The dispositional need for cognitive closure indirectly predicts mock jurors' sentencing decisions through right-wing authoritarianism

Abstract

One reason people are motivated to hold right-wing authoritarian beliefs is the need to manage uncertainty. Right-wing authoritarianism provides a stable source of black-and-white 'answers' about the social world - obey established authorities and norms and show hostility to deviants. Right-wing authoritarianism, in turn, is positively associated with more punitive attitudes and judgements. The purpose of this study was to examine the relationship between mock capital jurors' need for cognitive closure and sentencing decisions through right-wing authoritarianism. Four-hundred and fifty-one jury-eligible adults read a hypothetical capital case, weighed aggravating and mitigating evidence and chose a sentence. They also responded to items measuring right-wing authoritarianism and the need for cognitive closure. The need for cognitive closure was indirectly related to choosing a death sentence through right-wing authoritarianism and the weighing of aggravators and mitigators. Theoretical and practical implications, as well as directions for future studies, are discussed.

Keywords: death penalty; motivated social cognition; need for cognitive closure; right-wing authoritarianism; sentencing.

Figure 1.

Path model diagram. Note: n = 451. Only statistically significant path coefficients are displayed. Coefficients are unstandardized; 95% confidence intervals are in parentheses. The threshold for weighing was 0.100, and the threshold for sentence was −0.684. RWA = right-wing authoritarianism. NFSS = need for simple structure. Root mean squared error of approximation (RMSEA) = .053. Comparative fit index (CFI) = .827. Tucker–Lewis Index (TLI) = .801. Standardized Root Mean Squared Residual (SRMR) = .054. χ²(201) = 458.307, p < .001.