Curious
Feeling curious means wanting to know more about something or someone. It's the pull of an open question: how a thing works, why a friend went quiet, what's at the end of the trail.
- On the wheel: Happy, then in awe, then curious
- Nearby: Amazed, inspired
- Opposite: Uninterested
- Often points to: A gap between what you know and what you want to know
One more tab
Curiosity is a lean forward. You open one more tab, ask one more question, turn the rock over, and sometimes look up to find an hour gone.
"I saw a heron standing totally still in the creek and wondered how long it could wait. Forty minutes later I was reading about bird metabolism."
The gap you want to close
The economist and psychologist George Loewenstein proposed the information gap theory: curiosity starts when your attention lands on a gap between what you know and what you want to know.1 The gap feels like a small lack, and you want it gone.1
A good cliffhanger works this way. It shows you just enough to make the gap visible.
Light curiosity and itchy curiosity
Todd Kashdan and colleagues measured curiosity as five separate things.2
| Kind | What it's like |
|---|---|
| Joyous exploration | Enjoying new ideas and experiences for their own sake |
| Deprivation sensitivity | An itch to solve a problem, which can feel tense until it's solved |
| Stress tolerance | Being willing to face the unease of not knowing |
| Social curiosity | Wanting to know what other people think and do |
| Thrill seeking | Taking risks for new and intense experiences |
They don't feel alike. Joyous exploration is light, while deprivation sensitivity is closer to restlessness, the way an unanswered question keeps tapping at you all afternoon until you finally look it up.
The face nobody asked about
People in a brain imaging study rated how curious they were about trivia questions before seeing each answer, and they remembered the answers better when they'd been more curious, both right away and a day later.3
The surprise was a face.
While people waited for each answer, an unrelated face appeared on screen. Faces shown during high curiosity were remembered better too.3 Curiosity seemed to put the brain in a state that helped it learn whatever came next.
Curious, nosy or anxious?
- Curious: "I want to understand this." Open, and fine with the answer either way.
- Nosy: "I want to know their business." Curiosity aimed where it isn't invited.
- Anxious: "I need to know, or something bad will happen." Checking driven by worry. See anxious.
Following the question
- Write the question down. One line, as a real question: "Why do I always feel tired on Sundays?"
- Notice which kind it is. Light and fun, or itchy and tense? The itchy kind may need a time limit.
- Open a study session with a question you care about. In the trivia study, curiosity helped people remember unrelated things seen at the same time.3
- Ask a person. Social curiosity counts. Ask someone a question you've wondered about and listen to the whole answer.
What question has been on your mind lately? Write it as one sentence, then write what you'd do first to find out.
Answer this with JoyQuestions people ask about curiosity
What is curiosity in a person?
As a trait, it's a tendency to seek out new information and experiences, which researchers measure as several parts, from enjoying new ideas to wanting to know about other people.2 It overlaps with the personality trait called openness.
Is it curiosity or curious?
Curiosity is the noun: "Her curiosity got the better of her." Curious is the adjective: "I'm curious about it."
Can curiosity be bad?
It can feel bad when it turns into a nagging need to know, which Kashdan's scale calls deprivation sensitivity.2 Curiosity about someone's private life can also cost you their trust.