need for cognitive closure scale [NFC] significantly predicted the assessed level of threat posed to and general attitude toward a visiting government delegation by a foreign nation's population. Most significantly higher scores on the NFC subscale 'need for predictability' were associated with higher scores on the initial assessed threat level. This effect remained after controlling for the amount of information accessed. The implications of these findings for the conduct of intelligence analysis are discussed.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)10-19
    Number of pages10
    JournalOpen Psychology Journal
    Volume6
    Issue number1
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2013

    Bibliographical note

    Copyright the Author(s). Version archived for private and non-commercial use with the permission of the author/s and according to publisher conditions. For further rights please contact the publisher.

    Keywords

    • intelligence analysis
    • closed-mindedness
    • need for cognitive closure

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