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. 2024 Mar 18;9(1):22.
doi: 10.1038/s41539-024-00234-w.

States of epistemic curiosity interfere with memory for incidental scholastic facts

Nicole E Keller  1 , Carola Salvi  2 , Emily K Leiker  3 , Matthias J Gruber  4 , Joseph E Dunsmoor  5   6   7
Affiliations

States of epistemic curiosity interfere with memory for incidental scholastic facts

Nicole E Keller et al. NPJ Sci Learn. .

Abstract

Curiosity can be a powerful motivator to learn and retain new information. Evidence shows that high states of curiosity elicited by a specific source (i.e., a trivia question) can promote memory for incidental stimuli (non-target) presented close in time. The spreading effect of curiosity states on memory for other information has potential for educational applications. Specifically, it could provide techniques to improve learning for information that did not spark a sense of curiosity on its own. Here, we investigated how high states of curiosity induced through trivia questions affect memory performance for unrelated scholastic facts (e.g., scientific, English, or historical facts) presented in close temporal proximity to the trivia question. Across three task versions, participants viewed trivia questions closely followed in time by a scholastic fact unrelated to the trivia question, either just prior to or immediately following the answer to the trivia question. Participants then completed a surprise multiple-choice memory test (akin to a pop quiz) for the scholastic material. In all three task versions, memory performance was poorer for scholastic facts presented after trivia questions that had elicited high versus low levels of curiosity. These results contradict previous findings showing curiosity-enhanced memory for incidentally presented visual stimuli and suggest that target information that generates a high-curiosity state interferes with encoding complex and unrelated scholastic facts presented close in time.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1. Study design.
A Early Anticipation Version. For each trial, a selected trivia question was presented and participants had to rate their level of curiosity. Immediately following this rating, participants were presented with a scholastic fact, unrelated to the trivia question. Following the presentation of a scholastic fact, participants would receive the answer to the trivia question. B Late Anticipation. This version was the same as the Early Anticipation design, with the critical exception of the presentation of a 4-s crosshair between the trivia rating and scholastic fact. C Post Satisfaction. In this version, participants were initially presented with a trivia question immediately followed by the answer. Unlike the first two versions, the scholastic fact in this version was presented after the trivia answer. D Following all study phase versions, participants completed a surprise multiple-choice memory test on the scholastic facts.
Fig. 2
Fig. 2. Memory for scholastic facts paired to pre-determined high vs. low curiosity trivia questions.
In all task versions, memory for scholastic facts was significantly lower when paired with a high vs. a low curiosity trivia question. This box plot depicts the median (center line), upper and lower quartiles (box limits), maximum to the upper quartile (upper whisker), and lower quartile to the minimum (lower whisker). White circles depict memory accuracy means. Individual data points are depicted, and there were no outliers. ***p < 0.001, **p < 0.01, *p < 0.05.
Fig. 3
Fig. 3. Predicted probabilities of memory accuracy for scholastic facts.
A generalized mixed model with all task versions predicted a significant decline in memory for scholastic facts paired to trivia questions with higher curiosity ratings. The error bar represents standard error.
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