Theory Of Curiosity Research Articles

Curiosity in news consumption

AbstractWe analyze how curiosity drives news consumption. We test predictions of the information‐gap theory of curiosity using over 100,000 WeChat news articles, applying NLP methods to construct measures of salience, importance, and surprisingness associated with news headlines, experimentally validating these measures, and using them to predict clicks. Our findings confirm that people tend to consume news when: the headline sparks a salient question; the content appears more important (e.g., emphasized by the headline's position on the webpage or an exclamation mark); the headline refers to more surprising topics (measured as the KL‐divergence from a baseline topic distribution); and the headline has lower valence. Information‐gap theory helps predict aggregate news consumption. Yet our data also reveal a small negative correlation between the number of clicks and the ratio of likes to clicks, suggesting that while inducing curiosity can drive short‐term news consumption, it doesn't necessarily enhance long‐term reader engagement.

Fantasy curiosity: a new theoretical perspective to understand anime pilgrimage

ABSTRACT Curiosity stands as a significant driving force in comprehending tourist behaviour. Nonetheless, within the realm of anime pilgrims, the objects of interest, the underlying mechanisms and the resulting behaviours stemming from their curiosity deviate notably from those exhibited by typical tourists. Through the utilization of in-depth case studies of anime pilgrims, this research unveils an innovative impetus for tourism known as ‘fantasy curiosity’ with four distinct attributes, differentiating it from prevailing conceptualizations of general curiosity. Moreover, by utilizing a Latent Dirichlet Allocation model, we pinpoint distinct characteristics of anime-related behaviours across different phases of anime tours. These findings serve to propel the progression of research within the realms of tourism motivations, while concurrently broadening the horizons of curiosity theory.

Counterfactual curiosity: motivated thinking about what might have been.

Counterfactual information, information about what might have been, forms the content of counterfactual thoughts and emotions like regret and relief. Recent research suggests that human adults and children, as well as rhesus monkeys, demonstrate 'counterfactual curiosity': they are motivated to seek out counterfactual information after making decisions. Based on contemporary theories of curiosity and information seeking and a broad range of empirical literature, we suggest multiple heterogeneous psychological processes that contribute to people's motivation for counterfactual information. This includes processes that are identified in the curiosity literature more generally-the potential use of counterfactual information for adaptive decision making (its long-term instrumental value) and the drive to reduce uncertainty. Additionally, we suggest that counterfactual information may be particularly alluring because of its role in causal reasoning; its relationship with prediction and decision making; and its potential to fulfil emotion regulation and self-serving goals. Some future directions have been suggested, including investigating the role of individual differences in counterfactual curiosity on learning and wellbeing. This article is part of the theme issue 'Thinking about possibilities: mechanisms, ontogeny, functions and phylogeny'.

Effects of robot restaurants’ food quality, service quality and high-tech atmosphere perception on customers’ behavioral intentions

机器人餐厅的食品质量、服务质量和高科技氛围感知对顾客行为意图的影响研究目的机器人厨师和机器人服务员已经出现在餐饮业。基于好奇心理论和刺激-有机体-反应模型, 本研究旨在了解机器人餐厅属性对顾客购买前行为意向的影响。研究设计/方法/路径基于来自中国289名本科生、研究生和非学生的研究数据, 通过偏最小二乘法对理论模型进行了检验。研究发现食品质量感知直接影响常客意愿, 但对体验意愿没有显着影响。服务质量感知和高科技氛围感知通过对机器人餐厅的兴趣作为中介变量正向影响体验意愿和常客意愿。研究原创性与以往专注于人类员工餐厅的研究不同, 本研究首次系统地研究了机器人餐厅属性对顾客行为意图的影响, 并发现这些属性在影响顾客行为意图方面具有其独特性。关键词机器人餐厅, 体验意向, 惠顾意向, 食物品质, 服务质量, 氛围文章类型研究型论文

Measuring Six Facets of Curiosity in Germany and the UK: A German-Language Adaptation of the 5DCR and Its Comparability with the English-Language Source Version

The five-dimensional curiosity-scale revised (5DCR) by Kashdan et al. (2020) is the most comprehensive curiosity inventory available to date. 5DCR measures six facets of curiosity with four items each. Here, we present a German-language adaptation of the 5DCR and comprehensively validate this adaptation in a diverse sample of adults from Germany (N = 486). Moreover, we provide new evidence on the original English-language 5DCR in a parallel sample from the UK (N = 483). In both countries, we investigate the six facets' reliability, factorial validity, and convergent and discriminant validity with a large set of individual-differences constructs. In addition, we analyze the measurement invariance of the curiosity facets across the UK and Germany and across socio-demographic subgroups defined by age, sex, and education. Findings demonstrate that the new German-language adaptation of 5DCR and its English-language source version show psychometric properties similar to the original studies by Kashdan et al. (2020) in the United States. All six curiosity facets reach at least partial scalar invariance across cultures, sex, education, and mostly also across age groups. The findings support the six-faceted theory of curiosity and show that 5DCR allows for a valid assessment of curiosity across cultures.

Showrooming versus webrooming: Examining motivational differences in omnichannel exploratory behaviors

ABSTRACT This study investigates the differences between showrooming and webrooming from the exploratory behavioral perspective. Based on the epistemic theory of curiosity, this study tests a conceptual model delineating two independent variables (i.e., interest- and deprivation-curiosity), two mediating variables (i.e., market mavenism, consumer innovativeness), and two dependent variables (i.e., actual showrooming experience, actual webrooming experience). A total of 358 participants were recruited through Amazon M Turk, and structural equation modelling analysis was conducted to test the hypothesized model. The study revealed that market mavenism mediates between interest-curiosity and webrooming, whereas consumer innovativeness mediates between deprivation-curiosity and both showrooming and webrooming. This indicates that showroomers and webroomers have different characteristics and are driven by different motivational factors. The study makes theoretical contributions as it provides a novel approach to examining the differences between showrooming and webrooming behavior. Further, practical implications to provide a novel experience are suggested for omnichannel retailers.

An integrative model of new product evaluation: A systematic investigation of perceived novelty and product evaluation in the movie industry.

The literature on perceived novelty and product evaluation has diverged into two disparate streams of research. The first stream builds on theories of curiosity and argues that the perceived novelty of a new product benefits product evaluation because it induces curiosity and provides evaluators (e.g., customers) with positive experiences in learning new features of the product and in resolving their curiosity. In contrast, the second stream adopts theories of expectation violations and argues that perceived novelty decreases product evaluation because it violates evaluators’ expectations of a new product and requires burdensome efforts to make sense of the product. The main goal of our research is to resolve this theoretical inconsistency by offering an integrative model of new product evaluation that proposes an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between perceived novelty and product evaluation. Based on this model, we further examine whether a producer’s reputation plays an ironic moderating role in this curvilinear relationship. Utilizing content analysis and big data approaches with a large sample of 49,835 reviews of 147 movies in the movie industry, we found that an evaluator’s perception of the novelty of a new movie benefited product evaluation but only when that perceived novelty was moderate; at higher levels of perceived novelty, the product evaluation decreased. In addition, we compared the curves of high vs. low reputation producers and found that perceived novelty penalized product evaluation of new movies created by high reputation producers.

The Perceiving Side of Novelty: Its Role in Product Evaluation

The literature on perceived novelty and product evaluation has diverged into two disparate streams of research. The first stream builds on the theories of curiosity and argues that perceived novelty of a new product increases its product evaluation because it induces curiosity and provides evaluators (e.g., customers) with positive experiences in learning new features of the product and resolving their curiosity. In contrast, the second stream adopts the theories of expectation violations and argues that perceived novelty decreases product evaluation because it violates evaluators’ anticipation of products and necessitates burdensome efforts to make sense of the new product. The main goal of our research is to resolve the theoretical inconsistency by offering an integrative model of new product evaluation that proposes an inverted U-shaped curvilinear relationship between perceived novelty and product evaluation. Based on this model, we further examine whether a producer’s reputation plays a moderating role in this curvilinear relationship. Utilizing content analysis and big data approaches with a large sample of 49,860 reviews of 146 movies in the movie industry, we found that a movie’s perceived novelty benefited its product evaluation but only when that novelty was moderate; at higher levels of perceived novelty, the product evaluation decreased. In addition, we compared the curves of high vs. low reputation producers and found that perceived novelty penalized product evaluation of new movies created by high reputation producers.

CURIOSITY TOWARDS STEM EDUCATION: A QUESTIONNAIRE FOR PRIMARY SCHOOL STUDENTS

There are limited research studies about the development of questionnaire to assess the level of primary school students’ curiosity towards STEM education. In this research, curiosity towards STEM Education Questionnaire (CQ-STEM) instrument was developed based on Berlyne’s Theory of Curiosity. CQ-STEM consisted of 10 items measuring the two constructs of curiosity towards STEM, namely exploration and acceptance. A total of 166 fifth graders aged 10 to 11 years enrolled in five urban schools in Sabah, Malaysia made up the research sample. Rasch Measurement Model was applied to determine the validity and reliability of CQ-STEM. The validity of the CQ-STEM instrument was well established among the constructs of exploration and acceptance through the person fit, item fit, item polarity, unidimensionality, and variable map. The CQ-STEM instrument was found to have a high reliability with a Cronbach’s alpha value (KR-20) of .93. CQ-STEM has an excellent item reliability and moderate high item separation value of .96 and 4.83 respectively. In conclusion, CQ-STEM has good validity and high reliability in measuring curiosity towards STEM Education among primary school students. Keywords: curiosity towards STEM Education, primary school students, Rasch Measurement Model, validity and reliability, questionnaire development

Visual affects: Linking curiosity, Aha-Erlebnis, and memory through information gain

Current theories propose that our sense of curiosity is determined by the learning progress or information gain that our cognitive system expects to make. However, few studies have explicitly tried to quantify subjective information gain and link it to measures of curiosity. Here, we asked people to report their curiosity about the intrinsically engaging perceptual ‘puzzles’ known as Mooney images, and to report on the strength of their aha experience upon revealing the solution image (curiosity relief). We also asked our participants (279) to make a guess concerning the solution of the image, and used the distribution of these guesses to compute the crowdsourced semantic entropy (or ambiguity) of the images, as a measure of the potential for information gain. Our results confirm that curiosity and, even more so, aha experience is substantially associated with this semantic information gain measure. These findings support the expected information gain theory of curiosity and suggest that the aha experience or intrinsic reward is driven by the actual information gain. In an unannounced memory part, we also established that the often reported influence of curiosity on memory is fully mediated by the aha experience or curiosity relief. We discuss the implications of our results for the burgeoning fields of curiosity and psychoaesthetics.

When ignorance is bliss: The role of curiosity in online games adoption

Despite the adverse consequences associated with playing risky online games, their popularity is increasing. Prior literature on online games has focused on identifying adoption factors without taking associated risks into consideration. In this study, we examine the factors that drive individuals to play online games in the presence of cybersecurity risks such as physical and psychological risks associated with online games. We draw on the information gap theory of curiosity to investigate the impact of security risk awareness and curiosity on the intention to play online games. Using a hypothetical scenario that simulates a real event and a total of 301 responses collected using Amazon Mechanical Turk platform and analyzed using LISREL 8.80, we provide evidence of how the awareness of threats incites curiosity and invites exploratory behavior that can lead to undesirable consequences. Our results reveal that security risk awareness has a positive and significant effect on both perceived risk and curiosity, while curiosity has a negative effect on perceived risk and a positive effect on the intention to play an online game. This study contributes to the literature on online games by adding the role of cybersecurity awareness as a predictor of curiosity, which in turn leads to risky behavior of playing online games. The study introduces curiosity as a critical factor that has valuable cybersecurity implications in the context of online gaming.

What Are We Curious about?

What are we curious about? Dubey and Griffiths propose a rational theory of curiosity that unifies previously contradictory novelty-based and complexity accounts. It also paves the way for future investigations, such as studying approximate models of curiosity as well as what causes abnormal levels of exploration.

Augmenting training–learning experience by design: a conceptual framework

PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to explore the possibility of designing training sessions on the basis of a dramatic structure and inclusion of contextual narrative for facilitating transfer of learning. The role of stimulating curiosity in this process has also been scanned under the lens of neurobiological insights.Design/methodology/approachThe paper theoretically develops a framework through an integrative literature review to examine the prospect of enhanced learner engagement through structure, narrative and some interdisciplinary theories, namely, the gap theory of curiosity and the peak end theory.FindingsA contextual story-based training method designed on the basis of a dramatic plot structure can leverage on the learners’ emotions for engaging learning sessions and retention of content. Such design offers potential to improvise and strengthen the overall training module design and delivery mechanism. The outcome is seen through enhanced peak moments of curiosity and satisfaction, thus enriching the overall training–learning process.Research limitations/implicationsThe study is theory based and non-empirical which does not give it a ground to make generalised statements and conclusions. This factor, however, paves the way for future research in the allied areas such as empirical testing of the framework by identifying and testing the variables and other contextual and causal factors.Practical implicationsThe suggested framework has practical implications for Learning and Development managers as well as academies. The conceptual framework provided in this work can lend some unique insights towards strengthening the training–learning process.Originality/valueAlthough the concept of using stories for training is not new, this study contributes by proposing a new theoretical framework that examines together the elements of sound dramatic structure and a story-based training method. Such a design, conceived by taking into account an understanding of the working mind, can influence the overall experience of achieving positive training–learning results.

How does participation and browsing affect continuance intention in virtual communities? An integration of curiosity theory and subjective well-being

ABSTRACT Based on theories about curiosity and subjective well-being (SWB), this study proposes a research model for how participation and browsing initiate different routes to satisfying members’ diverse needs, thus increasing their SWB and their continuance intention in knowledge-based virtual communities (VCs). Two curiosity constructs, informational deprivation epistemic curiosity (D-EC) and interest-type epistemic curiosity (I-EC), moderate the wanting route and liking route, respectively. The research model is tested with data from 476 members of one knowledge-based VC using a web survey. Results show that member participation stimulates the wanting route to satisfaction by activating the need for reflective learning and uncertainty reduction, whereas browsing stimulates the liking route to member satisfaction by eliciting enjoyment. Both routes thus increase member SWB and, ultimately, continuance intention. Along the wanting route, D-EC reinforces relationships related to reflective learning but attenuates those related to uncertainty. I-EC alleviates the relationships along the liking route. Comparisons of the relative importance of hypothesised relationships between participants and lurkers indicate that participants feel more satisfied with knowledge sharing, enjoy greater SWB, and maintain higher continuance intention than lurkers. These results can therefore help managers of VCs leverage learning- or fun-oriented mechanisms, depending on member curiosity type.

The role of expecting feedback during decision-making under risk

Sometimes choice is followed by outcome feedback and other times it is not. It remains unknown whether humans prefer gambling when they expect feedback to be revealed. Regarding this question, decision-making theories make alternative predictions. Some theories have proposed that choice is influenced by whether one expects to be disappointed in the future. Given that feedback is sometimes disappointing, these theories predict increased aversion towards gambling when feedback is expected compared to when feedback is not expected. The opposite effect is predicted by theories of curiosity, which postulate reduction of uncertainty as an important behavioural drive. Given that feedback reduces uncertainty, these theories predict that gambling will be favoured when feedback is expected. To examine whether expecting feedback influences gambling behaviour, we recorded functional neuroimaging data while participants performed a novel decision-making task requiring to chose between a sure option and a gamble. Crucially, participants expected to receive feedback in some trials but not in other trials. Consistent with theories of curiosity, we found that expecting feedback increased gambling propensity. At the neural level, at option presentation the increased value of gambling during feedback was reflected in activity in the ventral striatum. This suggests that, together with its established role in signalling reward, the ventral striatum also processes a form of epistemic value. Our study demonstrates that gambling becomes more attractive when feedback is expected and suggests that striatal activity could signal the value of feedback information.

"I Want to Know More!": Children Are Sensitive to Explanation Quality When Exploring New Information.

When someone encounters an explanation perceived as weak, this may lead to a feeling of deprivation or tension that can be resolved by engaging in additional learning. This study examined to what extent children respond to weak explanations by seeking additional learning opportunities. Seven- to ten-year-olds (N=81) explored questions and explanations (circular or mechanistic) about 12 animals using a novel Android tablet application. After rating the quality of an initial explanation, children could request and receive additional information or return to the main menu to choose a new animal to explore. Consistent with past research, there were both developmental and IQ-related differences in how children evaluated explanation quality. But across development, children were more likely to request additional information in response to circular explanations than mechanistic explanations. Importantly, children were also more likely to request additional information in direct response to explanations that they themselves had assigned low ratings, regardless of explanation type. In addition, there was significant variability in both children's explanation evaluation and their exploration, suggesting important directions for future research. The findings support the deprivation theory of curiosity and offer implications for education.

Development and validation of a questionnaire to measure primary school children\u2019s images of and attitudes towards curiosity (the CIAC questionnaire)

This paper presents a validation study of a questionnaire to measure primary children’s images of and attitudes towards curiosity (the CIAC questionnaire). Policy documents and scientific studies on twenty-first century learning increasingly promote the value of stimulating children’s curiosity in primary school. However, no well-established measurement instruments yet exist to assess children’s curiosity within educational settings. To fill this void, we focused on the measurement of children’s perceptions of curiosity, as important precursors to children’s potential curiosity-driven behavior. Based on attitude and curiosity theory, we developed seven components of children’s images of and attitudes towards curiosity. We translated these components into corresponding measurement scales, which comprise the CIAC. Results of a validation study among 737 children (ages 8–13), using factor analyses, largely confirmed the factor structures of the image and attitude scales and indicated good convergent and discriminant validity. In addition, we provide evidence for the predictive power of children’s images and attitudes on their motivation to be curious.

Neural mechanisms underlying the induction and relief of perceptual curiosity.

Curiosity is one of the most basic biological drives in both animals and humans, and has been identified as a key motive for learning and discovery. Despite the importance of curiosity and related behaviors, the topic has been largely neglected in human neuroscience; hence little is known about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying curiosity. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate what happens in our brain during the induction and subsequent relief of perceptual curiosity. Our core findings were that (1) the induction of perceptual curiosity, through the presentation of ambiguous visual input, activated the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), brain regions sensitive to conflict and arousal; (2) the relief of perceptual curiosity, through visual disambiguation, activated regions of the striatum that have been related to reward processing; and (3) the relief of perceptual curiosity was associated with hippocampal activation and enhanced incidental memory. These findings provide the first demonstration of the neural basis of human perceptual curiosity. Our results provide neurobiological support for a classic psychological theory of curiosity, which holds that curiosity is an aversive condition of increased arousal whose termination is rewarding and facilitates memory.

The Role of Sport Fan Curiosity: A New Conceptual Approach to the Understanding of Sport Fan Behavior

Most literature on sport fan behaviors has focused on highly identified or loyal sport fans. While the literature has found that factors influencing current sport fans and their behaviors are related to, and based on, various psychological, social, and cultural factors, only a limited number of studies have investigated what factors initially attract individuals to consume sport. Curiosity has been found to be one of the crucial motivators that initially influence human exploratory behaviors in many domains. Using theories of curiosity, the present review aims to shed light on the role of curiosity in explaining various sport fan behaviors.

Curiosity and the pleasures of learning: Wanting and liking new information

This paper proposes a new theoretical model of curiosity that incorporates the neuroscience of “wanting” and “liking”, which are two systems hypothesised to underlie motivation and affective experience for a broad class of appetites. In developing the new model, the paper discusses empirical and theoretical limitations inherent to drive and optimal arousal theories of curiosity, and evaluates these models in relation to Litman and Jimerson's (2004) recently developed interest-deprivation (I/D) theory of curiosity. A detailed discussion of the I/D model and its relationship to the neuroscience of wanting and liking is provided, and an integrative I/D/wanting-liking model is proposed, with the aim of clarifying the complex nature of curiosity as an emotional-motivational state, and to shed light on the different ways in which acquiring knowledge can be pleasurable.