Concept and measurement
Cohen, Stotland and Wolfe (1955) introduced the term; Cacioppo and Petty (1982) built the scale and Cacioppo and colleagues (1984) an 18-item form.
Persuasion
In the elaboration likelihood model (Petty & Cacioppo, 1986), high-NFC people follow the central route, low-NFC people peripheral cues, reflecting dual-process individual differences.
Findings
Cacioppo and colleagues (1996) reviewed over 100 studies; it relates to cognitive reflection (Frederick, 2005) and to but differs from intelligence (von Stumm & Ackerman, 2013).
FAQ
- What is it in simple terms?
- How much you enjoy thinking hard about problems.
- Does high NFC mean high intelligence?
- Not necessarily: it is motivation, not ability.
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Cohen, A. R., Stotland, E., & Wolfe, D. M. (1955). An experimental investigation of need for cognition. Journal of Abnormal and Social Psychology, 51(2), 291–294. The first use of the term.
- Cacioppo, J. T., & Petty, R. E. (1982). The need for cognition. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 42(1), 116–131. The modern concept and scale.
- 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. The 18-item short form.
- Petty, R. E., & Cacioppo, J. T. (1986). The elaboration likelihood model of persuasion. Advances in Experimental Social Psychology, 19, 123–205. Links NFC to persuasion routes.
- Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., Feinstein, J. A., & Jarvis, W. B. G. (1996). Dispositional differences in cognitive motivation: The life and times of individuals varying in need for cognition. Psychological Bulletin, 119(2), 197–253. A comprehensive review.
- Frederick, S. (2005). Cognitive reflection and decision making. Journal of Economic Perspectives, 19(4), 25–42. A related measure of reflective thinking.
- von Stumm, S., & Ackerman, P. L. (2013). Investment and intellect: A review and meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 139(4), 841–869. Meta-analysis on intellectual investment and ability.