Curious

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The Curiosity Daily Podcast: Get Smarter in Just a Few Minutes

The term curiosity can also be used to denote the behavior or emotion of being curious, in regard to the desire to gain knowledge or information. Curiosity as a behavior and emotion is attributed over millennia as the driving force behind not only human development, but developments in science, language, and industry.

Curiosity can be seen as an innate quality of many different species. It is common to human beings at all ages from infancy [5] through adulthood , [1] and is easy to observe in many other animal species; these include apes , cats , and rodents. These traditional ideas of curiosity have recently expanded to look at the difference between curiosity as the innate exploratory behavior that is present in all animals and curiosity as the desire for knowledge that is specifically attributed to humans.

Like other desires and need states that take on an appetitive quality e. Curiosity can be described as positive emotions and acquiring knowledge; when one's curiosity has been aroused it is considered inherently rewarding and pleasurable. Discovering new information may also be rewarding because it can help reduce undesirable states of uncertainty rather than stimulating interest.

Theories have arisen in attempts to further understand this need to rectify states of uncertainty and the desire to participate in pleasurable experiences of exploratory behaviors. Curiosity-drive theory relates to the undesirable experiences of "uncertainty". The reduction of these unpleasant feelings, in turn, is rewarding.

This theory suggests that people desire coherence and understanding in their thought processes. When this coherence is disrupted by something that is unfamiliar, uncertain, or ambiguous, it is curiosity-drive that attempts to gather information and knowledge of the unfamiliar to restore coherent thought processes. Through this theory, the general concept dictates that curiosity is developed strictly out of the desire to make sense of unfamiliar aspects of one's environment through interaction of exploratory behaviors.

Once understanding of the unfamiliar has been achieved and coherence has been restored, these behaviors and desires will subside. Subsets of curiosity-drive theory differ on whether curiosity is a primary or secondary drive and if this curiosity-drive is originated due to one's need to make sense of and regulate their environment or if it is caused by an external stimulus. Curiosity then acts as a means in which to dispel this uncertainty. By exhibiting curious and exploratory behavior, one is able to gain knowledge of the unfamiliar and thus reduce the state of uncertainty or unpleasantness.

This theory, however, does not address the idea that curiosity can often be displayed even in the absence of new or unfamiliar situations.

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Take the example of a human toddler who, if bored in his current situation devoid of arousing stimuli, will walk about until something interesting is found. The observation of curiosity even in the absence of novel stimuli pinpoints one of the major shortcomings in the curiosity-drive model. Optimal-arousal theory developed out of the need to explain the desire for some to seek out opportunities to engage in exploratory behaviors without the presence of uncertain or ambiguous situations.

Optimal-arousal theory attempts to explain this aspect of curiosity by suggesting that one can be motivated to maintain a pleasurable sense of arousal through these exploratory behaviors. The concept of optimal-arousal of curiosity suggests that the desire is to maintain an optimal level of arousal. If the stimulus is too intensely arousing, a "back-away" type behavior is engaged.

In contrast, if the environment is boring and lacks excitement, exploratory behavior will be engaged until something optimally arousing is encountered. In essence, there is an intrinsic motivation to search for a perfect balance of arousal states. While optimal-arousal theory addresses some discrepancies within curiosity-drive theory, there seems to be a distinctive counter-intuitiveness about their designs. For example, if there is an ideal state of curiosity that should be maintained, then gaining new knowledge to eliminate that state of curiosity would be counter-productive. Taking into account the shortcomings of both curiosity-drive and optimal-arousal theories, attempts have been made to integrate neurobiological aspects of reward , wanting, and pleasure into a more comprehensive theory for curiosity.

Research suggests that the act of wanting and desiring new information directly involves mesolimbic pathways of the brain that directly account for dopamine activation. The use of these pathways and dopamine activation may account for the assigning of value to new information and then interpreting as reward.

Although the phenomenon of curiosity is widely regarded, its root causes are relatively unknown beyond theory. However, recent studies have provided some insight into the neurological mechanisms that make up what is known as the reward pathway [11] which may impact characteristics associated with curiosity, such as learning , memory , and motivation.

Due to the complex nature of curiosity, research that focuses on specific neural processes with these characteristics can help create a better understanding the phenomenon of curiosity as a whole. The following are characteristics of curiosity and their links to neural aspects that can be thought of as essential in creating exploratory behaviors:.

The drive to learn new information or perform some action is often initiated by the anticipation of reward. In this way, the concepts of motivation and reward are naturally tied to the notion of curiosity. This idea of reward is defined as the positive reinforcement of an action that encourages a particular behavior by using the emotional sensations of relief, pleasure, and satisfaction that correlate with happiness. Many areas in the brain are used to process reward and come together to form what is called the reward pathway.

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In this pathway many neurotransmitters play a role in the activation of the reward sensation- including dopamine , serotonin and opioid chemicals. Dopamine is linked to the process of curiosity, as it is responsible for assigning and retaining reward values of information gained. Research suggests higher amounts of dopamine is released when the reward is unknown and the stimulus is unfamiliar, compared to activation of dopamine when stimulus is familiar.

The nucleus accumbens is a formation of neurons and is important in reward pathway activation. As previously mentioned, the reward pathway is an integral part in the induction of curiosity. The release of dopamine in investigating response to novel or exciting stimuli. The fast dopamine release observed during childhood and adolescence is important in development, as curiosity and exploratory behavior are the largest facilitators of learning during early years. In addition, the sensation pleasure of "liking" can occur when opioids are released by nucleus accumbens.

This helps someone evaluate the unfamiliar situation or environment and attach value to the novel object. These processes of both wanting and liking play a role in activating the reward system of the brain, and perhaps in the stimulation of curious or information-seeking tendencies as well. The caudate nucleus , is a region of the brain that is highly responsive to dopamine.

The caudate nucleus is another component of the reward pathway. Research has suggested the role of the caudate nucleus anticipates the possibility of and is in anticipation of reward of exploratory behavior and gathered information, thus contributing to factors of curiosity. Regions of the anterior cortices correspond to both conflict and arousal and, as such, seem to reinforce certain exploratory models of curiosity.

Cortisol is a chemical known for its role in stress regulation. However, cortisol may also be associated with curious or exploratory behavior. Findings in recent studies suggesting the role of cortisol with curiosity support the idea of optimal arousal theory. It is suggested the release of a small amount cortisol causing stress encourages curious behavior, while too much stress can initiate a "back away" response.

Attention is important to the understanding of curiosity because it directly correlates with one's abilities to selectively focus and concentrate on particular stimuli in the surrounding environment. As there are limited cognitive and sensory resources to understand and evaluate various stimuli, attention allows the brain to better focus on what it perceives to be the most important or relevant of these stimuli.

Individuals tend to focus their energies on stimuli that are particularly stimulating or engaging. Indicating that the more attention a stimulus garners, the more frequent one's energy and focus will be directed towards that stimulus. This idea suggests an individual will focus their attention on new or unfamiliar stimuli in an effort to better understand or make sense of the unknown over the more familiar or repetitive stimuli. Creating the idea that curiosity demands attention. The striatum , is a part of the brain which coordinates motivation with body movement.

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It would seem natural that the striatum plays a role in attention and reward anticipation, both of which are important in the provocation of curiosity. The precuneus is a region of the brain that is involved in attention, episodic memory, and visuospatial processing. There has been a correlation found between the amount of grey matter in the precuneus and levels of curious and exploratory behaviors; suggesting that the precuneus density has an influence on levels of curiosity.

Memory plays an important role in the understanding of curiosity. If curiosity is the desire to seek out and understand unfamiliar or novel stimuli, one's memory is important in determining if the stimuli is indeed unfamiliar. Memory is the process by which the brain can store and access information.

In order to determine if the stimulus is novel, an individual must remember if the stimulus has been encountered before.

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Thus, memory plays an integral role in dictating the level of novelty or unfamiliarity, and the level of need for curiosity. It can also be suggested that curiosity can affect memory. As previously mentioned, stimuli that are novel tend to capture more of our attention. It helps you visualize your learning progress throughout each month, and compares it to your goals and interests. Share your wheel with friends for extra motivation!

It recommends the best way to build your CQ and achieve your monthly learning goals. In the past decade over a dozen influential studies have shown that learning things doesn't just make you smarter — it makes you happier, healthier and even more successful. It doesn't matter what you learn, as long as it's new and sparks your curiosity.

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