This research tested the proposition that closed-minded persons will restrict sensory input and interpersonal relationships. 303 high and low scorers on dogmatism, self-attitude, and self-reliance scales were compared for food-avoidance and reference-other relationships. While there was no significant difference in number of foods tasted and rejected, the closed-minded had tried significantly fewer foods. There was no difference in number of reference others but the closed-minded felt significantly greater constraint regarding the perceived importance of, control of, and accountability to their reference others. The theoretical consistency of these findings is discussed.
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