Need for cognition and cognitive performance from a cross-cultural perspective: examples of academic success and solving anagrams

The cross-cultural validity of the Need for Cognition Scale and its relationship with cognitive performance were investigated in two studies. In the first study, the relationships between the scale and university entrance scores, course grades, study skills, and social desirability were examined. Using the short form of the Turkish version of the Need for Cognition Scale (S. Gül?z & C. J. Sadowski, 1995) no correlation with academic performance was found but there was significant correlation with a study skills scale and a social desirability scale created for this study. When regression analysis was used to predict grade point average, the Need for Cognition Scale was a significant predictor. In the second study, participants low or high in need for cognition solved multiple-solution anagrams. The instructions preceding the task set the participants' expectations regarding task difficulty. An interaction between expectation and need for cognition indicated that participants with low need for cognition performed worse when they expected difficult problems. Results of the two studies showed that need for cognition has cross-cultural validity and that its effect on cognitive performance was mediated by other variables.     

The Convergent and Discriminant Validity of the Need for Cognition Scale

This article reports two studies that examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). Using samples of college students and prison inmates, need for cognition scores were found to be positively associated with measures of self-esteem, masculine sex role attitudes, absorption, and private self-consciousness. Modest negative associations between need for cognition and measures of public self-consciousness and social anxiety were also uncovered. Need for cognition scores were generally unrelated to measures of feminine and androgynous sex role attitudes, shyness, sociability, and loneliness. These findings add further evidence supporting the construct validity of the Need for Cognition Scale and expand our understanding of the construct of need for cognition.     

The convergent and discriminant validity of the Need for Cognition Scale

This article reports two studies that examined the convergent and discriminant validity of the Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982). Using samples of college students and prison inmates, need for cognition scores were found to be positively associated with measures of self-esteem, masculine sex role attitudes, absorption, and private self-consciousness. Modest negative associations between need for cognition and measures of public self-consciousness and social anxiety were also uncovered. Need for cognition scores were generally unrelated to measures of feminine and androgynous sex role attitudes, shyness, sociability, and loneliness. These findings add further evidence supporting the construct validity of the Need for Cognition Scale and expand our understanding of the construct of need for cognition.     

Self-monitoring,need for cognition,and the Stroop effect: a preliminary study

The color-word Stroop task requires an individual to ignore one piece of information (word) while responding to another (color). Since self-monitors are good at adapting their responses to fit a situation and those high in need for cognition carefully think through information before responding, this study explored the relationship between self-monitoring and need for cognition using Stroop interference. It was anticipated that self-monitoring would reduce Stroop interference, while need for cognition would increase Stroop interference. 23 General Psychology students (10 men, 13 women, M(age) = 18.8 yr.) participated. Participants were given the Self-monitoring Scale, the Need for Cognition Scale, and the Stroop Color-Word Test. Analysis indicated that Need for Cognition was not correlated with Stroop interference (r = .31) but higher scores on Self-monitoring were correlated with lower Stroop interference (r = .43). Implications for research are suggested.     

认知需求和认知闭合需求对风险决策中外语效应的影响

外语效应指相比于母语背景,个体在外语背景下风险决策偏差会降低。针对影响外语效应的因素研究大多聚焦于外部因素和与个体外语水平相关的因素,少有研究探讨认知风格的作用。本研究通过524名成人被试,探索认知需求和认知闭合需求对外语效应的影响。结果表明:(1)风险决策中存在外语效应,相比于母语背景,外语背景下框架效应被削弱,且个体更偏向风险寻求。(2)对于认知需求和认知闭合需求都高或都低的个体,语言类型会影响风险决策,在母语环境下倾向于风险规避,在外语环境下倾向于风险寻求;而对于认知需求和认知闭合需求高低不一致的个体,语言类型对其风险决策倾向的影响不显著。本研究为认知风格如何综合影响风险决策提供了进一步的证据。     

Cognitive motivation correlates of coping style in decisional conflict

Can personality traits account for the handling of internal conflicts? The authors explored how individual differences in information-processing style affect coping patterns displayed before making important decisions. Need for cognition and need for cognitive closure were linked to the major tendencies identified in the conflict theory of decision making: vigilance, hypervigilance, and defensive avoidance (buck passing and procrastination). A sample of 1,119 Belgian human resource professionals completed the Melbourne Decision Making Questionnaire, the 18-item short-form Need for Cognition Scale, and the Need for Closure Inventory. Ordinary least squares regression analysis indicated that significant relationships existed between need for cognition, need for closure, and conflict decision-making styles. The authors also found significant effects of gender and age.     

Fear of Success,Need Achievement,and Fear of Failure: A factor analytic study

Several tests of Fear of Success (FOS), Fear of Failure (FOF), and Need Achievement (nAch), plus Taylor's Manifest Anxiety Scale and a social desirability scale were administered to 104 males and 101 females. FOS, FOF, and nAch did not show factor validity. Results for predictive validity were also poor. Anxiety defined the first factor in the factor analysis. All first-factor tests negatively predicted female grade point average and American College Test scores. All the first-factor tests showed sex differences, with females scoring higher. A clarifying role for anxiety in the study of sex differences in achievement is indicated.     

Reliability and Validity of the Complex Postformal Thought Questionnaire: Assessing Adults’ Cognitive Development

Three studies investigated the psychometric properties of the complex postformal thought (PFT) questionnaire (Sinnott, unpublished scale, 1998; Sinnott and Johnson 1997), which is a measure of adult cognitive development. The scale was found to be moderately reliable (α = .63). To assess construct validity, a comparison of participants’ performance on the PFT scale to their performance on the Need for Cognition scale was conducted, which indicated the PFT scale is valid measure of complex thought. Factor analysis reduced the scale to three factors, which correspond to important components of PFT: Multiple Elements, Subjective Choice, and Underlying Complexities. Implications for understanding the nature of adult cognitive development and the usefulness of this new measure for research in this area are discussed.     

Investigation of the two-factor model for the English version of the need for closure scale

Using the English version of the Need for Closure Scale, this research investigated previous, though largely ignored, recommendations to exclude the close-mindedness subscale and to treat the Need for Closure Scale as a two-factor (vs single-factor) scale. Reliability and correlational analyses supported the recommendation to exclude close-mindedness. The two-factor model without close-mindedness yielded better fit indexes than a single-factor model or a two-factor model with close-mindedness. Despite the strong cross-cultural use of the scale, no investigation had yet tested the two-factor model without close-mindedness using any language other than Dutch. The present results and discussion can improve the study of need for closure by encouraging more researchers to consider the supported recommendations. Roets and Van Hiel's proposed modification to make the Need for Closure Scale a single-factor scale was also discussed.     

Conspiracist beliefs,intuitive thinking,and schizotypal facets: A further evaluation

This study examined whether thinking style mediated relationships between belief in conspiracy and schizotypy facets. A UK-based sample of 421 respondents completed the Generic Conspiracist Beliefs Scale (GCBS), Oxford-Liverpool Inventory of Feelings and Experiences Short (O-Life), and measures indexing preferential thinking style (proneness to reality testing deficits and Need for Cognition). Path analysis revealed direct and indirect relationships between Conspiracy Beliefs and schizotypy facets. Unusual Experiences had a direct effect on Conspiracy Beliefs and predicted Reality Testing and Need for Cognition. Preferential thinking style mediated the schizotypy-belief in conspiracy relationship. This pattern of results (higher experiential-based processing and lower Need for Cognition) was consistent with intuitive thinking. Introverted Anhedonia and Impulsive Nonconformity predicted Reality Testing and had indirect effects on Conspiracy Beliefs. Finally, Reality Testing predicted Conspiracy Beliefs, whereas Need for Cognition did not. These results confirm that cognitive processes related to thinking style mediate the schizotypy-conspiracist beliefs relationship.     

Driver social desirability scale: A Turkish adaptation and examination in the driving context

Self-report data collection methods are widely used techniques to gather information in studies related to road safety. One of the most considerable limitations of self-reports is social desirability bias. One way to overcome the possible detrimental effects of socially desirable responding is to control it by using social desirability scales. With respect to that, the present study aims to adapt the Driver Social Desirability Scale into Turkish, examine its construct validity, and investigate the relationship between social desirability and driving-related measures. A total of 351 drivers between the ages of 19 and 59 completed a questionnaire including a demographic information form, the Driver Behavior Questionnaire (DBQ), the Driver Skill Inventory (DSI), the Two-Dimensional Social Desirability Scale (SDS), and the Driver Social Desirability Scale (DSDS). Factor analysis supported the two-factor structure of the DSDS in the Turkish sample. Social desirability correlated positively with age and driving experience. Female drivers reported higher levels of driver impression management, while male drivers scored higher on self-deception. Driver impression management was associated negatively with violations and perceptual-motor skills and positively with safety skills. Lastly, driver self-deception was positively related to violations, positive driver behaviors, perceptual-motor skills, and safety skills. The study shows that the Turkish version of the DSDS is a reliable and structurally valid instrument with incremental validity compared to the general social desirability measure in predicting driving-related outcomes.     

Need for Cognition and the process of lie detection

Four experiments investigated the influence of Need for Cognition on the process of lie detection. According to the basic assumptions of dual process models, only higher Need for Cognition leads to the use of verbal information when making judgments of veracity. People with lower Need for Cognition predominantly use stereotypical nonverbal information for their judgments. In both Experiments 1 and 2, participants saw a film in which nonverbal cues (fidgety vs. calm movements) and verbal cues (low vs. high plausibility) were manipulated. As predicted, when Need for Cognition was lower, only the nonverbal cues influenced participants' judgments of veracity. In contrast, participants with higher Need for Cognition also used the verbal cues. Experiments 3 and 4 tested the hypothesis that higher Need for Cognition leads to better discrimination of truthful from deceptive messages. Both experiments found that participants with higher Need for Cognition achieved higher accuracy at classifying truthful and deceptive messages than participants with lower Need for Cognition.     

Self-generated attitude change: A person by situation analysis of attitude polarization and attenuation

The potential moderating effects of differences in the need for cognition on the attitude polarization process were explored. Based on putative schematabased differences in information processing, it was predicted that an increased opportunity for thought would result in (a) more attitude polarization for low need for cognition persons than for high need for cognition persons and (b) more attitude attenuation for high need for cognition persons than for low need for cognition persons. Participants completed the Need for Cognition scale and were given either little or ample time to think about issues toward which they previously held moderate attitudes. Attitudes were reassessed following thought about the issues. The results were consistent with the predicted moderating effects of individual differences in the need for cognition on thought-induced attitude polarization. Implications of and alternative explanations for the findings are discussed.     

Are the Tabloids Always Wrong or Is That Just What We Think? Need for Cognition and Perceptions of Articles in Print Media

This study examines how need for cognition, source credibility, and communication strength influence perceptions of a print-media communication. Participants read a strong or weak communication about an evolutionary theory, presented as an article from the Washington Post (high credibility) or the National Enquirer (low credibility). Results revealed a significant Need for Cognition × Source × Communication Strength interaction. Low-need-for-cognition participants who read the weak communication rated the article more positively when it was attributed to the high-credibility source than to the low-credibility source. Source credibility did not affect impressions of the article and theory among participants high in need for cognition or reading the strong communication. However, articles from the Washington Post were rated as more believable, factual, accurate, and true than those from the National Enquirer.     

Approaches to learning,need for cognition,and strategic flexibility among university students

Background: Considerable research has described students' deep and surface approaches to learning. Other research has described individuals' self‐regulated learning and need for cognition. There is a need for research examining the relationships among these constructs. Aims: This study explored relationships among approaches to learning (deep, surface), need for cognition, and three types of control of learning (adaptive, inflexible, irresolute). Theory suggested similarities among the deep approach, need for cognition, and adaptive control (aspects of self‐regulated learning); and among surface, inflexible, and irresolute control (aspects of an ineffective approach to learning). One‐factor and two‐factor models were proposed. Sample: Participants were 226 Canadian military college students. Method: Participants completed the following questionnaires: the Study Process Questionnaire (Biggs, 1978), the Need for Cognition Scale (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982), and the Strategic Flexibility Questionnaire (Cantwell & Moore, 1996). Results: Confirmatory factor analysis supported the identification of the six scale factors. Second order confirmatory factor analysis indicated three factors representing constructs underlying these factors. Conclusions: Neither the one‐ nor two‐factor models accounted adequately for the data. Self‐regulated learning was defined by measures of the deep approach to learning, need for cognition, and adaptive control of learning. The second factor divided into one factor consisting of irresolute control, the surface approach, and negative need for cognition; and another consisting of inflexible and negative adaptive control. Substantial relationships among scales support the need for further theory development.     

Validity and reliability of the Greek version of the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale

The aim of this study was to adapt the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale to the Greek language. The validity and reliability of the scale were examined in three studies with 209, 192, and 147 sixth-grade students, respectively. The subscale structure of the Multisource Assessment of Social Competence Scale was supported through exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. The hypothesized two main dimensions, Prosocial and Antisocial behavior, were divided into two factors, Cooperating skills and Empathy for Prosocial behavior and Quick-temperedness and Disruptiveness for Antisocial behavior. Internal consistency and test-retest reliability were high. Additionally, correlations between each factor and social desirability scores were nonsignificant. The resultant model of the present study is a behavior rating scale that should be considered a reliable choice for assessing Greek middle school students' social skills.     

The Need for Inclusion: The relationships between Relational and Collective inclusion needs and psychological well-and ill-being

The Need to Belong concept encompasses the need for inclusion and the discomfort with exclusion. The Need to Belong Scale of Leary, Kelly, Cottrell, and Schreindorfer (2013, p. 610), however, primarily probes into the discomfort aspect, and it does not distinguish between relational and collective self-levels. Two studies (total N = 429) provided evidence of the reliability, distinctiveness, and validity of the newly developed Need for Inclusion scale. The results revealed that Relational Need for Inclusion positively contributes to psychological well-being and negatively to ill-being. Collective Need for Inclusion was distinctively related to collective and group-level outcomes of self, such as social trust and collective self-esteem. Need to Belong yielded a reversed pattern of results for the studied outcomes. It is concluded that inclusion needs and discomfort with exclusion are positively related but clearly distinct, and that future studies should investigate their joint effects in a single research design.     

Factorial complexity and validity of the Sahin–Francis Attitude toward Islam Scale among Pakistani university students

English‐speaking Pakistani university students responded to the Sahin–Francis Attitude toward Islam Scale, along with other religious measures and a social desirability scale. This scale was multidimensional. Correlations with religious measures confirmed its validity and were not explained by a social desirability response set. These data identified the Sahin–Francis Scale as a useful measure for studying Muslim attitudes within an Islamic society.     

Separating ability from need: clarifying the dimensional structure of the Need for Closure Scale

The validity of the Need for Closure Scale (NFCS) has recently been debated in the research literature. In the present study, it is argued that the traditional Decisiveness scale primarily taps ability content instead of the hypothesized motivational need; therefore, new items that explicitly probe the need for quick and unambiguous answers were developed. It was shown that these need items form a reliable scale (Study 1); were predictive of the seizing process over and beyond ability, whereas the old Decisiveness scale was not (Study 2); and were sensitive to experimentally manipulated levels of task motivation (Study 3). Finally, a reassembled NFCS with the new items replacing the traditional Decisiveness items showed superior fit as a unidimensional model. In the Discussion, it is argued that the specific position of Decisiveness is due to its particular operationalization, not to its theoretical status.