Relationships between need for cognition, knowledge, and verbal ability

The authors investigated the relationships between need for cognition, know ledge, and verbal ability. Participants completed scales that measured thei r need for cognition, verbal ability, and knowledge about people and events that occurred during the Vietnam War era. Correlational analyses showed th at the participants' need for cognition scores were modestly but positively correlated with verbal ability and knowledge and that verbal ability and k nowledge were also positively correlated. The correlation between need for cognition and knowledge was small but significant when verbal ability was c ontrolled. The conclusion drawn from these results is that need for cogniti on contributes to the acquisition of knowledge beyond the contribution of v erbal ability.