Are You Curious About Curiosity?

Frontiers for Young Minds, vol. 12

Abstract

Kids (and adults) are often curious. Maybe you are curious about dinosaurs, giant squids, or rollercoaster rides. But have you ever been curious about why you are curious about some things but not about other things? In the last 10 years, scientists have asked similar questions about curiosity. In this article, we will share some of the answers. We explain how scientists across the world study curiosity. We also explain that people become curious to seek out specific information or to explore new things. Based on research on curiosity and the brain, scientists think that curiosity is a signal that it is valuable (or rewarding) to learn something or figure something out. Curiosity can even make you remember information better. After reading this article, we hope that your curiosity is satisfied!

Authors 3

1. Suzanne Oosterwijk Aachen Social

   Leiden University · University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Psychology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , Netherlands

   Cardi University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardi University, Cardi , United Kingdom

   Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

   Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

2. Marret K. Noordewier Aachen Social

   Leiden University · University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Department of Social Psychology , University of Amsterdam , Amsterdam , Netherlands

   Social , Economic and Organisational Psychology , Leiden University , Leiden , Netherlands

   Cardi University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardi University, Cardi , United Kingdom

   Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

   Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands

3. Matthias J. Gruber Aachen Social

   Leiden University · Cardiff University · University of Amsterdam

   Affiliation as printed

   Cardiff University Brain Research Imaging Centre , School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , United Kingdom

   Cardi University Brain Research Imaging Centre, School of Psychology, Cardi University, Cardi , United Kingdom

   Department of Social Psychology, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands

   Social, Economic and Organisational Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands