Need for Cognition (NFC)

Cacioppo, J. T., & Petty, R. E. (1982). The need for cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42(1), 116-131.doi:10.1037/0022-3514.42.1.116

• See also the short version of the Need for Cognition, which is psychometrically comparable and thus recommended.
• 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." Cacioppo, Petty, and Kao (1984) published a shortened Need for Cognition measure, which, due to its brevity and comparable psychometric properties, is recommended over the original version.
Questions		34 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:

References:

Scale:

Cacioppo, J. T., & Petty, R. E. (1982). The need for cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42(1), 116-131.doi:10.1037/0022-3514.42.1.116

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

Uses:

Fleischhauer, M., Enge, S., Brocke, B., Ullrich, J., Strobel, A., & Strobel, A. (2010 ). Same or different? Clarifying the relationship of need for cognition to personality and intelligence. Personality and Social Psychological Bulletin, 36(1), 82-96. doi:10.1177/0146167209351886

Shiloh, S., Koren, S., & Zakay, D. (2001). Individual differences in compensatory decision-making style and need for closure as correlates of subjective decision complexity and difficulty. Personality and Individual Differences, 30(4), 699-710. (See also Compensatory Style Questionnaire)

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