Source: Leslie, Ian (2014-08-26). Curious: The Desire to Know and Why Your Future Depends On It. Basic Books. Kindle Edition.
Here is a simple way to assess yourself, based on a questionnaire invented by the psychologists who first formulated the concept. Answer each question “true” or “false,” choosing the answer that most often applies to you (truthfully!):
1. I would prefer complex to simple problems.
2. I like to have the responsibility of handling a situation that requires a lot of thinking.
3. Thinking is not my idea of fun.
4. I would rather do something that requires little thought than something that is sure to challenge my thinking abilities.
5. I try to anticipate and avoid situations where there is a likely chance I will have to think in depth about something.
6. I find satisfaction in deliberating hard and for long hours.
7. I only think as hard as I have to.
8. I prefer to think about small, daily projects than long-term ones.
9. I like tasks that require little thought once I’ve learned them.
10. The idea of relying on thought to make my way to the top appeals to me.
11. I really enjoy a task that involves coming up with new solutions to problems.
12. Learning new ways to think doesn’t excite me very much.
13. I prefer my life to be filled with puzzles that I can’t solve.
14. The notion of thinking abstractly is appealing to me.
15. I would prefer a task that is intellectual, difficult, and important to one that is somewhat important but does not require much thought.
16. I feel relief rather than satisfaction after completing a task that required a lot of mental effort.
17. It’s enough for me that something gets the job done. I don’t care how or why it works.
18. I usually end up deliberating about issues even when they do not affect me personally.
Finished? Okay, now for scoring.
If you answered “true” to most or all of questions 1, 2, 6, 10, 11, 13, 14, 15, and 18 and “false” to most or all of the others, odds are that you are higher in NFC than the average person.