STUDENTS’ DESIRE TO ENGAGE IN COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES, FAMILY OF ORIGIN CHARACTERISTICS AND NEED FOR COGNITION SCORES

Journal Title: Problems of Education in the 21st Century - Year 2011, Vol 33, Issue 1

Abstract

In this research 30 graduate students were asked to complete the Need for Cognition Scale. The individual scores were compared with: (1) school performance and the desire to engage in cognitive activities measured by: grade point average, the last three books read and interest in recent social events; (2) number of members in family of origin—especially the number of siblings—parental educational attainment, perceived cognitive abilities of siblings, rural-urban differences and parental encouragement of education; (3) gender, age and sibling position. A qualitative analysis of students’ subjective perspectives on need for cognition scores was also included. The results of this research show that participants with a higher need for cognition were more likely to have a higher level of school performance and a greater desire to engage in effortful cognitive activities. Participants that had a higher sibling position, parents with a higher level of educational attainment and that came from an urban background scored higher on need for cognition scale. Participants with a lower need for cognition had a larger number of siblings and perceived the cognitive abilities of siblings as higher. Parental encouragement of education, gender and age of participants were unrelated to the need for cognition scores.

Authors and Affiliations

Salomea A. Popoviciu, Anna Barbu, Damaris Costea, Lavinia Culda, Sergiu Culda

Keywords

Related Articles

SOME SKETCHES ON SOCIAL NETWORKING WEBSITES

It is obvious, that usage of social networking websites is constantly growing. In Lithuania, a rapid growth of usage has been observed in recent years, taking into account local (national) social networking websites as w...

THE IMPACT OF THE ACQUISITION OF THE LETTERS IN A SYSTEMATIC LITERACY ON WRITING SKILLS

Learning letters is associated with a long-term learning. Two basic models are present in obtaining letters in a systematic literacy in Slovenia and abroad. One represents a separate acquisition of the uppercase and lowe...

THE IMPACT OF MOBILE TABLET USE ON STUDENTS' PERCEPTION OF LEARNING PROCESSES

The purpose of the current research was to explore the impact of tablet use for various subjects in Israeli schools on students' perception of learning processes in the cognitive and affective dimensions. For this purpos...

TECHNICAL TEACHERS’ FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE STUDENTS’ ACADEMIC PERFORMANCE IN INDUSTRIAL EDUCATION

The study on technical teachers’ factors that influence student’s academic performance in industrial education programme in Rivers State, Nigeria was carried out in Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Port...

EARLY SCIENCE EDUCATION AND ITS RELEVANCE

This text begins with a concern related to teacher education which will focus on early childhood education, specifically in regards into the sciences and knowledge relating to the axes undertaken to frame the curriculum...

Download PDF file
  • EP ID EP478680
  • DOI -
  • Views 101
  • Downloads 0

How To Cite

Salomea A. Popoviciu, Anna Barbu, Damaris Costea, Lavinia Culda, Sergiu Culda (2011). STUDENTS’ DESIRE TO ENGAGE IN COGNITIVE ACTIVITIES, FAMILY OF ORIGIN CHARACTERISTICS AND NEED FOR COGNITION SCORES. Problems of Education in the 21st Century, 33(1), 62-72. https://europub.co.uk/articles/-A-478680