Abstract
Recent work has argued thatcuriosity can improve learning. However, these studiesalso leave open the possibility that being on the verge of knowing can itself induce curiosity. We investigate how prior knowledge relates to curiosity and subsequent learning using a trivia questiontask. Curiosity in our taskis best predicted by a learner's estimate of their current knowledge, more so than an objective measure of what they actuallyknow. Learning is best predicted by both curiosity and an objective measure of knowledge. These results suggest that whilecuriosity iscorrelated with knowledge, there is only a small boost in learningfrom being curious. The implication is that the mechanisms that drive curiosity are not identical to those that drive learning outcomes.
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