Opening the Closed Mind: The Effect of Exposure to Literature on the Need for Closure

Autor/inn/en	Djikic, Maja; Oatley, Keith; Moldoveanu, Mihnea C.
Titel	Opening the Closed Mind: The Effect of Exposure to Literature on the Need for Closure
Quelle	In: Creativity Research Journal, 25 (2013) 2, S.149-154 (6 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Zeitschriftenaufsatz
ISSN	1040-0419
DOI	10.1080/10400419.2013.783735
Schlagwörter	Literature; Foreign Countries; College Students; Higher Education; Cognitive Processes; Questionnaires; Creativity; Experiments; Reading; Reading Habits; Fiction; Nonfiction; Correlation; Readability; Essays; Literary Genres; Statistical Analysis; Canada (Toronto); Flesch Kincaid Grade Level Formula + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Literatur; Ausland; Collegestudent; Hochschulbildung; Hochschulsystem; Hochschulwesen; Cognitive process; Kognitiver Prozess; Fragebogen; Kreativität; Erprobung; Leseprozess; Lesen; Reading habit; Lesegewohnheit; Fiktion; Non-fiction; Nichtfiktionaler Text; Korrelation; Lesbarkeit; Essay; Aufsatzunterricht; Literarische Form; Statistische Analyse
Abstract	The need for cognitive closure has been found to be associated with a variety of suboptimal information processing strategies, leading to decreased creativity and rationality. This experiment tested the hypothesis that exposure to fictional short stories, as compared with exposure to nonfictional essays, will reduce need for cognitive closure. One hundred participants were assigned to read either an essay or a short story (out of a set of 8 essays and 8 short stories matched for length, reading difficulty, and interest). After reading, their need for cognitive closure was assessed. As hypothesized, when compared to participants in the essay condition, participants in the short story condition experienced a significant decrease in self-reported need for cognitive closure. The effect was particularly strong for participants who were habitual readers (of either fiction or non-fiction). These findings suggest that reading fictional literature could lead to better procedures of processing information generally, including those of creativity. (As Provided).
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Erfasst von	ERIC (Education Resources Information Center), Washington, DC
Update	2020/1/01