The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity
- PMID: 26539887
- PMCID: PMC4635443
- DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.010
The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity
Abstract
Curiosity is a basic element of our cognition, but its biological function, mechanisms, and neural underpinning remain poorly understood. It is nonetheless a motivator for learning, influential in decision-making, and crucial for healthy development. One factor limiting our understanding of it is the lack of a widely agreed upon delineation of what is and is not curiosity. Another factor is the dearth of standardized laboratory tasks that manipulate curiosity in the lab. Despite these barriers, recent years have seen a major growth of interest in both the neuroscience and psychology of curiosity. In this Perspective, we advocate for the importance of the field, provide a selective overview of its current state, and describe tasks that are used to study curiosity and information-seeking. We propose that, rather than worry about defining curiosity, it is more helpful to consider the motivations for information-seeking behavior and to study it in its ethological context.
Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Figures
![Figure 1](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4635443/bin/nihms722442f1.gif)
![Figure 2](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4635443/bin/nihms722442f2.gif)
![Figure 3](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4635443/bin/nihms722442f3.gif)
![Figure 4](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4635443/bin/nihms722442f4.gif)
![Figure 5](https://cdn.statically.io/img/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/instance/4635443/bin/nihms722442f5.gif)
Similar articles
-
Intrinsic motivation, curiosity, and learning: Theory and applications in educational technologies.Prog Brain Res. 2016;229:257-284. doi: 10.1016/bs.pbr.2016.05.005. Epub 2016 Jul 29. Prog Brain Res. 2016. PMID: 27926442 Review.
-
Models need mechanisms, but not labels.Behav Brain Sci. 2024 May 21;47:e111. doi: 10.1017/S0140525X23003370. Behav Brain Sci. 2024. PMID: 38770880
-
A transdisciplinary view on curiosity beyond linguistic humans: animals, infants, and artificial intelligence.Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2024 Jun;99(3):979-998. doi: 10.1111/brv.13054. Epub 2024 Jan 29. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc. 2024. PMID: 38287201 Review.
-
Humans monitor learning progress in curiosity-driven exploration.Nat Commun. 2021 Oct 13;12(1):5972. doi: 10.1038/s41467-021-26196-w. Nat Commun. 2021. PMID: 34645800 Free PMC article.
-
Curiosity in old age: A possible key to achieving adaptive aging.Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018 May;88:106-116. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2018.03.007. Epub 2018 Mar 12. Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2018. PMID: 29545165 Review.
Cited by
-
Adults Show Positive Moral Evaluations of Curiosity About Religion.Soc Psychol Personal Sci. 2024 Aug;15(6):670-681. doi: 10.1177/19485506231195915. Epub 2023 Sep 21. Soc Psychol Personal Sci. 2024. PMID: 39076458 Free PMC article.
-
Complex behavior from intrinsic motivation to occupy future action-state path space.Nat Commun. 2024 Jul 29;15(1):6368. doi: 10.1038/s41467-024-49711-1. Nat Commun. 2024. PMID: 39075046 Free PMC article.
-
The Protective Role of Curiosity Behaviors in Coping with Existential Vacuum.Behav Sci (Basel). 2024 May 6;14(5):391. doi: 10.3390/bs14050391. Behav Sci (Basel). 2024. PMID: 38785882 Free PMC article.
-
Reflections on the past two decades of Mind, Brain, and Education.Mind Brain Educ. 2024 Feb;18(1):6-16. doi: 10.1111/mbe.12407. Epub 2024 Mar 2. Mind Brain Educ. 2024. PMID: 38745857 No abstract available.
-
Sensitivity to intrinsic rewards is domain general and related to mental health.Nat Ment Health. 2023;1(9):679-691. doi: 10.1038/s44220-023-00116-x. Epub 2023 Sep 6. Nat Ment Health. 2023. PMID: 38665692 Free PMC article.
References
-
- Aslin RN, Shea SL. Velocity thresholds in human infants: implications for the perception of motion. Developmental Psychology. 1990;26:589–598.
-
- Baldwin DA. Infants’ ability to consult the speaker for clues to word reference. Journal of Child Language. 1993;20(2):395–418. - PubMed
-
- Berlyne DE. A theory of human curiosity. British Journal of Psychology. 1954;45(3):180–191. - PubMed
-
- Berlyne DE. The influence of complexity and novelty in visual figures on orienting responses. Journal of Experimental Psychology. 1958;55:289–296. - PubMed
Publication types
MeSH terms
Grants and funding
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
Other Literature Sources
Miscellaneous