Previous research has shown that Need for Cognition (NFC), the individual tendency to engage in and enjoy cognitive endeavors, contributes to academic performance. Most studies on NFC and related constructs have thereby focused on grades to capture tertiary academic success. This study aimed at a more comprehensive approach on NFC’s meaning to success in university. We examined not only performance but also rather affective indicators of success. The current sample consisted of 396 students of different subjects with a mean age of 24 years (139 male). All participants took part in an online survey that assessed NFC together with school performance and further personality variables via self-report. Success in university was comprehensively operationalized including performance, satisfaction with one’s studies, and thoughts about quitting/changing one’s major as indicators. The value of NFC in predicting tertiary academic success was examined with correlation analyses and path analysis. NFC significantly correlated with all success variables with the highest correlation for study satisfaction. Path analysis confirmed the importance of NFC for study satisfaction showing that NFC had a significant direct effect on study satisfaction and via this variable also a significant indirect effect on termination thoughts. This study clearly indicates that NFC broadly contributes to the mastery of academic requirements and that it is worthwhile to intensify research on NFC in the context of tertiary education.

Previous research has shown that Need for Cognition (NFC), the individual tendency to engage in and enjoy cognitive endeavors, contributes to academic performance. Most studies on NFC and related constructs have thereby focused on grades to capture tertiary academic success. This study aimed at a more comprehensive approach on NFC’s meaning to success in university. We examined not only performance but also rather affective indicators of success. The current sample consisted of 396 students of different subjects with a mean age of 24 years (139 male). All participants took part in an online survey that assessed NFC together with school performance and further personality variables via self-report. Success in university was comprehensively operationalized including performance, satisfaction with one’s studies, and thoughts about quitting/changing one’s major as indicators. The value of NFC in predicting tertiary academic success was examined with correlation analyses and path analysis. NFC significantly correlated with all success variables with the highest correlation for study satisfaction. Path analysis confirmed the importance of NFC for study satisfaction showing that NFC had a significant direct effect on study satisfaction and via this variable also a significant indirect effect on termination thoughts. This study clearly indicates that NFC broadly contributes to the mastery of academic requirements and that it is worthwhile to intensify research on NFC in the context of tertiary education.

Need for Cognition (NFC) beschreibt interindividuelle Unterschiede in der Freude an kognitiver Aktivität und der Tendenz, Aufwand in die Verarbeitung von Informationen zu investieren. Trotz vorhandener Belege für die Bedeutsamkeit von NFC im akademischen Kontext, wurde seine Relevanz bezogen auf eher affektive Merkmale und subjektive Erfolgsindikatoren wie Studienzufriedenheit vor Beginn dieser Arbeit kaum erforscht. Weiterhin existieren noch viele Wissenslücken rund um die Grundlagen von NFC und Prozesse oder Merkmale, die Befunde aus dem Anwendungskontext erklären können. Diese Arbeit widmete sich darum sowohl der Untersuchung der praktischen Relevanz von NFC im Studienkontext mit dem Fokus auf affektiven Merkmalen und subjektiven Erfolgsindikatoren als auch der Klärung offener Fragen aus der Grundlagenforschung zu NFC. Vor dem Hintergrund einer Anwendungsperspektive untersuchte die erste Studie Implikationen von NFC für verschiedene Aspekte von Studienerfolg. Die Ergebnisse belegen eine positive Assoziation von NFC mit Studienleistung und erweitern frühere Studien um den Befund eines moderaten Zusammenhangs von NFC mit Studienzufriedenheit. Der Ansatz, NFC mit affektiven Variablen in Verbindung zu bringen, wurde in Studie 2 an Lehramtsstudierenden weiterverfolgt. Sie ergab Zusammenhänge von NFC mit subjektiver Leistungsfähigkeit, aktiver Problembewältigung, Neubewertung als Strategie der Emotionsregulation und Trait-Selbstkontrolle. Der Zusammenhang mit Studienleistungen wurde in dieser Studie ebenfalls bestätigt, während NFC nicht mit Studienzufriedenheit zusammenhing. Vier weitere Studien untersuchten die Grundlagen von NFC und seine Bezüge zu kognitiven Fähigkeiten und Selbstkontrolle. Studie 3 bestätigte kleine bis moderate Zusammenhänge mit Intelligenz. Es bestanden keine Assoziationen von NFC mit Verarbeitungsgeschwindigkeit und exekutiven Funktionen. Basierend auf Hinweisen zu Zusammenhängen zwischen NFC und affektiven Merkmalen untersuchten die Studien 4 bis 6, in welcher Beziehung NFC und Selbstkontrolle stehen. Es ergaben sich teilweise bedeutsame Zusammenhänge, deren Stärke von der Operationalisierung von Selbstkontrolle abhing. Die untersuchten Erklärungsansätze für den Zusammenhang von NFC mit Selbstkontrolle wiesen auf implizite Theorien zur Willenskraft, Handlungsorientierung sowie motivationale Prozesse als dahinter liegende Mechanismen hin. Insgesamt unterstreichen die Studienergebnisse, dass NFC eine Bedeutung im Umgang mit komplexen Herausforderungen zukommt, die nicht nur die reine kognitive Verarbeitung, sondern auch die Bewältigung affektiver Anforderungen betrifft. Die Befunde sprechen dafür, dass NFC mit verschiedenen Merkmalen assoziiert ist, die Individuen eine flexible Anpassung an wechselnde, (emotional) herausfordernde Lebensumstände erleichtern. Zudem finden sich in den Ergebnissen vielversprechende Erklärungsansätze für den Zusammenhang zwischen NFC und Selbstkontrolle. Weiterführende Studien sollten insbesondere die Befunde zu affektiven Merkmalen und grundlegenden Prozessen im Zusammenhang mit NFC vertiefen. Dabei sollte in Anlehnung an diese Arbeit die Verknüpfung von grundlagen- und anwendungsbezogener Forschung fortgesetzt werden. / Need for Cognition (NFC) describes inter-individual differences in the tendency to enjoy cognitive activity and to engage in effortful information processing. Despite evidence for the relevance in academic contexts, NFC has been investigated only sparsely with respect to affective variables and subjective indicators of study success like satisfaction with one’s studies. Additionally, there is a lack of basic research on NFC and processes that may explain practically relevant results. Consequently, this thesis dealt with examining the relevance of NFC for study success focusing on affective implications and questions of basic research on NFC. From an application-oriented perspective, Study 1 examined relations of NFC to different aspects of study success. Its results confirm a positive association of NFC with study performance. Moreover, they extend previous research with showing a medium correlation between NFC and satisfaction with one’s studies. Study 2 examined teacher students and continued focusing on affective implications of NFC. The results hint at positive associations of NFC with personal accomplishment, adaptive coping behavior, reappraisal and trait self-control. Whereas NFC correlated positively with study performance again, it was not related to study satisfaction in that sample. Four further studies examined foundations of NFC and its relations to cognitive functions and self-control. The results of Study 3 indicated low to medium associations of NFC with intelligence but no relations to perceptual speed and executive functions. Basing on research that linked NFC to affective adjustment, Studies 4 to 6 examined the relations of NFC to self-control. Within these studies, self-control was variously measured. Depending on operationalization, NFC correlated significantly positively with some measures of self-control. The results indicated that implicit theories of willpower, action orientation, and motivational processes may be underlying an association of NFC to self-control. Altogether, the results of all studies emphasize that NFC is important for how individuals deal with demanding situations that refer not only to cognitive processes but also to coping with affective challenges. They indicate that NFC has relations to different variables that enable individuals to adapt flexibly to changing and emotionally demanding circumstances. Additionally, the current results hint at promising approaches to explain associations of NFC to aspects of self-control. Prospective studies should especially continue to examine NFC in the context of affective variables and basal processes by combining basic and application-oriented research on NFC.