Curiosity

Curiosity (from Latin , from cūriōsus "careful, diligent, curious", akin to cura "care") is a quality related to inquisitive thinking such as exploration, investigation, and learning, evident by observation in humans and other animals. Curiosity is heavily associated with all aspects of human development, in which derives the process of learning and desire to acquire knowledge and skill.

The term curiosity can also be used to denote the behavior or emotion of being curious, in regard to the desire to gain knowledge or information. Curiosity as a behavior and emotion is attributed over millennia as the driving force behind not only human development, but developments in science, language, and industry.

Curiosity can be seen as an innate quality of many different species. It is common to human beings at all ages from infancy through adulthood, and is easy to observe in many other animal species; these include apes, cats, and rodents. Early definitions cite curiosity as a motivated desire for information. This motivational desire has been said to stem from a passion or an appetite for knowledge, information, and understanding.

These traditional ideas of curiosity have recently expanded to look at the difference between curiosity as the innate exploratory behavior that is present in all animals and curiosity as the desire for knowledge that is specifically attributed to humans.

Like other desires and need states that take on an appetitive quality (e.g. food), curiosity is linked with exploratory behavior and experiences of reward. Curiosity can be described as positive emotions and acquiring knowledge; when one’s curiosity has been aroused it is considered inherently rewarding and pleasurable. 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.

Curiosity-drive theory relates to the undesirable experiences of "uncertainty". The reduction of these unpleasant feelings, in turn, is rewarding. This theory suggests that people desire coherence and understanding in their thought processes. When this coherence is disrupted by something that is unfamiliar, uncertain, or ambiguous, it is curiosity-drive theory that attempts to gather information and knowledge of the unfamiliar to restore coherent thought processes once again. Through this theory, general concept dictates that curiosity is developed strictly out of the desire to make sense of unfamiliar aspects of one’s environment through interaction of exploratory behaviors. Once understanding of unfamiliar has been achieved and coherence has been restored, these behaviors and desires will subside.

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Wikipedia