It is commonly said that learning is a key aspect in life, and it continues all through an individual’s life. This means that it is a continuous process. More often, it is associated with the cognitive aspect of humans. However, it has not been fully established as to whether the two are actually connected. This relationship is explained in the study below.
Introduction
Over the years, there has been a belief that there is need for people to continue learning as it is assumed that learning is an aspect that runs all through an individual’s life, and therefore cannot be written off. The need for schooling seems to have sprouted from this. The topic, however, needs to be addressed more closely. Psychological studies have sought to establish whether there is a relationship between the need for learning and the need for cognition. This essay seeks to dig deeper into this study so as to find out whether there is a correlation between the two, and if so, what the nature of the relationship is. The importance of understanding whether there is such a correlation is that it can help in understanding why people behave the way they do towards education and why they value it. This is seen in the study below.
Problem Statement
There exist a lot of doubts as to whether there is a relationship between the need for cognition in students and the need for learning. As such, it is not very clear as to whether students learn just because they have to or because they realize the need for learning. Furthermore, it is not clear as to whether the existence of such a relationship could affect the manner in which the students behave at school. Similarly, it could help to know whether the relationship affects the manner in which the students react towards education during their first year at school. This study was necessary so as to come up with a solid conclusion on this issue.
Research Objectives
1. To find out whether there is a relationship between the need for learning in students and the need for cognition.
2. To establish the nature of the relationship and the manner in which it affects the learning ability as well as the attitude that students have towards learning activities.
Hypotheses
1. There is a relationship between the need for learning and the need for cognition.
2. The relationship between the two greatly affects the manner in which the students perceive learning processes and the learning outcomes that they ultimately get.
Literature Review
Cacciopo, Petty and Kao (1984) indicate that the more people are driven towards education by the need for cognition. It is mainly because people always want an avenue where they can improve their cognitive ability which makes them feel more accomplished in life. This argument is not fully supported, and as such, there is the need to conduct more psychological studies so as to establish whether there is actually a relationship between the two. Studies have been done inn trying to come up with an explanation for the same. For instance, Premuzic and Furnham (2009) sought to establish whether there is a solid relationship between the learning approaches and the personality traits. They, as such, came up with the conclusion that there only exists a moderate relationship between the traits and the learning approaches. Other studies indicate that there are various aspects of human life that are greatly driven by the need for cognition. For instance, Spotts (1994) indicates that there are close associations between cognition and the consumer behavior. This raises question as to whether the need for the same cognition could have an effect on the need for learning in students. Establishing whether there is such a relationship could be a milestone in psychological studies. Tidwell, Sadowski, and Pate (2000) also indicate that there is a relationship between cognition, knowledge and verbal ability. It is well known that knowledge and the verbal ability are quite essential in the learning process, as they determine whether an individual can learn fast or not. Due to the nature of this relationship, there arises a question as to whether the effect that cognition has on knowledge and verbal ability could as well be transferred to the need for learning. This remains to be researched on or established.
There are even closer studies done to establish whether the two cognition needs and the learning needs are related in any way. A study done by Dwyer (2008) sought to establish the need for cognition, life satisfaction and academic achievement in an individual’s life. In this study, these factors were treated independently. As such, Dwyer concluded that for many people, there are the needs for all these satisfactions; cognition, life satisfaction and academic achievement.
All the studies done so far indicate that people appreciate that there is the need for cognition as well as academic achievement in an individual’s life. However, it is well known that academic achievement is a process that involves learning. As such, there must be a factor that motivates individuals to go through with it. It is unclear whether the need for cognition has a hand in this. This relationship has not been addressed in the literature available so far. As such, this study aims at filling this gap in knowledge by establishing whether there is a relationship between the two.
Methodology
In order to come up with the conclusions needed for this study, there was need for data collection, since the study took a survey design. As such, a questionnaire was formulated that could be used for the participants to answer the questions in a manner that would help in coming up with the required conclusions.
The questionnaire had questions that were closed ended. For each question, the participants could indicate on a scale of A to E with A having the highest value of 5, running down to E with a value of 1. As such, the scores could be easily calculated from the results. The self administered questionnaire was effective for the study since it was customized specifically for this study, hence effective. The questions could also lead to provision of data that could be easily analyzed using the two factor study process that was used in this study (Biggs, Kimber and Leung, 2001).
Sampling and Data Collection
Since the study aimed at studying the relationship between the need for cognition and the need for learning in first year psychology students, the sample was drawn from the first year students. Once the selected individuals accepted to participate in the study, they were provided with the questionnaires which they filled at their convenience and with no influence at all. This method helped to eliminate the research bias hence give greater chance for an empirical conclusion.
Data Analysis
Once the data collection exercise was over, it was coded and analyzed using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Using descriptive statistics and the correlation factor, the method helped in coming up with a clear picture of the nature of the relationship between the need for cognition and the need for learning. The variables of interest to the study were the need for cognition, deep approach to learning and surface approach to learning. The results are as explained below.
Results
Age
N Valid 525
Missing 0
Mean 20.6952
Median 18.0000
Std. Deviation 6.48710
Minimum 16.00
Maximum 57.00
Percentiles 25 18.0000
In the descriptive statistics analysis, it came out clear that for the need for cognition, the mean was 63.27 while the standard deviation was 9.30. on the same statistics, the deep approach had a mean score of 31.60 and a standard deviation of 6.99, while surface apprach had a mean score of 24.05 and a standard deviation of 7.07. These statistics are as stated in the table below.
Age
N Valid 525
Missing 0
Mean 20.6952
Median 18.0000
Std. Deviation 6.48710
Minimum 16.00
Maximum 57.00
Percentiles 25 18.0000
The interpretation of this interpretation is that most of the students have a high need for cognition. About halsf of these are concerned with the deep approach while less than half are for the surface approach. This could serve to mean that there is some corelation between cognuition and theneed for learnig. However, this can only be proven through the use of the corelation factor as shown in the table below:
Correlations
Need for
Need for Cognition Pearson Correlation 1 .376** -.313**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 520 500 505
Deep approach Pearson Correlation .376** 1 -.473**
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 500 505 495
Surface approach Pearson Correlation -.313** -.473** 1
Sig. (2-tailed) .000 .000
N 505 495 510
Discussion and Conclusion
In conclusion, the findings of the study agree with the hypothesis that there is a corelation between th eneed for cognition and the need for learning. As such, both tye hypothesis of the study are accepted, and th eobjective is achieved.
References
Biggs, J., Kember, D., & Leung, Y.P. (2001). The Revised Two-Factor Study Process Questionnaire: R-SPQ-2F. British Journal of Education Pychology, Vol. 71, pp. 133-149.
Cacioppo, J.T., Petty, R.E., &7 Kao, C.F. (1984). The Efficient Assessment tof Need for Cognition. Journal of Personality Assessment, Vol. 48, pp. 306-307.
Chamorro-Premuzic, T., & Furnham. (2009). Mainly Openness: The Relationship between the Big Five Personality Traits and Learning Approaches. Learning and Individual Differences, Vol. 19, pp. 524-529.
Dwyer, M. (2008). Need for Cognition, Life Satisfaction, and Academic Achievement. Retrieved on 3rd May 2012 from http://www.capital.edu/uploadedFiles/Capital/Academics/Services_and_Programs/Undergraduate_Research/Epistimi/Content/Need%20for%20Cognition,%20Life%20Satisfaction,%20and%20Academic%20Achievement.pdf
Spotts, H. (1994). Evidence on Relationship between Need for Cognition and Chronological Age: Implications for Persuation in Consumer Research. Advances in Consumer Research, Vol. 21, pp. 238-243.
Tidwell, P.S, Sadowski, C.J. & Pate, L.M. (2000). Relationships between Need for Cognition, Knowledge, and Verbal Ability. J.Psychol, Vol. 134,(6), pp. 634-644.
