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Is need for cognition a personality trait?

Is need for cognition a personality trait?

The need for cognition is a stable personality trait that describes individuals’ tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982).

How does cognition affect personality?

The social-cognitive perspective on personality is a theory that emphasizes cognitive processes, such as thinking and judging, in the development of personality. These cognitive processes contribute to learned behaviors that are central to one’s personality.

What is high need for cognition?

Need for cognition refers to an individual’s tendency to engage in and enjoy activities that require thinking (e.g., brainstorming puzzles). Other individuals consistently engage in and enjoy cognitively challenging activities and are referred to as being high in need for cognition.

How do you find the need for cognition?

Using the nine-point scale, the highest possible score on the Need for Cognition Scale is 72 (18 items multiplied by 4 points each) and the lowest possible score is -72. The Need for Cognition Scale can be given either electronically or in paper-and-pencil form.

What does it mean to have a need for cognition?

Cacioppo and Petty conceptualized need for cognition as a stable individual difference (i.e., a personality trait) in the tendency to engage in and enjoy cognitively effortful tasks across a wide variety of domains (e.g., math, verbal, spatial). Need for cognition is assumed to reflect a stable intrinsic motivation that can be developed over time.

Is the need for cognition associated with deep thought?

Need for Cognition is associated with deep thought The need for cognition (NFC), in psychology, is a personality variable reflecting the extent to which individuals are inclined towards effortful cognitive activities.

How is need for cognition related to general intelligence?

In Study 3, 104 subjects completed need for cognition, social desirability, and dogmatism scales and indicated what their American College Test scores were. Results indicated that need for cognition was related weakly and negatively to being close minded, unrelated to social desirability, and positively correlated with general intelligence.

Who is the author of the need for cognition?

The Need for Cognition John T. Cacioppo Richard E. Petty University of Iowa University of Missouri—Columbia Four studies are reported in which a scale to assess the need for cognition (i.e., the tendency for an individual to engage in and enjoy thinking) was developed and validated.