A Modified Measure of Need for Cognition
A study was conducted to evaluate a shorter version of Cacioppo and Petty's 34-item measure of an individual's need for cognition. Based on factor loadings from the original scale, 16 items were selected and administered via a mail questionnaire to 94 patients of four physicians. Principal components factor analysis of the 16-item scale yielded one factor which accounted for 38.8% of the variance; coefficient alpha was .88. As hypothesized, scores on the need for cognition scale also were correlated significantly with scores on a health care involvement measure. The shortened version of the need for cognition scale appears to show reasonable reliability and validity, representing a useful tool for researchers concerned with cognition processing. Replication is desirable.