Need for Cognition as a moral capacity

Abstract Inspired by the increased scientific interest in ethical concerns together with limited previous research on linkages to cognitive motivation, we aimed at clarifying the relation between Need for Cognition (NFC) and self-reported moral behavior. As individuals high in NFC have a propensity to deeper information processing and more elaborated decision-making, we assumed that NFC is associated with higher levels of moral cognition processes and more moral behavior. In two cross-sectional studies, variables of interest were assessed by online surveys with 303 (39% male, 29.26 ± 11.09 years) and 204 participants (26% male, 27.8 ± 1.3 years), respectively. In both studies, NFC predicted self-reported moral behavior and did so incrementally over and above variables clearly referring to morality like moral identity (Study 1) or empathy (Study 2) as well as cognitive reflection. These results highlight the importance to consider NFC in research on moral behavior. Based on our current findings, we introduce a comprehensive approach on dispositions that promote moral behavior and suggest NFC as moral maturation capacity impacting on moral behavior.