| This paper describes a theorized individual difference in a need for social cognition (NFSC). We defined need for social cognition as a motivation to understand the thoughts and perspectives of others. Studies 1-3 were performed to devise a reliable scale for measuring this construct as well as establish acceptable convergent and divergent validity with several related scales. Finally, we performed the Two-Stories experiment, which explored one aspect of NFSC's role in narrative transportation and attitude change by testing whether high levels of NFSC increase transportation and persuasion in stories that require more reader involvement. The hypotheses of the Two-Stories experiment failed. We discuss possible reasons for this result and explore potentially important conclusions from the experiment. |
