First published in The Hindu, 4th November 2024
As you down your morning coffee, do you also solve Wordle? When you go for your morning run, do you take a slightly different route every day, soaking in the sights and sounds of the streets? Do you notice that the flower seller has moved to the opposite pavement and wonder what it is like to be her? On your morning commute, as you ride the Metro, do you scroll through Instagram feeds or do you listen to a podcast on global warming trends? Over the weekend, do you play chess with your friend or do you zone out in front of the tele?
In the online magazine Psyche, Josephine Zerna writes that people differ on a trait called “need for cognition” or their desire to expend mental effort. Whereas some people are prone to exerting “cognitive effort,” others prefer to breeze through the day without necessarily working their mental muscles. Just as people differ on their need to stay physically fit by working out regularly, people also vary in terms of their “need for cognition.” Zerna avers that the way we choose to spend our free time can be indicative of the potency of this need in us.
Zerna adds that the need for cognition is not necessarily synonymous with intelligence. However, there is some evidence to suggest that it might be correlated to fluid intelligence, or a person’s ability to problem solve. Further, scoring high on this trait can even help a person who doesn’t score too high on IQ tests. Because this trait propels you to seek conceptual linkages, it fosters deep learning.
While we would expect people with high levels of this trait to perform well in academic settings, Zerna argues that it has beneficial impacts in other arenas as well. The need for cognition correlates with “goal-directedness” as people with this need tend to approach problems with a proactive stance on how best to cope with a situation. However, the need for cognition should not be conflated with overthinking, which typically involves worrying endlessly and needlessly without necessarily seeking solutions. Individuals with a high need for cognition tend to be confident and less prone to pessimism.
People who score high on this trait also tend to have high levels of self-efficacy, says Zerna. These people tend to believe that they have the knowledge and skill sets to tackle most problems. However, this can come with a cost unless the thinking is also accompanied by action. For example, an overweight person who has a high need for cognition may be able to list all the benefits of exercise and a healthy diet. But knowing something intellectually doesn’t always translate into practice.
Additionally, people with a high need for cognition may tend to be overconfident in their abilities, discounting the gap between knowing and acting. Zerna writes that smokers with a high need for cognition think they can quit easily but don’t necessarily do better than those with a low need for cognition. Likewise, college students who score high on this trait don’t curtail heavy alcohol usage, despite knowing the repercussions.
Overall, a high need for thinking does confer benefits to people. So, keep your grey cells working by doing crosswords, Sudoku and reading articles that engage and extend you. Listen to podcasts that challenge your worldview. Even as you gain insight and new perspectives, be wary of intellectual hubris. Remind yourself that in many facets of life knowing and doing are not equivalent. When it comes to cultivating and maintaining healthy lifestyle habits, your actions rather than your reasoning skills are what matter. While your cognitive circuits need to be active, your self-regulation and self-control networks also need to be honed with practice.
(The writer is the author of Zero Limits: Things Every 20-Something Should Know. She blogs at www.arunasankaranarayanan.com.)