Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study
Academic success is not solely the result of cognitive ability. There is evidence that traits such as students' need for cognition (NFC) and self-efficacy beliefs influence academic success. Beyond cognitive ability and personal traits, social background constitutes an important factor. Student...
Saved in:
| Main Authors: | , , |
|---|---|
| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Frontiers Media S.A.
2025-02-01
|
| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1487038/full |
| Tags: |
Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
|
| _version_ | 1832539914341711872 |
|---|---|
| author | Lina Kramer Stefanie Lüdtke Philipp Alexander Freund |
| author_facet | Lina Kramer Stefanie Lüdtke Philipp Alexander Freund |
| author_sort | Lina Kramer |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Academic success is not solely the result of cognitive ability. There is evidence that traits such as students' need for cognition (NFC) and self-efficacy beliefs influence academic success. Beyond cognitive ability and personal traits, social background constitutes an important factor. Students from academic households are (still) much more likely to pursue an academic degree than their peers from non-academic households. Past research on traits and beliefs relevant in (higher) education has focused on academic success, but only to a limited extent on its direct precursor: the decision to pursue an academic degree. This study aims to investigate NFC and academic self-efficacy (ASE) as positive predictors of students' intentions to go to college, with consideration of students' generational status regarding academic education. Results based on survey data from 1,389 German high school students provide evidence for positive relationships between NFC, ASE, and study intention, with ASE acting as a mediator of NFC's effect. Our analyses also investigate the effects of NFC and ASE on study intentions for students from academic as compared to students from non-academic households via multigroup analyses. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-960c12a0214e4d94b956953cd81a2742 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj-art-960c12a0214e4d94b956953cd81a27422025-02-05T07:32:09ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782025-02-011610.3389/fpsyg.2025.14870381487038Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup studyLina Kramer0Stefanie Lüdtke1Philipp Alexander Freund2Intensive Care Medicine, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Amsterdam, NetherlandsHuman Resources Department, Polizei Hamburg, Hamburg, GermanyInstitute of Psychology in Education, Faculty of Education, Leuphana University Lüneburg, Lüneburg, GermanyAcademic success is not solely the result of cognitive ability. There is evidence that traits such as students' need for cognition (NFC) and self-efficacy beliefs influence academic success. Beyond cognitive ability and personal traits, social background constitutes an important factor. Students from academic households are (still) much more likely to pursue an academic degree than their peers from non-academic households. Past research on traits and beliefs relevant in (higher) education has focused on academic success, but only to a limited extent on its direct precursor: the decision to pursue an academic degree. This study aims to investigate NFC and academic self-efficacy (ASE) as positive predictors of students' intentions to go to college, with consideration of students' generational status regarding academic education. Results based on survey data from 1,389 German high school students provide evidence for positive relationships between NFC, ASE, and study intention, with ASE acting as a mediator of NFC's effect. Our analyses also investigate the effects of NFC and ASE on study intentions for students from academic as compared to students from non-academic households via multigroup analyses.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1487038/fullneed for cognitionacademic self-efficacyacademic ambitioncollege-going intentionsfirst-generation students |
| spellingShingle | Lina Kramer Stefanie Lüdtke Philipp Alexander Freund Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study Frontiers in Psychology need for cognition academic self-efficacy academic ambition college-going intentions first-generation students |
| title | Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study |
| title_full | Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study |
| title_fullStr | Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study |
| title_full_unstemmed | Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study |
| title_short | Need for cognition, academic self-efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college—evidence from a multigroup study |
| title_sort | need for cognition academic self efficacy and parental education predict the intention to go to college evidence from a multigroup study |
| topic | need for cognition academic self-efficacy academic ambition college-going intentions first-generation students |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2025.1487038/full |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT linakramer needforcognitionacademicselfefficacyandparentaleducationpredicttheintentiontogotocollegeevidencefromamultigroupstudy AT stefanieludtke needforcognitionacademicselfefficacyandparentaleducationpredicttheintentiontogotocollegeevidencefromamultigroupstudy AT philippalexanderfreund needforcognitionacademicselfefficacyandparentaleducationpredicttheintentiontogotocollegeevidencefromamultigroupstudy |