Sublime

Beyond exploring how individuals differ in that need, Kruglanski has demonstrated that we can manipulate it in order to be more attentive and engaged—and to make sure we complete the correction stage in our judgments.

Psychologist Arie Kruglanski has spent his career studying a phenomenon known as the Need for Closure: a desire of the mind to come to some definitive knowledge of an issue. Beyond exploring how individuals differ in that need, Kruglanski has demonstrated that we can manipulate it in order to be more attentive and engaged—and to make sure we comple

Most effectively, if we are made to feel accountable in our judgments, we will spend more time looking at angles and possibilities before making up our minds—and so will expend the correctional effort on any initial impressions, to make sure they are accurate. Our minds won’t “close” (or, as Kruglanski calls it, “freeze”) in their search until we a

the mental inertia that John Stuart Mill called the ‘deep slumber of a decided opinion’.

people have a general tendency to stick with their current situation.

Even when faced with evidence that their predictions are wrong, experts conjure up ways to defend their choices, in large part to preserve their self-images. The lesson is that even good feedback is not useful if you do not use it.

companies have a strong incentive to exploit behavioral biases, including availability, unrealistic optimism, and anchoring.