Need for Cognition Scale (NCS-18)
18-item measure of your preference for effortful thinking
Do you actually enjoy thinking hard? Not whether you are good at it - whether you want to. The NCS-18 measures your tendency to seek out and engage in effortful cognitive activities. High scorers love puzzles and abstract ideas. Low scorers prefer keeping things simple. 18 items, about 5 minutes.
Scoring Guide
18 items, 5-point Likert. 9 reverse-scored (3,4,5,7,8,9,12,16,17). Sum total 18-90. No clinical cutoffs - used as continuous measure. Source: Cacioppo, Petty & Kao (1984).Result Interpretation
Finish the 18 questions and you get your results straight away — no account, no sign-up, no waiting.
We calculate your total from your answers, then give you a plain-language explanation of what the numbers mean. Whenever possible, we also show how your results compare to population norms.
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