{"id":127452,"date":"2015-11-05T10:24:04","date_gmt":"2015-11-05T15:24:04","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/?p=127452"},"modified":"2015-11-13T08:53:38","modified_gmt":"2015-11-13T13:53:38","slug":"what-drives-curiosity-research","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rochester.edu\/newscenter\/what-drives-curiosity-research\/","title":{"rendered":"What \u2018drives\u2019 curiosity research?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scientists have been studying curiosity since the 19th century, but combining techniques from several fields now makes it possible for the first time to study it with full scientific rigor, according to the authors of a new paper.<\/p>\n

Benjamin Hayden<\/a> and Celeste Kidd<\/a>, researchers in brain and cognitive sciences at the University of Rochester<\/a>, are proposing that scientists utilize these techniques to focus on curiosity\u2019s function, evolution, mechanism, and development, rather than on what it is and what it isn\u2019t.<\/p>\n

\u201cCuriosity is a long-standing problem that is fascinating, but has been difficult to approach scientifically,\u201d said Hayden, an assistant professor and co-author of a \u201cPerspective\u201d article published today in Neuron<\/a><\/em>.<\/p>\n

\u201cResearchers have developed formal and quantifiable techniques for studying curiosity, and we think it’s worth getting the word out,\u201d said Hayden. \u201cThere are people working in a number of disciplines who may not be aware of each other\u2019s work, but who should be.\u201d<\/p>\n

The authors also noted that the study of curiosity overlaps with ADHD and other attentional disorders. For most of us, curiosity helps us to learn things with personal relevance. But these disorders could impair attention in a way that prompts interest in unimportant information.<\/p>\n

\u201cEverything in life involves trade-offs,\u201d said co-author Kidd, assistant professor and co-director of the Rochester Baby Lab<\/a> and Rochester Kid Lab<\/a>. \u201cIf we spend time watching a TV show because we are curious about what happened, then we spend less time working on our jobs. So there is definitely a balance, and too much curiosity can be harmful.\u201d<\/p>\n

Hayden and Kidd hope that in addition to the understanding of how curiosity is affected by disease, future research will bring new information about how curiosity is controlled, how it differs between childhood and adulthood, and the link between curiosity and learning.<\/p>\n

19th century psychologists used biographies from mothers to study how children were drawn toward new objects or experiences. Animal curiosity also became a fascination for well-known researchers like Ivan Pavlov and Harry Harlow, who saw curiosity as a basic drive.<\/p>\n

Scientists have tried to describe curiosity by saying it is entirely instinctive\u2014as opposed to information-seeking and risk-seeking. But this type of definition runs into problems when we try to determine the motivation of babies, primates, and other organisms that cannot communicate verbally. Hayden and Kidd use a working definition of curiosity \u201cas a drive state for information,\u201d which can be observed in organisms as simple as nematode worms.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen information-seeking occurs, it’s reasonable to start talking about it as a minimal form of curiosity,\u201d Hayden said. \u201cThis definition, and the idea that roundworms may be curious, will be hard for some people to swallow. But by looking at it from an evolutionary perspective\u2014and the benefits of information-seeking in general\u2014scientists can make rapid progress. But by sitting around and arguing about what is and is not curiosity, progress will be much slower.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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