An experimental investigation of need for cognition.

Cohen, Asaf; Stotland, Ezra; Wolfe, Donald M.

doi:10.1037/h0042761

Cited by 395 publications

(232 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…In general, people low in Need for Closure are more willing to re-evaluate their views [143]. Nevertheless, no difference was found in the related concept of 'Need for Cognition' [144] described either as "a need to structure relevant situations in meaningful, integrated ways", "a need to understand and make reasonable the experiential world" [145] or more intuitively as enjoying thinking, a "quest for reality" [146], a "need to understand" [147]. Need for Cognition correlates with "positive" thinking dispositions, IQ and a preference for complex vs. simple cognitive tasks [144] and our participants did not display significant difference compared to the rest of the population.…”

Section: Participants' Cognitive Signaturementioning

confidence: 85%

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

2014

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Abstract:In four focus group exercises involving both forecasting and backcasting approaches, we gave approximately 100 Australian citizens the opportunity to discuss likely, desirable and feared futures to 2050. The image they paint is both coherent and consistent. Education, governance, personal attitudes and societal trends, rather than specific events, are drivers of a future which is perceived as being largely shaped by human choices. Innovation is believed to be more necessary in novel social arrangements than in further technology. The most feared futures arise from an amplification of trends already at play in the present: economic growth at the expense of the environment and quality of life, lack of equity, poor government, corporate greed, commercialism and erosion of social values. Economic and material growth does not feature in the most desired futures which are local, inclusive, peaceful, equitable and in some cases frugal. The visions and scenarios developed find a place within established foresight frameworks and global political narratives, but seem to lie at the fringe of current media and short-term political discourse. These results should not be interpreted as representative of the overall Australian population, but suggest that extending the analysis to the broader community could provide significant insights and enrich the discussion of important societal choices. OPEN ACCESSSustainability 2015, 7 223

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Section: Participants' Cognitive Signaturementioning

confidence: 85%

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

2014

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“…The need to reduce this information chaos is closely related to the need to form structural representations of the outer and inner world, and to categorize events into meaningful units, which help people adapt to new events and understand them with minimum cognitive effort. The personal need for structure helps an individual to control and predict events in the complicated world (Cohen, Stotland, & Wolfe, 1955;Neuberg & Newsome, 1993) and, as found by Sollár and Turzáková (2014), personal need for structure also positively relates to fear of losing control. Sarmány-Schuller (2001) says that this personality construct is related to the more basic process of categorization, which helps one to understand and differentiate the vast amount of information flooding an individual every day.…”

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confidence: 91%

Personal Need for Structure, Anxiety, Selfefficacy and Optimism

Prokopcakova

2015

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Abstract:The aim of the study is to contribute to the explanation of mutual relations between personal need for structure, anxiety, optimism and self-efficacy. The research sample comprised 237 university students (men n = 48 and women n = 189). The following instruments were administered: Personal Need for Structure (PNS), Spielberger's Trait Personality Inventory (STPI), Generalized Self-Efficacy Scale (GSES) and Life Orientation Test -Revised (LOT-R). Significant differences between men and women in their PNS score and its subfactors -desire for structure and response to the lack of structure -were found. Women showed stronger need for structure and its subfactors. Personal need for structure and the response to the lack of structure in women was positively correlated with anxiety. Subfactor desire for structure did not show any relations with the studied characteristics. The results showed a negative relation of personal need for structure with optimism in women and no differences were found in the need for structure and its subfactors in relation to the degree of self-efficacy.

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“…For example, Cattell (1945) reported positive correlations between measures of Gc and a cluster of personality characteristics he labeled intellectual/wide interests. More recently, Cacioppo and Petty (1982) developed a measure of what Cohen, Stotland, and Wolfe (1955) termed need for cognition-one's preference or propensity for intellectual engagement. In the Need for Cognition scale, participants rate level of agreement/ disagreement with statements describing a preference for intellectual engagement-statements such as "I prefer watching educational to entertainment programs" and "I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities."…”

Section: Perspectives On Individual Differences In Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

Individual differences in current events knowledge: Contributions of ability, personality, and interests

2007

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What accounts for individual differences in the sort of knowledge that people may draw on in everyday cognitive tasks, such as deciding whom to vote for in a presidential election, how to invest money in the stock market, or what team to bet on in a friendly wager? In a large sample of undergraduate students, we investigated correlates of individual differences in recently acquired knowledge of current events in domains such as politics, business, and sports. Structural equation modeling revealed two predictive pathways: one involving cognitive ability factors and the other involving two major nonability factors (personality and interests). The results of this study add to what is known about the sources of individual differences in knowledge and are interpreted in the context of theoretical conceptions of adult intelligence that emphasize the centrality and importance of

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An experimental investigation of need for cognition.

Cited by 395 publications

References 6 publications

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

Citizens’ Views of Australia’s Future to 2050

Personal Need for Structure, Anxiety, Selfefficacy and Optimism

Individual differences in current events knowledge: Contributions of ability, personality, and interests

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