Need for Cognition Scale (NCS-18)
Psychology: Cognition & EducationReliability: alpha 0.913 sample items
About this scale
An 18-item measure of an individual's tendency to engage in and enjoy effortful cognitive activity. Predicts deeper information processing and persuasion outcomes.
Sample item(s)
“I would prefer complex to simple problems”
“Thinking is not my idea of fun (reverse)”
“I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems”
Reliability
Reported internal consistency: alpha 0.91. As a rule of thumb, Cronbach’s α ≥ .70 is considered acceptable, ≥ .80 good, and ≥ .90 excellent for established measures.
Notes
NCS-6 short form (Coelho et al. 2018) is widely used.
Source & citation
Cacioppo, J. T., Petty, R. E., & Kao, C. F. (1984): The efficient assessment of need for cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 48, No. 3, pp. 306–307.
Source. Scale details are summarised from the publication cited above. Always consult the original source for the full item set, scoring, and permission to use.
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