Idea: NFC Distribution

[Joshe]

Not sure if this has been formally explored, but it should be. We need a model centered around Need for Cognition.

Such a model could offer a foundational lens through which we understand the cognitive stratification of the population, not in terms of IQ, but in terms of how much individuals engage with complexity, nuance, and abstract reasoning, and the implications of those.

Imagine what we could uncover:

• What if the 50th percentile or lower accounted for 95% of authoritarian followers?
• What if NFC predicts ideological rigidity, susceptibility to propaganda, political indifference, etc. 
• What if low NFC correlates with social conformity, religion, or preference for dogma over ambiguity, while high NFC predicts skepticism, internal consistency, logical coherence, truth-acceptance, etc. 
• Could NFC percentile be a more predictive trait than IQ or Big Five openness when it comes to worldview formation?
• What if it was even more fundamental to worldview construction than the Big 5?

We’ve built entire psychological models around surface traits with MBTI, Big 5, etc. But NFC is a cognitive-energy preference that could explain why people process the world the way they do, and why some people never even see complexity to begin with. 

A percentile-based NFC model could reframe how we think about everything from polarization, education, persuasion, mental health, etc. 

Maybe 10% increments are too granular. 

Edited May 11 by Joshe