Script Author: Katja Borchert, Ph.D. (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Created: January 14, 2026
Last Modified: January 14, 2026 by K. Borchert (katjab@millisecond.com), Millisecond
Script Copyright © Millisecond Software, LLC
This script implements a computerized version of the The Need for Closure Scale (NFCS), originally published by Webster & Kruglanski (1994) and updated by Roets & Van Hiel (2007). The NFCS measures the need for certainty ('closure'). It comes in a long version (41 questions) and a short one (15 questions). This script implements the long version.
Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67(6), 1049–1062.
Roets, A., & Van Hiel, A. (2007). Separating ability from need: Clarifying the dimensional structure of the need for closure scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 33(2), 266-280.
https://www.kruglanskiarie.com/need-for-closure
3 minutes
A self report scale with 41 6-point Likert scale questions covering 5 subscales of 'certainty' • Need for order (10 questions) • Need for predictability (8 questions) • Decisiveness (6 questions) • Avoidance or ambiguity (9 questions) • Closed mindedness (6 questions)
File Name: nfcs41_summary*.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| inquisit.version | Inquisit version number |
| computer.platform | Device platform: win | mac |ios | android |
| computer.touch | 0 = device has no touchscreen capabilities; 1 = device has touchscreen capabilities |
| computer.hasKeyboard | 0 = no external keyboard detected; 1 = external keyboard detected |
| startdate | Date script was run |
| starttime | Time script was started |
| subjectid | Assigned subject id number |
| groupid | Assigned group id number |
| sessionid | Assigned session id number |
| elapsedtime | Time it took to run script (in ms); measured from onset to offset of script |
| completed | 0 = Test was not completed 1 = Test was completed |
| nfcs41 | Total Score, sum of all scores, Range: 41-246 Scores up to 82 mean low NFC. Scores from 205-246 mean high NFC. |
Subscales |
|
| needForOrder | 10 questions (q1A,q6A,q10A,q20AR,q23A,q27AR,q32A,q33A,q35A,q41AR), Range: 10-60 |
| needForPredictability | 8 questions (q5BR,q7B,q11B,q18BR,q19BR,q25B,q26B,q40B), Range: 8-48 |
| decisiveness | 6 questions (q12C,q13C,q15C,q16C,q17C,q22C), Range: 6-36 |
| avoidance | 9 questions (q3D,q8D,q14D,q21D,q29D,q30D,q31D,q36D,q38D), Range: 9-54 |
| closeMindedness | 8 questions (q2ER,q4E,q9E,q24ER,q28ER,q34ER,q37ER,q39E), Range: 8-48 |
File Name: nfcs41.iqdat
| Name | Description |
|---|---|
| date | Date the session was run |
| time | Time the session was run |
| subject | Participant ID |
| group | Group number |
| session | Session number |
| build | Inquisit version number |
| q*_response | Response given (in assigned values) Scale: 1 (strongly disagree) - 6 (strongly agree) R: automatically reversed coded questions |
| q*_latency | How much time (in ms) the participant spent on the surveypage with this particular question (the last time this particular surveypage was visited) |
The procedure can be adjusted by setting the following parameters.
| Name | Description | Default |
|---|---|---|
Language-Dependent |
||
| instructions | The presented instructions | `` |
| nextLabel | Navigation button label to go to the next survey page | "Continue" |
| backLabel | Navigation button label to return to the previous survey page | "Back" |
| finishLabel | Navigation button label for submitting the last survey page | "Finish" |