Need for Cognition - short form (NFC-short)

Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Kao, C. F. (1984). The efficient assessment of need for cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(3), 306-307.doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4803_13
The measure: Cacioppo, Petty, & Kao (1984) NFC-s.docx
See also the full-length Need for Cognition measure (although the NFC-short is recommended due to its brevity and comparable psychometric properties). See also the Rational-Experiential Inventory, which uses the Need for Cognition scale as its measure of rationality.


 Table of Contents

Description

History of Use

References

Description:

Purpose
The NFC-short was designed to assess the "tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive endeavors." It is a shortened version of Cacioppo and Petty's (1982) Need for Cognition.
Questions
18 items using 5-point ratings (1 = extremely uncharacteristic of me to 5 = extremely characteristic of me)
Sub-scales
N/A
Domain

Psychometrics

Sample items
  • I prefer complex to simple problems.
  • Thinking is not my idea of fun. (reverse scored)

History of Use:

Under-Construction-mini.gif

References:

Scale:
  • Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Kao, C. F. (1984). The efficient assessment of need for cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(3), 306-307.doi: 10.1207/s15327752jpa4803_13
  • Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Kao, C. F. (1984). The efficient assessment of need for cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, 48(3), 306-307. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa4803_13
Scale Validation & Uses:
  • Johnson, R. E., & Steinman, L. (2009). Use of implicit measures for organizational research: An empirical example. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 41(4), 202-212. doi: 10.1037/a0015164
  • See, Y. H. M., Petty, R. E., & Evans, L. M. (2009 ). The impact of perceived message complexity and need for cognition on information processing and attitudes. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(5), 880-889. external image clear.gifdoi:10.1016/j.jrp.2009.04.006
Selected Uses:
  • Haugtvedt, C. P., & Petty, R. E. (1992). Personality and persuasion: need for cognition moderates the persistence and resistance of attitude change. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 63(2), 308-319. doi: 10.1037/0022-3514.63.2.308
  • Kardash, C. M., & Scholes, R. J. (1996). Effects of preexisting beliefs, epistemological beliefs, and need for cognition on interpretation of controversial issues. Journal of Educational Psychology, 88(2), 260-271. doi: 10.1037//0022-0663.88.2.260
  • LeBoeuf, R. A., & Shafir, E. (2003). Deep thoughts and shallow frames: on the susceptibility to framing effects. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 16(2), 77-92. doi: 10.1002/bdm.433
  • Simon, A. F., Fagley, N. S., & Halleran, J. G. (2004). Decision framing: moderating effects of individual differences and cognitive processing. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 17(2), 77-93. doi: 10.1002/bdm.463
  • Wedell, D. H. (2011). Probabilistic reasoning in prediction and diagnosis: effects of problem type, response mode, and individual differences. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 24(2), 157. doi: 10.1002/bdm.686





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