Year: 2014
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: The purpose of this study was to examine the ability of adolescents to respond to items on the Need for Cognition Scale (NCS) (Cacioppo, Petty & Kao, 1984).The research questions examine whether adolescents understand the meaning of the items on the NCS and whether adolescents demonstrate Need for Cognition (NFC).Due to the limited research available on the use of the NCS with children and adolescents, this study will fill a gap in the literature on NFC and its relationship to other aspects of cognition which include metacognition, problem solving, performance expectancies, and motivation.These areas have important implications for how students learn and engage in thinking in the classroom.The readability and vocabulary of the NCS were measured by grade level.A group of 96 students aged 10-18 (M = 14.77,SD = 2.5) participated in cognitive interviews using the short 18-item NCS.Differences in the number of items participants understood and their NFC scores were examined based on participants' ages.Results indicated that a higher number of participants in Group 1 (ages 10-12) did not comprehend certain items on the scale.In Group 1, an average of 14 of the 18 items were understood (M = 13.95,SD = 3.72), which was three items less than the overall average and two less than the average for other age groups.Determining how to measure NFC
Author: Laura Elizabeth Benge
Institution: University of Toledo
Language: English
Field: Decision Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
SDG: Quality education
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2305156171