Curiosity
[4] The term curiosity can also denote the behavior, characteristic, or emotion of being curious, in regard to the desire to gain knowledge or information.
Curiosity as a behavior and emotion is the driving force behind human development, such as progress in science, language, and industry.
Like other desires and need-states that take on an appetitive quality (e.g. food/hunger), curiosity is linked with exploratory behavior and experiences of reward.
Discovering new information may also be rewarding because it can help reduce undesirable states of uncertainty rather than stimulating interest.
Theories have arisen in attempts to further understand this need to rectify states of uncertainty and the desire to participate in pleasurable experiences of exploratory behaviors.
This theory suggests that curiosity is developed out of the desire to make sense of unfamiliar aspects of one's environment through exploratory behaviors.
[16] Each of these derived theories state that whether the need is primary or secondary, curiosity develops from experiences that create a sensation of uncertainty or perceived unpleasantness.
By exhibiting curious and exploratory behavior, one is able to gain knowledge of the unfamiliar and thus reduce the state of uncertainty or unpleasantness.
A human toddler, if bored in his current situation devoid of arousing stimuli, will walk about until he finds something interesting.
Optimal-arousal theory developed out of the need to explain this desire to seek out opportunities to engage in exploratory behaviors without the presence of uncertain or ambiguous situations.
Research suggests that desiring new information involves mesolimbic pathways of the brain that account for[clarification needed] dopamine activation.
However, some studies have provided insight into the neurological mechanisms that make up what is known as the reward pathway[22] which may influence characteristics associated with curiosity, such as learning, memory, and motivation.
The following are descriptions of characteristics of curiosity and their links to neurological aspects that are essential in creating exploratory behaviors: The drive to learn new information or perform some action may be prompted by the anticipation of reward.
In this pathway many neurotransmitters play a role in the activation of the reward sensation, including dopamine, serotonin, and opioids.
[20] The nucleus accumbens is a formation of neurons that is important in reward pathway activation—such as the release of dopamine in investigating response to novel or exciting stimuli.
The fast dopamine release observed during childhood and adolescence is important in development, as curiosity and exploratory behavior are the largest facilitators of learning during early years.
These processes of both wanting and liking play a role in activating the reward system of the brain, and perhaps in the stimulation of curious or information-seeking tendencies as well.
Research suggests that the caudate nucleus anticipates the possibility of and reward of exploratory behavior and gathered information, thus contributing to factors of curiosity.
[3][30][31] The parahippocampal gyrus (PHG), an area of grey matter surrounding the hippocampus, has been implicated in the amplification of curiosity.
[32] Jean Piaget argued that babies and children constantly try to make sense of their reality and that this contributes to their intellectual development.
Piaget was the first to closely document children's actions and interpret them as consistent, calculated efforts to test and learn about their environment.
Curiosity has been recognised as an important intellectual (or "epistemic") virtue, due to the role that it plays in motivating people to acquire knowledge and understanding.
[35] It has also been considered an important moral virtue, as curiosity can help humans find meaning in their lives and to cultivate a sense of care about others and things in the world.
From the first ball they send flying to the ant they watch carry a crumb, children use science's tools—enthusiasm, hypotheses, tests, conclusions—to uncover the world's mysteries.
[39] It typically is described as having an addictive quality, associated with a need to understand or make sense of topics that surround harm, violence, or death.
This can be attributed to one's need to relate unusual and often difficult circumstances to a primary emotion or experience of one's own, described as meta-emotions.
"[41] Interest in human curiosity about difficult circumstances dates back to Aristotle in his Poetics, in which he noted, "We enjoy and admire paintings of objects that in themselves would annoy or disgust us.
Trait curiosity describes people who are interested in learning, for example by trying out a new sport or food, or traveling to an unfamiliar place.
In artificial intelligence, curiosity is typically defined quantitatively, as the uncertainty the agent has in predicting its own actions given its current state.
[45] In 2019, a study trained AI agents to play video games, but they were rewarded only for curiosity[clarification needed].
