The Relation Between Need for Cognition and Academic Achievement: A Meta-Analysis

• In Event: Role of Motivational Factors in Shaping Students’ Academic Behaviors and Achievement

Abstract

Many studies have indicated that need for cognition (NfC) correlates with and presumably influences students’ learning performance. However, there exist discrepant results and considerable variation in the reported magnitude of the correlation. This research meta-analyzed 49 effect sizes (N = 8,367) reported in 42 articles and found a moderate overall effect size (r = .24) for the relation between need for cognition and academic achievement. In addition, the effects of certain context-, method-, and instrument-related moderators were examined and none were found to significantly affect the overall correlation. The implications of these results for future educational research on need for cognition are considered.

Authors

• Qing Liu, Simon Fraser University

• John Cale Nesbit, Simon Fraser University