Curiosity as end and means

Urges now, interests later: On the factors and dynamics of epistemic curiosity

More information today is becoming more accessible to more people at an ever-growing rate. How does epistemic curiosity operate in this expanding informational landscape? We test a novel theory which postulates that experienced curiosity is a function of two psychological factors: Interest, which is cognitive, "cool" and relatively stable in time, and Urge that is "hot" and quick to rise and decay. These factors determine one's experienced curiosity at any given point in time. Interestingly, these temporal dynamics may lead to time-dependent changes in epistemic choices. In a series of forced-choice experiments (n = 702), participants chose between receiving answers to either high-Urge or high-Interest questions. Consistent with predictions derived from our theory, we found a present-bias in preference for Urge. Our theory explains why, in stark contrast to individual interest and with the potential to derail public discourse, a competition for our attention inherently incentivizes the use of inciting and sensational information. We present and test a theory-based behavioral nudge that partially ameliorates these effects. STATEMENT OF RELEVANCE: Understanding the fundamentals of epistemic choices has important individual, societal, and economic implications. We develop and test a two-factor model, which captures cognitive and motivational determinants of curiosity. The model accounts for a modern-day paradox: how we chronically defer the consumption of information we find interesting (e.g., works of art and science), by succumbing to epistemic urges (e.g., finding the whereabouts of celebrities). From a societal perspective, an abundance of information in an environment that monetizes attention motivates the engineering of information for immediate engagement. We provide a novel psychological framework to describe the information attraction governing our daily lives. We also show how our theory may be used to allow people to consume more of the information they actually want, rather than the information they are tempted to consume.

Systematic Curiosity as an Integrative Tool for Human Flourishing: A Conceptual Review and Framework

This paper reviews seventy years of theoretical research and proposes systematic curiosity as an integrative tool for human flourishing with a focus on four key aspects: firstly, acknowledge curiosity's multidimensional nature instead of harmonizing its complex taxonomy; secondly, emphasizing intentional curiosity as opposed to impulsive curiosity; thirdly, prioritizing domain-general curiosity for broader applicability across educational, organizational, and therapeutic settings; and lastly, focusing on curiosity as a developable skill rather than an innate trait. By segmenting systematic curiosity into cognitive, emotional, and behavioral components, and relating these to interactions with the self, others, and the world, the framework aims to apply across the spectrum of human experience. Furthermore, the framework encourages an exploration of various evidence-based activities for flourishing so individuals can discover the most suitable strategies for their specific context. Implications for both theory and practice are examined, limitations are discussed, and avenues for future research are suggested.

Curiosity and the dynamics of optimal exploration

What drives our curiosity remains an elusive and hotly debated issue, with multiple hypotheses proposed but a cohesive account yet to be established. This review discusses traditional and emergent theories that frame curiosity as a desire to know and a drive to learn, respectively. We adopt a model-based approach that maps the temporal dynamics of various factors underlying curiosity-based exploration, such as uncertainty, information gain, and learning progress. In so doing, we identify the limitations of past theories and posit an integrated account that harnesses their strengths in describing curiosity as a tool for optimal environmental exploration. In our unified account, curiosity serves as a 'common currency' for exploration, which must be balanced with other drives such as safety and hunger to achieve efficient action.

Motivations for Cannabis Use in Individuals with Social Anxiety Disorder (SAD)

Social anxiety disorder (SAD) is a debilitating psychiatric condition. Consequently, it is common for those affected to resort to cannabis to cope with their symptoms. The primary objective of this study was to understand the differences between motivations for cannabis use in adults with and without SAD. We employed convergent, mixed methods to collect the data. Twenty-six individuals (age: 27.9 ± 7.3 years; 54% female) with and twenty-six (age: 27.4 ± 6.7 years; 50% female) without SAD were administered Marijuana Motives Measure (MMM). Motivations to initiate, continue, and maintain cannabis use were assessed in 12/26 participants in both groups using in-depth interviews. Cannabis weekly consumption was 3.8-fold and frequency 1.3-fold higher in the SAD group. Coping (F = 10.02; p <0.001; η2 = 0.46) and social (F = 2.81; p = 0.036; η2 = 0.19) motivations were also higher in the SAD group, after controlling for age, sex, and current CUD. The need to cope with symptoms of SAD may have been the driving force for repeated cannabis consumption. Psychoeducational programs educating children about the risk of using cannabis to cope with SAD should be implemented in vocational settings early on.

The Pleasurable Urge to Move to Music Through the Lens of Learning Progress

Interacting with music is a uniquely pleasurable activity that is ubiquitous across human cultures. Current theories suggest that a prominent driver of musical pleasure responses is the violation and confirmation of temporal predictions. For example, the pleasurable urge to move to music (PLUMM), which is associated with the broader concept of groove, is higher for moderately complex rhythms compared to simple and complex rhythms. This inverted U-shaped relation between PLUMM and rhythmic complexity is thought to result from a balance between predictability and uncertainty. That is, moderately complex rhythms lead to strongly weighted prediction errors which elicit an urge to move to reinforce the predictive model (i.e., the meter). However, the details of these processes and how they bring about positive affective responses are currently underspecified. We propose that the intrinsic motivation for learning progress drives PLUMM and informs the music humans choose to listen to, dance to, and create. Here, learning progress reflects the rate of prediction error minimization over time. Accordingly, reducible prediction errors signal the potential for learning progress, producing a pleasurable, curious state characterized by the mobilization of attentional and memory resources. We discuss this hypothesis in the context of current psychological and neuroscientific research on musical pleasure and PLUMM. We propose a theoretical neuroscientific model focusing on the roles of dopamine and norepinephrine within a feedback loop linking prediction-based learning, curiosity, and memory. This perspective provides testable predictions that will motivate future research to further illuminate the fundamental relation between predictions, movement, and reward.

An energizing role for motivation in information-seeking during the early phase of the COVID-19 pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of understanding and managing information seeking behavior. Information-seeking in humans is often viewed as irrational rather than utility maximizing. Here, we hypothesized that this apparent disconnect between utility and information-seeking is due to a latent third variable, motivation. We quantified information-seeking, learning, and COVID-19-related concern (which we used as a proxy for motivation regarding COVID-19 and the changes in circumstance it caused) in a US-based sample (n = 5376) during spring 2020. We found that self-reported levels of COVID-19 concern were associated with directed seeking of COVID-19-related content and better memory for such information. Interestingly, this specific motivational state was also associated with a general enhancement of information-seeking for content unrelated to COVID-19. These effects were associated with commensurate changes to utility expectations and were dissociable from the influence of non-specific anxiety. Thus, motivation both directs and energizes epistemic behavior, linking together utility and curiosity.

Information-seeking behavior in humans is often viewed as irrational rather than utility maximizing. Here the authors describe data obtained in Spring 2020 showing that participants’ concern about COVID-19 was related not only to their drive to seek information about the virus, but also to their curiosity about other more general topics.

A computational theory of the subjective experience of flow

Flow is a subjective state characterized by immersion and engagement in one's current activity. The benefits of flow for productivity and health are well-documented, but a rigorous description of the flow-generating process remains elusive. Here we develop and empirically test a theory of flow's computational substrates: the informational theory of flow. Our theory draws on the concept of mutual information, a fundamental quantity in information theory that quantifies the strength of association between two variables. We propose that the mutual information between desired end states and means of attaining them - [Formula: see text] - gives rise to flow. We support our theory across five experiments (four preregistered) by showing, across multiple activities, that increasing [Formula: see text] increases flow and has important downstream benefits, including enhanced attention and enjoyment. We rule out alternative constructs including alternative metrics of associative strength, psychological constructs previously shown to predict flow, and various forms of instrumental value.

The Structure of Intrinsic Motivation

Intrinsic motivation (IM) is key for persistence at work. When they are intrinsically motivated, people experience work activities as an end in itself, such that the activity and its goal collide. The result is increased interest and enjoyment of work activities. In this article, we review the current state of knowledge on IM, including studies within organizational, cognitive, and social psychology. We distinguish our structural perspective, which defines IM as the overlap between means and ends (e.g., the means-ends fusion model), from content-based approaches to study IM. We specifically discuss three questions: ( a) What is IM and why does it matter, ( b) how can individuals and organizations increase IM, and ( c) what biases and misconceptions do employees and managers hold about IM?

The Role of Uncertainty in Models of Epistemic Curiosity

<p>The psychological research strategies of studying epistemic curiosity traditionally consider four factors of motivation to search for new information: the degree of familiarity with the subject, the expected value of information, the cultural framework of tolerance to new information and the features of the material resources of the epistemic situation. A comparison of these models shows that regardless of where the study of curiosity begins &mdash; in behavior, in mental processes, in personal characteristics or in interaction with the environment &mdash; the place of uncertainty in the conceptual system remains the same. Uncertainty is one of the key characteristics of modern culture, which raises the question of the degree of influence of its experiences on cognitive processes. The purpose of the article is to review foreign studies on the connection of epistemic curiosity with the experience of uncertainty. The article contains the analysis of the four main models of epistemic curiosity and the suggestion of the new (unifying) model, according to which curiosity is a tool for "managing uncertainty" in order to adapt in the most effective way to a complex, unpredictable environment.</p>