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Curiosity and pathways to well-being and meaning in life: Traits, states, and everyday behaviors
Abstract
This study examined curiosity as a mechanism for achieving and maintaining high levels of well-being and meaning in life.
Of primary interest was whether people high in trait curiosity derive greater well-being on days when they are more curious.
We also tested whether trait and daily curiosity led to greater, sustainable well-being. Predictions were tested using trait
measures and 21 daily diary reports from 97 college students. We found that on days when they are more curious, people high
in trait curiosity reported more frequent growth-oriented behaviors, and greater presence of meaning, search for meaning,
and life satisfaction. Greater trait curiosity and greater curiosity on a given day also predicted greater persistence of
meaning in life from one day into the next. People with greater trait curiosity reported more frequent hedonistic events but
they were associated with less pleasure compared to the experiences of people with less trait curiosity. The benefits of hedonistic
events did not last beyond the day of their occurrence. As evidence of construct specificity, curiosity effects were not attributable
to Big Five personality traits or daily positive or negative mood. Our results provide support for curiosity as an ingredient
in the development of well-being and meaning in life. The pattern of findings casts doubt on some distinctions drawn between
eudaimonia and hedonic well-being traditions.
... Curiosity is a basic driver of exploration and is therefore a crucial factor in a variety of human activities from amusement to scientific creativity (Nishikawa & Amemiya, 2018). When people are more curious, even on an incremental, daily level, they report more frequent growth-oriented behaviors, greater presence of meaning, search for meaning, and life satisfaction (Kashdan & Steger, 2007). We propose that curiosity's motivational nature shows promise for facilitating transformation in two key ways: curiosity may not only facilitate the initiation of transformation, but also can positively influence transformation's long-term pursuit. ...
... Third, curiosity's link to various consumer well-being measures is well-documented; high levels of curiosity are related to heightened life satisfaction, life purpose, hope, happiness, and general positive affect (Gallagher & Lopez, 2007;Jovanovic & Brdaric, 2012;Kashdan & Steger, 2007). Indeed, researchers have identified curiosity as "one of the five most influential human qualities associated with life fulfillment and happiness" (Peterson & Seligman, 2004). ...
... This thirst for knowing, for answering questions, and for solving problems is associated not only with exploratory behavior, but also with overall well-being. In particular, curiosity's association with persistence in the face of obstacles Kashdan & Steger, 2007) may promote perseverance on transformative journeys when barriers arise. ...
This paper explores the role of curiosity in transformative consumer journeys through a Transformative Consumer Research (TCR) lens. We introduce curiosity as a powerful and overlooked motivational force that can ignite and sustain consumer transformation, especially when individuals face personal, organizational, and systemic barriers. Curiosity is associated with the pursuit of new knowledge and information as well as persistence in the face of challenges. We believe curiosity can be leveraged to facilitate both the initiation and long-term pursuit of transformative consumer journeys. The transformative impact of curiosity is examined at micro-, meso-, and macro-levels, encompassing individual, social, and marketplace transformation. Through a detailed review of relevant literature and the introduction of the Curiosity-Centered Transformation Framework, our research highlights how curiosity can help consumers overcome barriers to transformation and foster well-being. The paper also discusses potential avenues for future research, emphasizing the need to investigate the integration of curiosity with other cognitive processes and the boundary conditions under which curiosity might hinder, rather than help, transformation. Ultimately, this research advocates for curiosity as an important, yet underutilized, tool in promoting consumer well-being and transformative experiences.
... Rejecting alternatives may not only affect perceptions of devotion but also have broader social implications. On the one hand, compared to agents who accept alternatives, agents who reject alternatives might appear less openminded or less curious -traits linked to low well-being and morality (Baumgarten, 2001;Gallagher & Lopez, 2007;Kashdan & Steger, 2007). However, this could come with a trade-off. ...
... Interestingly, our findings suggest that being open-minded and accepting alternatives can backfire when observers expect devotion from others. This finding is surprising because having curiosity or open-mindedness is traditionally considered an important epistemic and moral virtue that aids wellbeing (Baumgarten, 2001;Gallagher & Lopez, 2007;Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Ross, 2020). At the same time, although rejecting alternatives makes agents seem less open-minded, they are more likely to be trusted because of greater perceived devotion. ...
Devotion is associated with showing commitment to what individuals choose. But is perceived devotion influenced by how individuals react to what they did not choose? Two experiments (N = 1,000) indicate that rejecting alternatives is a key behavioral cue for assessing devotion. Study 1 documents the basic effect: individuals who reject alternatives were seen as more devoted than individuals who accept or are ambiguous toward alternatives. The result remained regardless of whether individuals self-identified with being devoted and exerted effort toward their target of devotion. Rejecting alternatives predicted greater likelihood of being trusted and viewed as living a good life, mediated by perceived devotion. Study 2 examined whether people distinguish between different types of devotees who reject alternatives, in terms of the process (mindful vs. mindless) and nature (neutral vs. harmful to the self) of their choices. Individuals who engaged in harmful devotion were less likely to be perceived as devoted, trusted, or living a good life than individuals who did not. Individuals who mindlessly rejected alternatives were also evaluated more negatively than individuals who mindfully rejected alternatives. Altogether, these findings not only illuminate how rejecting alternatives inform our understanding of devotion but also reveal its broader impact on social evaluations.
... A positive correlation between curiosity and physical activity has been documented at the individual level, specifically, when participants reported higher than usual levels of curiosity [13]. Despite a lack of studies directly examining the relationship between curiosity and leisure activities, curiosity is considered to promote engagement with novel and challenging situations, thereby enhancing well-being [30]. This relationship between curiosity and leisure activities could be bidirectional. ...
... Objective evaluation of both sleep quantity and quality would likely allow for a more detailed analysis of the relationship with sleep. The current study discovered that engaging in leisure activities such as exercise and hobbies is associated with curiosity (DC and CE), which aligns with previous research [13,30]. ...
Social connections are essential for human health. While curiosity and empathy are crucial psychological factors for a fulfilling life connected with others, it is unclear if acquired environmental factors influence them. In this cross-sectional observational study, 1,311 men and women aged 20–79 years living in Japan were observed to explore how lifestyle factors such as diet, sleep, and leisure activities (such as exercise and hobbies) impact curiosity and empathy. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis revealed that diet and leisure activities impacted curiosity, whereas hobbies influenced cognitive empathy but not affective empathy. Structural equation modeling indicated that men’s curiosity was influenced by diet, leisure activities, and work, whereas women’s curiosity was influenced by leisure activities and work. These findings suggest that diet and leisure activities can enhance curiosity and cognitive empathy, leading to improved well-being.
... Moreover, across all models, trait curiosity was a significant positive predictor of self-reported state curiosity, beyond other (state-level) variables, and consistently improved model fit. In general, these findings were in line with our hypotheses, underline the importance of trait curiosity for predicting different types of state curiosity, and support the idea that people with higher trait-level curiosity should experience state curiosity more often (Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Litman, 2005). ...
... Higher levels of trait curiosity are associated with a greater appreciation for cognitive effort (Cacioppo & Petty, 1982;Mussel, 2013). As a result, situations perceived as complex or ambiguous may be approached rather than avoided (Kashdan & Steger, 2007), leading more curious participants to report a desire to see the answers they are uncertain about. Across two studies where participants had to rate their curiosity about poems or pictures, Silvia (2008) found that the effect of trait curiosity on momentary curiosity was fully mediated by participants' appraisals of whether they were able to comprehend the object. ...
To expand their knowledge and satisfy their intellectual curiosity, people need to engage in self-directed information seeking. However, curiosity research often relies on experimental tasks that explicitly prompt information seeking instead of capturing participants’ self-initiated exploratory behaviors. The present study aimed to combine aspects of experimental curiosity research with more naturalistic exploration methods by introducing a novel experimental set-up that captured self-directed information seeking as a more naturalistic behavioral measure of curiosity. In a preregistered online study (N = 799), participants freely explored a hypertext on a historical topic while their self-directed information seeking (i.e., clicks on hyperlinks and reading time) was captured with log files. Participants then completed a knowledge test in which they also reported their confidence in their answers and their curiosity about learning the correct answers, similar to commonly used curiosity tasks. Additionally, participants’ trait curiosity was measured with a questionnaire before they read the hypertext. Using mixed-effects regression models, we found that simply choosing to seek additional information (click on a hyperlink) did not predict subsequent curiosity ratings, whereas the extent of engagement in information seeking (reading time) did. Moreover, trait curiosity moderated the relationship between confidence and state curiosity, with highly trait curious individuals maintaining higher state curiosity under low confidence, unlike those with low trait curiosity. This study presents a promising way to assess self-directed information-seeking behavior as a manifestation of curiosity and provides a comprehensive perspective on the dynamic ways in which curiosity is sparked and satisfied.
... Trait-based theories describe curiosity as a stable characteristic of having a general propensity to be driven by the desire to resolve uncertainty 12 . This definition differs from state-based curiosity: the in-the-moment experience of wanting to know something in relation to a knowledge gap or specific uncertainty 12 . ...
... Trait-based theories describe curiosity as a stable characteristic of having a general propensity to be driven by the desire to resolve uncertainty 12 . This definition differs from state-based curiosity: the in-the-moment experience of wanting to know something in relation to a knowledge gap or specific uncertainty 12 . Higher state curiosity in children is indicated by a higher intensity or duration of curiosity experienced 1 , whereas higher trait curiosity could be a higher frequency of seeking information or a higher preference for uncertainty to explore 1 . ...
... Specifically, the box plots show larger distributions and higher mean scores on various IEC and DEC scale items following the experiment-centric training module. This is consistent with previous studies demonstrating that active learning approaches that involve students in inquiry and discovery can spark interest [23], [24]. ...
... More open-ended issues, exploration tasks, and student ownership of experimental processes may increase curiosity and learning [23], [25]. Individual differences in prior knowledge and curiosity are also worth investigating [24]. Tailoring instruction to meet the requirements of students may help them grow their curiosity. ...
... Daily levels of curiosity have a significant impact on happiness and personal growth (Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Lydon-Staley et al., 2020;Reio & Sanders-Reio, 2020). Extensive research indicates that individuals with high curiosity exhibit more growth-oriented behaviors, derive a greater sense of meaning from life, and generally report higher levels of life satisfaction (Jovanovic & Brdaric, 2012;Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Peterson et al., 2007;Whitecross et al., 2023). ...
... Daily levels of curiosity have a significant impact on happiness and personal growth (Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Lydon-Staley et al., 2020;Reio & Sanders-Reio, 2020). Extensive research indicates that individuals with high curiosity exhibit more growth-oriented behaviors, derive a greater sense of meaning from life, and generally report higher levels of life satisfaction (Jovanovic & Brdaric, 2012;Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Peterson et al., 2007;Whitecross et al., 2023). They exhibit fewer symptoms of anxiety, depression, and burnout (Denneson et al., 2017;Garrosa et al., 2017;Kashdan et al., 2011). ...
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.
Supplementary Information
The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s12124-024-09856-6.
... Daily reports of purpose in life were positively related to daily states of inspiration in a daily diary study that included two reports per day (Thrash et al., 2010). In a similar vein, curiosity often requires attentional focus on others, and daily states of curiosity have been positively associated with daily states of meaning in life (Kashdan & Steger, 2007). In sum, a range of different feelings and states that orient oneself to something outside of themselves may help provide people with a sense of meaning and purpose in daily life. ...
... To assess momentary or daily states of one or both of these dimensions, some researchers have adjusted the instructions of the MLQ to ask participants to rate the items according to the desired level of analysis ("right now"; e.g., Heintzelman & King, 2019). Many diary (e.g., Dakin et al., 2022;Morse et al., 2021; and some EMA (e.g., Mohideen & Heintzelman, 2023) studies have employed items created by Kashdan and Steger (2007) and Kashdan and Nezlek (2012) to assess presence (sample daily item: "How meaningful did you feel your life was today?") and search (sample daily item; "How much were you searching for meaning in your life today?"). ...
Much of the research on meaning in life has relied on global evaluations or trait reports in which people consider their life as a whole. While informative, these types of reports fail to capture how one's sense of meaning and purpose in life may change from one time to the next. In fact, Viktor Frankl argued that the meaning of one's life can change from day to day or even from hour to hour. In recent years, psychologists have considered this insight by measuring daily or momentary states of meaning in life through the use of daily diary and Ecological Momentary Assessment methods. These studies have been particularly informative because they have revealed how judgments about meaning in life vary as a function of daily situations. In this review, we describe ways in which the measurement of meaning and purpose in daily life has yielded novel insights about this important phenomenon. More specifically, we discuss how within-person processes represent distinct psychological processes from between-person relationships. We present evidence about how daily and momentary assessments of meaning in life rely on unique types of inputs. Finally, we discuss ongoing challenges in the measurement of meaning in daily life and point to fruitful avenues for future research.
... Work-related curiosity encompasses four dimensions as outlined in the research conducted by Kashdan and Steger (2007). The first dimension is characterized by joyous exploration, which refers to the experience of happiness while seeking new solutions, ideas, and experiences. ...
... The empirical investigation into the influence of curiosity on various personal outcomes such as well-being (Kashdan and Steger 2007) has been a subject of interest in personality research. However, the significance of curiosity in organizational se ings has only recently gained recognition (Kashdan et al. 2020). ...
Background: The present research relied on the affective events theory to develop a framework explaining how daily micro-events trigger affective reactions that, in turn, influence quality-of-life indicators (i.e., psychological well-being and COVID-19 stress). We further delineated theoretical arguments for curiosity as a boundary condition that moderated this relation and proposed the dark triad (Machiavellianism, narcissism, and psychopathy) as a threatening factor. Methods: We conducted two studies to test the model. Study one analyzed the moderated mediation model regarding COVID-19 stress (n = 241), and study two (n = 653) analyzed the model regarding psychological well-being as the outcome. Results: Study one demonstrated that daily hassles increased COVID-19 stress via a negative effect, but this was not contingent on the levels of curiosity and the dark triad traits. However, the mediating path of positive affect between daily uplifts and COVID-19 stress was conditional upon the levels of curiosity and the dark triad traits (Machiavellianism and psychopathy), such that when individuals scored high on curiosity and dark traits, the indirect effect became stronger. The results showed that narcissism did not moderate the moderated mediation relationship. Study two showed that daily uplifts boosted psychological well-being through positive affect, and this relation was dependent on curiosity and on the three dark traits, such that it became weaker as curiosity decreased and the dark triad traits increased. We also found that daily hassles, by triggering negative affect, decreased psychological well-being, in particular for those who scored lower on curiosity and higher on psychopathy and narcissism (but not for Machiavellianism). Conclusions: Overall, COVID-19 stress seems to be more responsive to daily hassles than to daily uplifts. Nevertheless, when daily uplifts are factored in, they foster a sense of well-being that helps reduce COVID-19-related stress, especially in individuals who are naturally curious and exhibit high levels of Machiavellian and psychopathic traits. Conversely, psychological well-being appears to be more influenced by situational factors, as it is affected by both types of daily micro-events. We discuss the implications of both studies in light of the affective events theory.
... Given the profile of curiosity described by Kashdan et al. (2004), Kashdan and Steger (2007), and Kashdan et al. (2009), it is reasonable to expect that its features are at play when individuals develop an interest in magic. Curiosity is associated with the search for new experiences and a high tolerance for uncertainty. ...
Magic is unique among the performing arts. Here, we considered whether certain personality traits differentiate champion magicians from the general population. We explored the relationship between Big Five personality traits and curiosity and exploration in a group of world champion magicians (n = 50), using the International Personality Item Pool-Big Five Markers-50 and the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II. The results showed that variability in intellect/imagination predicted stretching and embracing (as factors of curiosity and exploration). These personality variables were also compared with a control group of nonperformers. The study showed that champion magicians are characterized by higher extraversion, emotional stability, intellect/imagination, stretching, and embracing but lower agreeableness and conscientiousness than the control participants.
... appraisal, e.g., pandemic interest and information stress related to information avoidance and unrealistic optimism, can play an important role in the anxiety-preventive behaviors relation. Other studies also indicate that people higher in trait curiosity generally tend to show more growth-oriented behaviors and have a greater sense of meaning in life (51). However, an opposite relation is also likely, with higher focus and performance of preventive behaviors resulting in an increase in anxiety and a higher level of healthpromoting behaviors supporting state curiosity. ...
Objective
Student age and starting higher education require adaptation to a new physical and psychosocial environment, making the time of studies a highly sensitive period. Current and future generations of students are also likely to face additional global stressors, which potentially exacerbate their mental wellbeing. The aim of the study was to investigate how higher education students' appraisal of the COVID-19 pandemic situation and of their personal resources predict mental wellbeing (anxiety and curiosity).
Methods
The study used cross-sectional data collected from 3,727 higher education students in an online survey conducted during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Results
After controlling for a number of pandemic-related factors, all considered aspects of the pandemic situation appraisal and resources appraisal were significant predictors of anxiety and/or curiosity. The most important predictors of anxiety were sense of control, information stress, pandemic interest, and self-efficacy, and the most important predictors of curiosity were self-efficacy, health promoting behaviors, and sense of control. Tested models explained 61% of variance of anxiety and 36% of variance of curiosity.
Conclusion
Appraisal of own personal resources seems critical for both indicators of mental wellbeing. These results may significantly contribute to sufficient planning of mental-wellbeing oriented interventions for young adults in Higher Education.
... Specific curiosity refers to the desire for a particular piece of information, as epitomized by the attempt to solve a puzzle. Trait curiosity is related to aspects of personality that are highly heritable and less influenced by context (Kashdan and Steger 2007). In these types of curiosities dissolving the stimulus through learning can lead to more curiosity and spark explorations of novel stimulation due to the nature of knowledge, which has no end, like a bottomless pit or an endless tower (Schmidt and Rotgans 2021). ...
ABSTRACT
Background
Science curiosity, a critical cognitive-developmental determinant, significantly influences students’ learning outcomes due to mounting evidence supporting its pivotal role. This individual disposition is an effective catalyst driving students’ acquisition of knowledge, skill development, and expertise within scientific domains throughout their educational journey.
Purpose
Our current research examines students’ science curiosity as a psychometric individual characteristic according to gender and some parental variables.
Method and Sample
The present study employed a descriptive methodology within the quantitative research framework. Data were gathered from a sample comprising 2351 students enrolled in public secondary educational institutions.
Result
Our findings revealed significant differences in students’ science curiosity according to categorical variables, such as gender, family income, parental education, and number of siblings. Girls had significantly more positive science curiosity than boys. Our findings also indicated that students from middle-income families who can easily meet their education, health, and social needs but have economic limitations for a more luxurious life have significantly higher scores than others regarding science curiosity. It was also found that students with two siblings and a parent who had graduated from university had the greatest advantage in science curiosity.
Conclusion
This study’s findings suggest that innovative school policies can be met with home-like science learning environments for students deprived of family involvement—most likely due to low-educated parents—and have very low or very high economic levels. With an environment that combines the warmth of a home, caring science educators who eliminate the lack of parental involvement, rich science materials, and engaging activities, it can be expected that these students’ science curiosity will be stimulated.
... Epistemic curiosity has numerous positive cognitive and well-being benefits across different age groups including in adolescents (Jovanovic and Brdaric 2012;Von Stumm, Hell, and Chamorro-Premuzic 2011). Curiosity can drive positive outcomes via increased allocation of neurocognitive attention to relevant information (Gottlieb et al. 2020), motivation to do well in intellectually demanding domains (Tang and Salmela-Aro 2021), and increased purpose and meaning in life (Kashdan and Steger 2007). But there is large-scale, systematic evidence that epistemic curiosity is lower in adolescents compared to other age groups (Heintz and Ruch 2022;OECD 2021), argued to be due to curiosity-dampening effects of formal schooling (Engel 2011). ...
Introduction
Curiosity, the intrinsic motivation to sense, know, and experience the unknown, plays important roles in adolescent achievement and well‐being. Theoretical considerations and empirical research suggest the contribution of social relationships in fostering curiosity. However, curiosity is expressed in different forms and contexts. Here, we investigated the social predictors of general epistemic curiosity, and of different forms of digital information‐seeking in adolescents.
Methods
Nationally representative cross‐sectional data from Programme for International Student Assessment 2022 were used (N = 327,778 from 41 countries, 15.8 years, 49.6% female). Multiple regression was implemented using four different types of social relationships—teacher relationship, school belonging, bullying victimization, family relationship—as predictors of three forms of curiosity and information‐seeking—general epistemic curiosity, and digital information‐seeking for formal learning and for informal learning purposes.
Results and Conclusion
Teacher–student relationship was linked to general epistemic curiosity but less so, or not at all, to digital information‐seeking. Instead, family relationship and bullying victimization were more important drivers of digital information‐seeking for formal and informal learning purposes respectively. These distinctions were largely generalizable across 41 countries examined. The findings paint a complex picture of how figures in different adolescent social spheres matter for different forms of epistemic curiosity and information‐seeking, with practical and theoretical implications.
... Completed events can also be associated with uncertainty, leading to anxiety, where the uncertainty may manifest as a lack of meaning. A common scenario is when we observe a phenomenon but are unable to provide a valid explanation for its occurrence, which can also generate anxiety (Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Park, 2010). For example, participant Meng couldn't understand why her friend suddenly changed the way of interacting with her. ...
This study utilized a qualitative research approach known as the grounded theory method to explore the relationship between self-synthesis function and anxiety. Nineteen participants underwent semi-structured interviews, and MAXQDA2022 software was employed for coding assistance. The results revealed 125 open codes encompassing 2139 reference points. Eight axial coding codes emerged through dichotomous comparisons in three dimensions. Additionally, three destructive categories—"core factor," "sub-core factor," and "peripheral factor"—and two protective categories—"object-support" and "subject-effort"—were formed by clustering the number of reference points. In conclusion, (1) core factors contributing to anxiety primarily originate from the subjective aspect, while anxiety reduction mainly stems from the objective aspect. (2) Temporally, cognitive model disparities resulting from subject-object transformation are linked to anxiety. (3) The self-synthesis function mitigates anxiety by reducing disparities. (4) Adaptive anxiety signifies effective compensation by the self-synthesis function, whereas pathological anxiety results from its failure to compensate effectively.
... A fourth and final source of meaning in life is growth, or the striving to become a better person and to learn new things. Dating back to the original notion of self-actualization put forward by Maslow (1962), personal growth, including related concepts such as curiosity (Kashdan & Steger, 2007), identity development (O'Donnell et al., 2014), and growth mindset (Dweck, 2006), has consistently been identified as providing a sense of meaning in life. Note that although growth is sometimes confounded with goal setting and goal fulfillment, there is a wide variety of goals that do not necessarily entail any personal growth. ...
Despite increased interest in experience and experience design in hospitality, tourism and leisure, the field remains emergent. For experience design to mature in research and practice, clear consensus conceptualization of key constructs, like memorable, meaningful, and transformative experiences, is needed. While existing research identifies emotions as the key to memorable experiences, more conceptual work is needed to understand the unique impact and process behind meaningful experiences. This paper proposes an expanded conceptualization of the impact and process associated with meaningful experiences. We suggest that as individuals reflect on existing experiential (i.e., autobiographical) memories, they can extract insight from those memories. If any of the extracted insights connect with core sources of meaning, then the individuals perceive their experience as meaningful. Suggestions for potential strategies to design for meaningful experiences are also shared.
... Sin embargo, con el transcurso de los años, en la preadolescencia y la adolescencia, ciertas actividades se configuran como parte del repertorio de interés y toman forma de propósito, siendo en esta etapa del desarrollo en la que el constructo adquiere mayor relevancia. En ella, se consolida la capacidad de orientar la conducta hacia el futuro favoreciendo la organización y la focalización de los propios objetivos basados en los esfuerzos invertidos (Damon, 2008;Kashdan y McKnight, 2013;Kashdan y Steger, 2007). ...
El objetivo del presente estudio fue investigar la supresión que ejerce el optimismo en la intolerancia a la incertidumbre cuando se relaciona con el propósito con la vida. Para establecer esta posible relación de supresión se toma como referencia inicial el rol protector del optimismo sobre la salud mental. Para aproximarse a esta propuesta, se hizo un estudio transversal en población universitaria con el fin de revisar la asociación existente entre estas variables. Este estudio es de carácter no experimental. Contó con una muestra de 650 estudiantes de enseñanza superior de diferentes universidades de Chile. Para los análisis estadísticos se hizo uso del modelo de ecuaciones estructurales. Los resultados mostraron el efecto supretorio del optimismo sobre la intolerancia a la incertidumbre, cuando se revisa su influencia sobre el propósito con la vida, variable de alto interés en esta población que orienta sus esfuerzos al desarrollo de un proyecto de vida.
... Curiosity has a robust relationship with well-being (Kaczmarek et al., 2014;Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Lydon-Staley et al., 2019). Curious individuals outperform in various life domains, including education (Von Stumm et al., 2011), work (Lievens et al., 2022), and ...
Research has shown that curiosity plays a crucial role in human performance and well-being. Based on multi-dimensional models of curiosity, we examined potential underlying mechanisms for this relationship. Extending prior research, we expected state and trait variants of curiosity to predict more challenge and less threat appraisals for novel tasks (i.e., joyous exploration dimension), stronger dissatisfaction when denied opportunities to do something interesting (i.e., deprivation sensitivity dimension), and persist longer under stress states (i.e., stress tolerance). We asked 123 participants to prepare and deliver a speech titled "Why are you a good friend?" After preparation, participants were informed that they were randomly selected not to perform the task. Throughout the experiment, we recorded heart rate reactivity as a physiological indicator of task engagement. We found that individuals curious about the upcoming task felt more challenged, less threatened, and presented longer physiological engagement than less curious individuals. Curious individuals expressed more disappointment about the missed opportunity to deliver the speech. In summary, this study revealed theoretically derived mechanisms that partially account for associations between curiosity and positive life outcomes while also indicating adverse effects.
... Curiosity has been defined as positive feelings that represent the joy, interest or emotion of wonder that is the reflection of joyous exploration, in the research of psychology the role of curiosity is positive (Neff et al., 2007;Kashdan & Steger, 2007). Moreover, joyous exploration is also having coherence with seeking novelty and remains more ambiguity tolerant, adapts always strategies of self-regulations that include an optimistic judgment regarding seeking of unknown accompanied higher risk taking by doing it. ...
This study is based on the concept that curious human behavior has a strong inclination to acquire related knowledge and learning which leads to engage the individuals in achieving the prescribed goals (individual / organizational). During the study two important aspects of workplace curiosity, "openness to the people's ideas" and "joyful exploration" have been taken as independent variable and its direct impact on work engagement has been studied. The study examined the mediating effect of learning goal orientation between the independent variables (openness to people's ideas and joyful exploration) and dependent variable (work engagement). The healthcare professionals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are considered the population of the study. Questionnaires base on five-point Likert scale are used for sample collection. Data has been analyzed by using Smart PLS software for finding the direct and indirect relationship among independent, dependent and mediating variables. The findings reals that curiosity has been declared as one of the vital motivational objects to affect the individual's working and learning behavior. The results of the study also supported the indirect relationship of joyous exploration and openness to people's ideas to learning goal orientation which supports the hypothesis.
... For instance, Balgiu (2020) examined the mediating role of the Big Five personality traits on curiosity and concluded that high-curiosity individuals tend to have well-developed WB because they are extroverted, perseverant, and emotionally stable. Kashdan and Steger (2007) examined curiosity as a mechanism for achieving sustainable WB and meaning in life, concluding that their findings supported such a mechanism. The relationships between curiosity and WB were also studied among adolescents (Jovanović & Brdaric, 2012). ...
Abstract:
The study examined the relationships between perceived quality of life (QoL), well-being (WB), and curiosity of older adults. An occasional sample of 199 subjects answered the CASP12 questionnaire (measuring QoL), the 5-DCR Scale (measuring curiosity), and a brief demographic questionnaire (referring to gender, age, marital status, and continued interest in the profession.) The qualitative layer consisted of twenty in-depth, semi-structured interviews with curious older persons. Findings of the quantitative layer pointed to a substantial association between curiosity and QoL, underscoring the direct and indirect (through curiosity) effects of the demographic factors on QoL, particularly the mediating effect of curiosity on the relationships between continued interest in the profession and QoL. The impact of curiosity, love of learning, and personal attributes on WB were highlighted in the qualitative layer. Implications for cultivating a growth mindset focusing on curiosity across the lifespan and publicizing their role in fostering adaptive aging were discussed.
... The highly-engaged group includes individuals with an exceptional high level of presence of meaning in life (e.g., the fulfilled profile in Zambelli and Tagliabue, 2023). This configuration resembles a mature meaning-making configuration, in which the normative search for meaning has led to solid certainties about identity and future commitments, which from now on the young individual will try to maintain and enrich over time, activating the search for meaning if a decrease of meaning in life is perceived (Kashdan & Steger, 2007). ...
The study presents an application of Latent Profile Analysis to sustain the existence of different profiles of meaning-making (i.e., the process of searching and finding meaning in life) within the late adolescent’s population, and to investigate the role of resilience in predicting profiles’ belonginess. 943 Italian senior high-school students (52% females) were clustered into two adaptive profiles, highly-engaged (high presence, average search) and balanced (average presence and search), and two maladaptive profiles, frustrated (average presence, high search) and disengaged (low presence and search). A multinomial logistic regression revealed that adolescents with robust resilience skills were more likely to show adaptive profiles, and less likely to fall into the disengaged group, suggesting that individuals with higher resilience are more prone to engage in search for meaning even when they perceive a lack of presence of meaning. Findings contribute to a nuanced understanding of meaning-making, calling the development of personalized interventions to foster adolescents’ ability to navigate life challenges during their transition toward adulthood.
... One person even went so far as to associate it with depression. this is consistent with studies in other populations, where high curiosity correlates with a range of positive mental health outcomes: greater life satisfaction and meaning in life [21,22,51], positive relationship outcome [52], proactive socialization behaviors [17], and well-being and health [18]. an intriguing finding of this study was a reciprocal relationship between curiosity and stress: some physicians viewed the suppression of curiosity as a source of stress, while elevated stress levels were perceived to reduce curiosity. ...
Introduction
Curiosity is a fundamental human trait that drives learning and exploration. However, research on curiosity has received little attention in the medical field, despite its potential to enhance knowledge acquisition, work performance, and psychosocial well-being. This study aimed to address part of this gap by investigating physicians’ perspectives on their personal experiences with curiosity and its role in their professional practice and medical training.
Materials and Methods
This qualitative study was conducted with 12 physicians from the University of Heidelberg Medical Hospital. Participants were contacted randomly via email and invited to participate in the study. Data were collected through semi-structured interviews between September 2019 and February 2020. The authors employed Mayring’s approach, which denotes a qualitative content analysis method characterized by its systematic and rule-guided approach to analyzing textual data, aiming to extract meaningful insights and patterns or themes. The identified themes were linked to overall categories to draw conclusions from the data.
Results
The interviewees highlighted three main areas regarding curiosity’s importance [1]: as a driving force for (lifelong) education [2], in building empathetic physician-patient relationships, and [3] as a core quality of a good researcher. They primarily linked curiosity with positive emotions, while the non-expression of curiosity was associated with dissatisfaction, boredom, and exhaustion. Factors such as heavy workloads, time constraints, stress, and lack of autonomy inhibit their curiosity, while varied activities, professional exchange with colleagues, and exposure to new challenges foster it. Physicians’ perspectives on the link between burnout and curiosity were not consistent. Interestingly, some viewed curiosity as protective against burnout, while others saw excessive curiosity as a potential source of frustration and burnout.
Conclusion
This study represents the first attempt to explore physicians’ perspectives on curiosity in medicine. The findings highlight the potential importance of curiosity in shaping medical professionalism and improving patient care. However, its pursuit is hampered by the challenging working conditions faced by doctors, suggesting a need for enhanced support and cultivation.
... They also mandate play (which we return to later in more detail). Research has shown that because agents find pleasure in reducing manageable uncertainty, they are attracted to just-uncertain-enough environments: the ones that offer such opportunities (see, for example, [50][51][52][53]). ...
Human learning essentially involves embodied interactions with the material world. But our worlds now include increasing numbers of powerful and (apparently) disembodied generative artificial intelligence (AI). In what follows we ask how best to understand these new (somewhat ‘alien’, because of their disembodied nature) resources and how to incorporate them in our educational practices. We focus on methodologies that encourage exploration and embodied interactions with ‘prepared’ material environments, such as the carefully organized settings of Montessori education. Using the active inference framework, we approach our questions by thinking about human learning as epistemic foraging and prediction error minimization. We end by arguing that generative AI should figure naturally as new elements in prepared learning environments by facilitating sequences of precise prediction error enabling trajectories of self-correction. In these ways, we anticipate new synergies between (apparently) disembodied and (essentially) embodied forms of intelligence.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Minds in movement: embodied cognition in the age of artificial intelligence’.
... Understanding the relationship between distractibility, impulsivity, and various conceptualizations of curiosity in the context of ADHD may provide valuable insights into its underlying mechanisms and inform the development of evidencebased interventions. In particular, while maintaining curiosity throughout life has been associated with better cognitive functioning, well-being, and resilience in the general population (Kashdan & Steger, 2007;Swan & Carmelli, 1996), little is known about how curiosity influences outcomes for individuals with ADHD as they age. Evidence suggests that aging may be associated with reductions in novelty seeking, openness, risk taking, and exploratory behavior (Mata et al., 2013), and a negative association between age and curiosity has been found in the general population (Chu et al., 2021). ...
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a neurodevelopmental condition characterized by symptoms that include inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity. Recent research suggests that individuals with ADHD might exhibit higher levels of curiosity, which may be linked to their tendencies toward distractibility and impulsivity. This paper proposes an evolutionary mismatch hypothesis for high trait curiosity in ADHD, positing that ‘hypercuriosity’, which may have been adaptive in ancestral environments characterized by scarce resources and unpredictable risks, has become mismatched in industrialized societies where environments are more stable and information rich. The theory predicts that individuals with ADHD will demonstrate heightened levels of novelty-seeking and exploratory behaviors, manifesting as symptoms labeled as distractibility and impulsivity in modern environments. The paper explores the potential evolutionary benefits of high trait curiosity, the consequences of an evolutionary mismatch, and the implications for research and practice. The limitations of the theory are addressed, such as the need for more targeted research on curiosity in ADHD and potential differences among ADHD subtypes. Future research directions are proposed to refine and test the hypothesis, ultimately contributing to a more nuanced understanding of ADHD and informing the development of strength-based interventions. This theoretical framework offers a novel perspective on the adaptive value of ADHD traits and their manifestation in modern societies.
... Diverse studies have shown the effect of curiosity on diverse outcomes, such as well-being (e.g. Kashdan and Steger, 2007); nevertheless, studies exploring its influence on work-related outcomes are scarce (Kashdan et al., 2020). Curiosity is the propensity to seek out novel, complex and challenging interactions with what surrounds us (Kashdan et al., 2018). ...
Purpose
This research relied on the broaden-and-build (B&B) theory to explore emotional predictors for curiosity-related differences in daily engagement and contextual performance. We tested a moderated mediation model, arguing that daily positive emotions would be related to daily work engagement and contextual performance.
Design/methodology/approach
A total of 586 participants participated in a five-day diary study (n = 2379).
Findings
Multi-level modeling showed that, at the person level of analysis, daily positive emotions were significantly and positively related to daily work engagement and, in turn, daily performance. At the daily level of analysis, the mediation model was moderated by curiosity, such that it became stronger for individuals who scored higher on curiosity.
Originality/value
These findings make relevant theoretical contributions to understanding the power of curiosity for daily emotional dynamics in organizations. Compared to traditional between-person variables, these results also expand knowledge on within-person processes that explain daily work engagement and contextual performance. In sum, this study shows that “curiosity does not kill the cat”; instead, it makes it productive.
... Whatever the terminological diversity at hand, what has been defined as 'curiosity' by this study is generally the modality most credited and most valued in the sphere of education. Curiosity is the kind of wonder connected with motivation and behaviour that is beneficial for learning, such as perseverance in the face of obstacles and the establishment of goals (Kashdan & Steger, 2007). Curiosity is also credited with a role in creating a more deep-seated interests in students, which can help with the development of self-regulation and information-seeking. (Hidi & Renninger, 2006;Renninger, 2000). ...
This study argues that religious education is uniquely positioned to resist and transcend contemporary dialectics of wonder that serve to diminish, commodify, or instrumentalize the place of wonder in society today. Wonder is traditionally characterized by a sense of importance that accompanies our encounters with mystery. In a world less comfortable with interiority and less willing to accept the sense of ignorance true wonder presupposes, the contemplative element of wonder has largely evaporated, to be replaced by a more fleeting (Schinkel in Stud Philos Educ 39(5):479–492, 2019, 481) and less challenging ‘curiosity’. Curiosity favours mastery over mystery; it elides the puzzlement or contemplation inherent in traditional understandings of wonder. In pedagogical settings, curiosity is increasingly advanced at a catalyst that motivates and directs the inquiry of the learner. However, educational literature continues to note a worrying absence of any kind of wonder in classrooms today (Jirout et al. in Front Psychol 13:875161, 2022. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.875161 ). This study will suggest that the advancement of wonder as curiosity in education only reinforces the very sense of apathy it is designed to counteract in its students. If wonder is recast as curiosity—a ‘skill’ that leads reliably to the ‘right answer’—students will inevitably find quicker, more efficient means to arrive at the required information. Religious education is uniquely equipped to supplement inquisitive curiosity with a more contemplative wonder that eschews easy answers. In doing so, it would equip students to grapple with what modern society has become so adept at evading: the “stubborn there-ness” (Arendt in Medina J, Wood D (eds) Truth: engagements across philosophical traditions. Blackwell Publishing, London, 2005, p. 310) of mystery that characterizes the most meaningful questions of our existence.
... Measurement items for perceived risk variables were borrowed from Al-Gasawneh et al. (2022), Hasan et al. (2021) and Lee (2009). Items for innovation characteristics were adopted from Kim et al. (2022) and Oturakci and Yuregir (2018), and IJCHM measurements to assess curiosity and hedonism were borrowed from Kashdan and Steger (2007) and Scarpi (2012). Items for approach behaviors were adopted from Olya and Han (2020). ...
Purpose
This research paper aims to explore the concerns and determinants of travelers’ behavior toward ChatGPT in the hospitality and tourism context. It also examines the weight of risk factors versus that of motivation and innovation characteristics influencing travelers’ approach behaviors toward ChatGPT.
Design/methodology/approach
A cumulative prospect theory was used to determine travelers’ responses to ChatGPT. This study, using a fuzzy-set qualitative approach, explored risk, motivation and innovation factors as determinants of approach behaviors for ChatGPT.
Findings
Findings revealed that risk, motivation and innovation factors were the key triggers of approach behaviors for ChatGPT. An intricate combination effect of the perceived risk, motivation and innovation characteristics was found, and the necessary predictors were determined.
Practical implications
The findings of this study will expand our current knowledge and offer practical insights for the development of ChatGPT in the hospitality and tourism sector.
Originality/value
This study makes a significant contribution to the existing literature by providing a nuanced understanding of the intricate interplay between the various factors that shape customer behavior in the context of technology adoption in hospitality and tourism studies.
... Outra dimensão que apresentou significativamente associada ao suporte social na velhice foi o propósito de vida (PV). O PV aborda a maneira como as pessoas concebem as suas vidas atribuindo significado, um sentido de direção e objetivos de vida (STEGER, et al., 2006;KASHDAN;MCKNIGHT, 2009). O conceito é muitas vezes visto como fundamental para o bem-estar e satisfação com a vida (KING; NAPA, 1998). ...
Este estudo transversal investigou os fatores psicológicos preditores da percepção de suporte social que auxiliam o idoso na fuga da solidão e do declínio funcional e cognitivo. Participaram 186 idosos (≥ 60 anos), residentes do município de Rio Paranaíba, Minas Gerais. Como instrumentos foram utilizados o Mini Exame do Estado Mental, a Escala de Depressão Geriátrica, o Questionário de Propósito de Vida, a Escala para Medida de Satisfação com a Vida e a Escala de Suporte Social Percebido. A análise dos dados foi conduzida por meio da Correlação de Pearson e da Análise de Regressão Múltipla (p < 0,05). Os resultados evidenciaram que as cinco variáveis independentes (cognição global, sintomas depressivos, sintomas de ansiedade, propósito de vida e satisfação com a vida), explicaram 20% da variância da percepção de suporte social dos idosos. No entanto, somente a satisfação com a vida (β = 0,25, p < 0,05) e a cognição global (β = 0,21, p < 0,05) apresentaram predição positiva sobre a percepção de suporte social. Concluiu-se que a cognição e a satisfação global são fatores protetores da percepção de suporte social que auxiliam o idoso na fuga da solidão e do declínio funcional e cognitivo.
... Similarly, studies using self-report questionnaires found that personality traits related to novelty are associated with positive emotional experiences. For example, people with greater trait curiosity tend to report experiencing hedonistic events more frequently than people with lower trait curiosity (Kashdan & Steger, 2007). Openness to experience is also associated with higher levels of positive affect and life satisfaction (DeNeve & Cooper, 1998), lower levels of stressorinduced negative affect (Leger et al., 2016), higher levels of interest and pleasure, and less confusion when viewing art images (Fayn et al., 2015). ...
People encounter novel situations throughout their lives that contribute to the acquisition of knowledge and experience. However, novelty can be misaligned with goals and motivation in later adulthood according to socioemotional selectivity theory. This study investigated age differences in emotional reactions associated with novel experiences. Multilevel structural equation models were used to analyze experience-sampling data obtained from an adult sample of 375 participants aged 18–94 years who reported their current situation and momentary emotional experience five times per day for 7 days. On occasions where situations were rated as more novel, people reported reduced positive and increased negative emotion. Those who had more overall exposure to novel situations tended to have more negative emotional experiences in general. Contrary to our hypothesis, there were age differences in individuals’ negative emotional reactivity to situations that are perceived as more novel, such that novel situations were reported as less negative among older adults. By applying theoretical understanding of age differences in motivation and well-being in adulthood, our findings illuminate aspects of situations that elicit negative emotions. Findings highlight age-related benefits in emotional well-being, consistent with socioemotional selectivity theory postulates, and further implies that older adults may not be novelty averse.
This chapter highlights the crucial role of wisdom in improving well-being and happiness within organizations. In high-pressure work environments, employee well-being is essential for success. Wisdom—comprising creativity, curiosity, judgment, love of learning, and perspective, as identified by Peterson and Seligman—is key for navigating complex settings and promoting continuous improvement. The chapter focuses on nurturing these strengths to enhance workforce engagement, satisfaction, and productivity. It explores how cultivating wisdom at various organizational levels boosts happiness and accountability. A conceptual model is proposed to show how wisdom supports organizational happiness and outlines strategies for developing these strengths among employees. By integrating wisdom into organizational practices, leaders can create thriving environments that achieve sustainable success and improved employee engagement, with practical strategies provided for actionable steps.
Epistemik merak, eleştirel düşünme becerilerinin bireyin başarı yönelimi üzerindeki etkisi konusunda önemli bir rol oynamaktadır. Alanyazınde mevcut çalışmalar eleştirel düşünme ile başarı yönelimi arasında, eleştirel düşünme ile epistemik merak arasında ve epistemik merak ile başarı yönelimi arasında anlamlı ve pozitif ilişkiler olduğunu göstermektedir. Bu çerçevede bu makale, epistemik merak, eleştirel düşün-me ve başarı yönelimi arasındaki ilişkileri ortaya koyarak, eleştirel düşünme ile başarı yönelimi arasındaki ilişkide epistemik merakın rolünü incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Araştırma, belirli değişkenlerin etkisiyle farklılaşma gösteren grupların birbiriyle kar-şılaştırıldığı nedensel karşılaştırma modeli ve bağıntısal modelin kullanıldığı ilişkisel analiz yöntemi kullanılarak Denizli il merkezinde görev yapan 146 ilk ve ortaokul öğretmeni ile gerçekleştirilmiştir. Bu çalışmada "California eleştirel düşünme eğilim-leri ölçeği", "3x2 başarı odaklılığı ölçeği" ve "epistemik merak ölçeği" olarak üç farklı ölçek kullanılmıştır. Örneklemden alınan veriler SPSS programı ile analiz edilmiş ve bunun için bağımsız örneklemler için t-testi ve tek yönlü varyans analizi yöntemleri kullanılmıştır. Etki testleri ve aracılık rolü için araştırma modeli üzerinden basit doğrusal regresyon analizleri yapılmıştır. Analiz sonuçlarına göre erkek öğretmenlerin eleştirel düşünme düzeyleri kadın öğretmenlerden daha yüksek olduğu görülmektedir. Araştırma modeline uygun olarak aracılık rolünün ölçülebilmesi için üç farklı alt model oluşturulmuş ve oluşturulan hipotezler test edilmiştir. Sonuç olarak, eleştirel düşünmenin epistemik merak üzerinde anlamlı ve pozitif bir etkisi olduğu, eleştirel düşünmenin ve epistemik merakın başarı yönelimi üzerinde anlamlı ve pozitif bir et-kisi olduğu, epistemik merakın eleştirel düşünme ile başarı yönelimi arasındaki ilişki-de tam aracılık rolüne sahip olduğu bulguları elde edilmiştir.
Corresponding Author *Ahmet ÇETİN
Epistemic curiosity plays a significant role in the effect of critical thinking skills on an individual's achievement orientation. Studies in the literature show that there are significant and positive relationships between critical thinking and achievement orientation , critical thinking and epistemic curiosity, and epistemic curiosity and achievement orientation.Within this framework, this article aims to examine the role of epistemic curiosity in the relationship between critical thinking and achievement orientation by revealing the relationships between epistemic curiosity, critical thinking, and achievement orientation. The research was conducted with 146 primary and secondary school teachers working in the city center of Denizli using the causal-comparative model, which compares groups that differ in terms of the effect of certain variables, and the relational analysis method using the correlational model. Three different scales were used in this study: the "California Critical Thinking Disposition Scale", the "3x2 Achievement Orientation Scale", and the "Epistemic Curiosity Scale".
We propose a cognitive and neurobiological model by which curiosity regulates affective memory, by positively biasing memory encoding through the promotion of emotion regulation. We begin with a brief overview of curiosity's observed emotional effects. Then we introduce three prominent models of affective memory encoding to suggest that the dopaminergic modulation of encoding associated with curiosity may positively bias memory processes. We situate the role of curiosity role in emotion regulation relative to its promotion of abstract thinking and cognitive flexibility. We then identify the neural processes associated with abstraction and flexibility observed in the left inferior frontal gyrus, the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the lateral prefrontal cortex as the neurobiological mechanisms underlying our framework.
This cross-sectional study investigates curiosity levels toward STEM among 185 coastal school students aged 10 to 12 in Semporna, Sabah. With the aim of emphasizing the importance of STEM education in shaping future professionals and addressing global challenges, the research seeks to stimulate curiosity and encourage young learners to actively participate in their surroundings. Using a descriptive survey questionnaire design, the study employs the Curiosity Towards STEM instrument, assessing two constructs-Exploration and Acceptance-with a total of ten items. The research focuses on evaluating the level and extent of curiosity among respondents regarding STEM. Results reveal a significant level of curiosity toward STEM in both exploration and acceptance among coastal school students. Interviews with a focus group shed light on how curiosity contributes to knowledge expansion, improved critical thinking, creativity, reduced fear of failure, enhanced self-confidence, and the joy of discovery. These findings underscore the high potential of students in coastal school areas for excelling in STEM subjects. However, challenges such as resource limitations, cultural influences, socioeconomic factors, and logistical issues impact the manifestation of curiosity, highlighting the need for tailored interventions to nurture curiosity effectively in these unique educational settings.
To understand human learning and progress, it is crucial to understand curiosity. But how consistent is curiosity’s conception and assessment across scientific research disciplines? We present the results of a large collaborative project assessing the correspondence between curiosity measures in personality psychology and cognitive science. A total of 820 participants completed 15 personality trait measures and 9 cognitive tasks that tested multiple aspects of information demand. We show that shared variance across the cognitive tasks was captured by a dimension reflecting directed (uncertainty-driven) versus random (stochasticity-driven) exploration and individual differences along this axis were significantly and consistently predicted by personality traits. However, the personality metrics that best predicted information demand were not the central curiosity traits of openness to experience, deprivation sensitivity, and joyous exploration, but instead included more peripheral curiosity traits (need for cognition, thrill seeking, and stress tolerance) and measures not traditionally associated with curiosity (extraversion and behavioral inhibition). The results suggest that the umbrella term “curiosity” reflects a constellation of cognitive and emotional processes, only some of which are shared between personality measures and cognitive tasks. The results reflect the distinct methods that are used in these fields, indicating a need for caution in comparing results across fields and for future interdisciplinary collaborations to strengthen our emerging understanding of curiosity.
This chapter highlights the importance of integrating character strengths and peace psychology and science and practices therein. It discusses the natural connection and mutual benefit of these areas, exploring the previous lack of scientific and practical integration as potentially relating to a wide range of misconceptions about peace/peace psychology and about character strengths/positive psychology. The misconceptions are detailed alongside corrective realities. A model for integrating character strengths and peace psychology is explained and offered as a framework for this book, Peace Psychology and Character Strengths. The model emphasizes “levels” of peace, including inner, relational, intragroup, intergroup, community, international, and ecological peace; “types” of peace as positive peace (amplifying harmony, balance, calmness) and negative peace (reducing conflict, aggression, violence) occurring at any level of peace; and character strengths in the form of character strengths’s concepts, specific character strengths, and character strengths’s dynamics across levels and types of peace. The chapter then examines the potential practicality of integrating peace and character strengths by sharing a study indicating feasibility and conducting two new studies, one on motivation to take action (N = 16,126) and the other on commitment to an action relating character strengths to peace within 1 week (N = 13,932). These studies show initial support for feasibility, motivation (both importance and confidence components), and commitment to action. This is followed by a summary of themes and insights from a 5-week pilot group integrating character strengths and peace, with emphasis on inner peace and relational peace, and to a lesser degree, group peace. This group revealed further support and benefit for the integration as well as the usefulness of weaving in character strength concepts, specific strengths, and character strength dynamics. Finally, science-based strategies for inner peace and relational peace are outlined for all 24-character strengths; these extrapolations serve as examples for further research.
Rising rates of suicide fatality, attempts, and ideations among adolescents aged 10–19 over the past two decades represent a national public health priority. Theories that seek to understand suicidal ideation overwhelmingly focus on the transition from ideation to attempt and on a sole cognition: active suicidal ideation – the serious consideration of killing one’s self, with less attention to non-suicidal cognitions that emerge during adolescence that may have implications for suicidal behavior. A large body of research exists that characterizes adolescence not only as a period of heightened onset and prevalence of active suicidal ideation and the desire to no longer be alive (i.e., passive suicidal ideation), but also for non-suicidal cognitions about life and death. Our review synthesizes extant literature in the content, timing and mental imagery of thoughts adolescents have about their (1) life; and (2) mortality that may co-occur with active and passive suicidal ideation that have received limited attention in adolescent suicidology. Our “cognition-to-action framework for adolescent suicide prevention” builds on existing ideation-to-action theories to identify life and non-suicidal mortality cognitions during adolescence that represent potential leverage points for the prevention of attempted suicide and premature death during this period and across the life span.
Wellbeing literacy is the capability to set intentions and comprehend and compose wellbeing language. This is cultivated and embodied across contexts with the intention of maintaining or improving the wellbeing of oneself, others, or the world. In this paper, as co-authors we share the way we understand our wellbeing as educators in higher education, that is, through a Pedagogy of Belonging. Belonging is one of the domains to our wellbeing as academics and educators, as well as students in the studied higher education learning context. Pedagogy of Belonging helps us develop our wellbeing literacy individually and collectively. Through an authentic inquiry framed by hermeneutic phenomenology, we highlight four vignettes, showcasing what this looks like across different disciplines located in one school of an Australian university. In these vignettes, we look at what it means to engage with diverse areas of wellbeing that enhance our collective capacity to flourish. We have paused, listening deeply to our academic and wellbeing needs, addressing these together to develop a shared language that supports our wellbeing. We describe the valuing of meaning, curiosity associated with relationship building, multi-modal ways of being with each other, passion, and positive emotions that promote academic wellbeing capabilities that, in turn, support, develop, and sustain a wellbeing literacy. In demonstrating how a wellbeing literacy can be developed, maintained, and/or improved, we open new avenues of investigation that interrupt the dehumanising of higher education learning contexts.
Past research holds that curiosity motivates creativity via two primary mechanisms—exploration and absorption. We propose that vitality is a more fundamental mechanism integrating them. According to the self-determination theory, curiosity fuels vitality as it aligns with the natural inclination toward autonomy, competence, and relatedness. It is through enhanced vitality that curiosity further leads to exploration and absorption, which altogether lead to higher creativity. Considering that curiosity varies daily, we adopted a daily diary design over 10 consecutive workdays and tested the proposed effects at the within-person level. The results confirmed that daily curiosity promotes creativity through elevated daily vitality and daily exploration and absorption. More importantly, when accounting for the effect of daily vitality, the mediating effect of exploration and absorption was no longer significant. The findings thus highlight vitality as a more fundamental mechanism responsible for the positive effect of curiosity on creativity, providing a refined understanding of how curiosity fuels creativity.
Previous research showed an association between fear during public health crises and altered consumption behavior, However, the impact of fear on experiential consumption preference remains largely unexplored. This study examined how fear induced by the public health crisis influences individuals' psychological states, cognitive processes, and experiential consumption preferences. A total of 451 respondents from diverse risk cities across China participated in online surveys. The results revealed that: (1) Although COVID‐19 constrained many forms of consumption, fear paradoxically fostered a greater preference for experiential consumption; (2) Fear indirectly affected the preference for experiential consumption through the mediating roles of meaning in life and choice overload; (3) Fear prompted a heightened inclination towards searching for meaning. Notably, the presence of meaning served as the primary mediator in the impact of fear on experiential consumption preference. These findings provide valuable theoretical implications for understanding how fear affects experiential consumption during public health emergencies.
Curiosity is a concept studied particularly in psychology. Today, it is used by practitioners in marketing to support strategies of attractiveness, motivation, or to capture attention. This article proposes a multidisciplinary synthesis of this concept through a bibliometric analysis and a literature review. A conceptual framework is proposed for marketing researchers interested in curiosity, offering a new definition of the concept, its antecedents, and its effects. A research agenda prioritized by practitioners can serve as the basis for future work. Curiosity, traditionally explored in psychology, has found its place in marketing as a means for enhancing appeal, motivation, and attention. This article offers a comprehensive multidisciplinary overview of curiosity by combining bibliometric analysis and literature review. It introduces a new framework for marketing researchers interested in curiosity, presenting a fresh definition, its precursors, and outcomes. It also outlines a research agenda shaped by practitioners to guide future inquiries.
This study examined the changing trend of Internet use types during late childhood and its influencing factors (i.e., trait curiosity, friendship quality, and material parenting). Parallel latent growth model was employed for analysis using a three-year longitudinal dataset of 218 primary students. The findings revealed increased information acquisition, social, and entertainment Internet use throughout late childhood. Trait curiosity was positively related to initial levels of information acquisition and social Internet use but negatively related to their growth rates. Friendship quality was negatively associated with an initial level of social Internet use. Material parenting reward was positively related to an initial level of entertainment Internet use and the growth rate of social Internet use. These findings provide a comprehensive understanding of the changing trends of specific Internet use in late childhood and shed light on the factors that contribute to its changes.
Résumé
La curiosité est un concept particulièrement étudié en psychologie. Elle est aujourd’hui utilisée en marketing pour soutenir une stratégie d’attraction, de motivation ou de captation de l’attention par les praticiens. Cet article propose une synthèse multidisciplinaire sur ce concept à travers une analyse bibliométrique et une analyse bibliographique. Un cadre conceptuel est proposé pour les chercheurs en marketing s’intéressant à la curiosité en proposant une nouvelle définition du concept, de ses antécédents et de ses effets. Un agenda de recherche priorisé par les praticiens peut servir de base à de futurs travaux.
Although influences of interest on learning are well documented, mediating processes have not been clarified. The authors investigated how individual and situational interest factors contribute to topic interest and text learning. Traditional self-report measures were combined with novel interactive computerized methods of recording cognitive and affective reactions to science and popular culture texts, monitoring their development in real time. Australian and Canadian students read 4 expository texts. Both individual interest variables and specific text titles influenced topic interest. Examination of processes predictive of text learning indicated that topic interest was related to affective response, affect to persistence, and persistence to learning. Combining self-rating scales with dynamic measures of student activities provided new insight into how interest influences learning.
This 3-wave longitudinal study aimed to extend current understanding of the predictors and outcomes of employee proactivity (involving information seeking, feedback seeking, relationship building, and positive framing) in the socialization process. Two personality variables, extraversion and openness to experience, were associated with higher levels of proactive socialization behavior. Of the proactive behaviors studied, feedback seeking and relationship building were highlighted in their importance because of their various relationships with the work-related outcomes assessed in this study (e.g., social integration, role clarity, job satisfaction, intention to turnover, and actual turnover). The results also highlighted the importance of 2 control variables (opportunity to interact with others on the job and skill level of the new job) in the experience of socialization into a new job.
Daily mood ratings and corresponding diary entries were studied to determine relations between common events and two independent mood factors—Positive Affect (PA) and Negative Affect (NA)—in a sample of 18 young adults over a 3-month period. In an extension of findings from earlier interindividual studies, PA (enthusiastic, delighted vs. sluggish, drowsy) was found to be associated with a wide range of daily events, whereas fewer correlations were found between these events and NA (distressed, nervous, angry vs. calm, relaxed). The relation between high PA and reported social interactions (particularly physically active social events) was especially robust, and its effects were noted repeatedly; NA was unrelated to social activity. As hypothesized, high NA was associated with physical problems; contrary to expectations, low PA also tended to be correlated with health complaints. Overall, the results reaffirm the importance of assessing NA and PA independently and suggest that PA is an interesting and important dimension that deserves more research attention. Theoretical considerations and clinical implications are discussed.
Hedonism is a way of life, characterised by openness to pleasurable experience. There are many qualms about hedonism. It is rejected on moral grounds and said to be detrimental to long-term happiness. Several mechanisms for this 'paradox of hedonism' have been suggested and telling examples of pleasure seekers ending up in despair have been given. But is that the rule? If so, how much pleasure is too much? An overview of the available knowledge is given in this paper. The relation between hedonism and happiness has been studied at two levels: that of the nation and the individual. At the national level average happiness is correlated with moral acceptance of pleasure and with active leisure. At the individual level it is similarly linked with hedonistic attitudes and also correlated with hedonistic behaviours such as frequent sex and use of stimulants. In most cases the pattern is linearly positive. The relation between happiness and consumption of stimulants follows an inverted U-curve, spoilsports and guzzlers are less happy than modest consumers.Yet, these data cannot settle the issue, since the observed relations may be spurious or due to the effects of happiness on hedonism rather than the reverse. Even if we can prove a positive effect of (mild) hedonism on happiness, there is still the question of how that gains balances against a possible loss of health. A solution is to assess the effect of hedonistic living on the number of years lived happily.
The primary objectives of this article are (a) to put forth an explicit operational formulation of positive human health that goes beyond prevailing "absence of illness" criteria; (b) to clarify that positive human health does not derive from extant medical considerations, which are not about wellness, but necessarily require a base in philosophical accounts of the "goods" in life; (c) to provoke a change of emphasis from strong tendencies to construe human health as exclusively about the mind or the body toward an integrated and positive spiral of mind-body influences; (d) to delineate possible physiological substrates of human flourishing and offer future directions for understanding the biology of positive health; and (e) to discuss implications of positive health for diverse scientific agendas (e.g., stress, class and health, work and family life) and for practice in health fields (e.g., training, health examinations, psychotherapy, and wellness intervention programs).
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
This article develops a perspective on interest and interests as aspects of motivation, emotion, and personality. Interest is viewed as a capricious emotion with few, if any, immediate adaptational functions; it serves long-term adaptational goals by cultivating knowledge and diversifying skills and experience. Interests are viewed as idiosyncratic intrinsic motives that promote expertise. Theories of how interests arise are reviewed and organized. A model of how the emotion of interest participates in the development of enduring interests is proposed. The author concludes that apparently frivolous aspects of motivation and personality such as "idle curiosity" and avocations seem to play complex roles in human experience and development. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
W. Wilson's (1967) review of the area of subjective well-being (SWB) advanced several conclusions regarding those who report high levels of "happiness." A number of his conclusions have been overturned: youth and modest aspirations no longer are seen as prerequisites of SWB. E. Diener's (1984) review placed greater emphasis on theories that stressed psychological factors. In the current article, the authors review current evidence for Wilson's conclusions and discuss modern theories of SWB that stress dispositional influences, adaptation, goals, and coping strategies. The next steps in the evolution of the field are to comprehend the interaction of psychological factors with life circumstances in producing SWB, to understand the causal pathways leading to happiness, understand the processes underlying adaptation to events, and develop theories that explain why certain variables differentially influence the different components of SWB (life satisfaction, pleasant affect, and unpleasant affect). (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Aristotle's concept of eudaimonia and hedonic enjoyment constitute 2 philosophical conceptions of happiness. Two studies involving combined samples of undergraduate and graduate students (Study 1,
n = 209; Study 2,
n = 249) were undertaken to identify the convergent and divergent aspects of these constructs. As expected, there was a strong positive correlation between personal expressiveness (eudaimonia) and hedonic enjoyment. Analyses revealed significant differences between the 2 conceptions of happiness experienced in conjunction with activities for the variables of (1) opportunities for satisfaction, (2) strength of cognitive-affective components, (3) level of challenges, (4) level of skills, and (5) importance. It thus appears that the 2 conceptions of happiness are related but distinguishable and that personal expressiveness, but not hedonic enjoyment, is a signifier of success in the process of self-realization. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Compared cognitive and affective responses of 10 naive female, 10 trained female, 10 naive male, and 10 trained male university students to 12 paintings. Ss rated the paintings individually on a series of scales and made comparative judgments of relative interest and pleasure between 66 possible pairs of the paintings. Naive females were significantly more sensitive to the emotional arousal (EA) dimension. Trained females were the least responsive to the EA dimension. Naive females and trained males were the most sensitive to the aesthetic effectance dimension. Comparative judgments of interest and pleasure were each based on 2 dimensions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
J. A. Gray (1981, 1982) holds that 2 general motivational systems underlie behavior and affect: a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and a behavioral activation system (BAS). Self-report scales to assess dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities were created. Scale development (Study 1) and convergent and discriminant validity in the form of correlations with alternative measures are reported (Study 2). In Study 3, a situation in which Ss anticipated a punishment was created. Controlling for initial nervousness, Ss high in BIS sensitivity (assessed earlier) were more nervous than those low in BIS sensitivity. In Study 4, a situation in which Ss anticipated a reward was created. Controlling for initial happiness, Ss high in BAS sensitivity (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) were happier than those low in BAS sensitivity. In each case the new scales predicted better than an alternative measure. Discussion is focused on conceptual implications. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Counseling psychologists often work with clients to increase their well-being as well as to decrease their distress. One important aspect of well-being, highlighted particularly in humanistic theories of the counseling process, is perceived meaning in life. However, poor measurement has hampered research on meaning in life. In 3 studies, evidence is provided for the internal consistency, temporal stability, factor structure, and validity of the Meaning in Life Questionnaire (MLQ), a new 10-item measure of the presence of, and the search for, meaning in life. A multitrait-multimethod matrix demonstrates the convergent and discriminant validity of the MLQ subscales across time and informants, in comparison with 2 other meaning scales. The MLQ offers several improvements over current meaning in life measures, including no item overlap with distress measures, a stable factor structure, better discriminant validity, a briefer format, and the ability to measure the search for meaning.
This article presents a social cognitive framework for understanding three intricately linked aspects of career development: (a) the formation and elaboration of career-relevant interests, (b) selection of academic and career choice options, and (c) performance and persistence in educational and occupational pursuits. The framework, derived primarily from Bandura's (1986) general social cognitive theory, emphasizes the means by which individuals exercise personal agency in the career development process, as well as extra-personal factors that enhance or constrain agency. In particular, we focus on self-efficacy, expected outcome, and goal mechanisms and how they may interrelate with other person (e.g., gender), contextual (e.g., support system), and experiential/learning factors. Twelve sets of propositions are offered to organize existing findings and guide future research on the theory. We also present a meta-analysis of relevant findings and suggest specific directions for future empirical and theory-extension activity.
Although influences of interest on learning are well documented, mediating processes have not been clarified. The authors investigated how individual and situational interest factors contribute to topic interest and text learning. Traditional self-report measures were combined with novel interactive computerized methods of recording cognitive and affective reactions to science and popular culture texts, monitoring their development in real time. Australian and Canadian students read 4 expository texts. Both individual interest variables and specific text titles influenced topic interest. Examination of processes predictive of text learning indicated that topic interest was related to affective response, affect to persistence, and persistence to learning. Combining self-rating scales with dynamic measures of student activities provided new insight into how interest influences learning.
A study of how materialism and consumerism undermine our quality of life.
In The High Price of Materialism, Tim Kasser offers a scientific explanation of how our contemporary culture of consumerism and materialism affects our everyday happiness and psychological health. Other writers have shown that once we have sufficient food, shelter, and clothing, further material gains do little to improve our well-being. Kasser goes beyond these findings to investigate how people's materialistic desires relate to their well-being. He shows that people whose values center on the accumulation of wealth or material possessions face a greater risk of unhappiness, including anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, and problems with intimacy—regardless of age, income, or culture.
Drawing on a decade's worth of empirical data, Kasser examines what happens when we organize our lives around materialistic pursuits. He looks at the effects on our internal experience and interpersonal relationships, as well as on our communities and the world at large. He shows that materialistic values actually undermine our well-being, as they perpetuate feelings of insecurity, weaken the ties that bind us, and make us feel less free. Kasser not only defines the problem but proposes ways we can change ourselves, our families, and society to become less materialistic.
Bradford Books imprint
The effect of a grateful outlook on psychological and physical well-being was examined. In Studies 1 and 2, participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 experimental conditions (hassles, gratitude listing, and either neutral life events or social comparison); they then kept weekly (Study 1) or daily (Study 2) records of their moods, coping behaviors, health behaviors, physical symptoms, and overall life appraisals. In a 3rd study, persons with neuromuscular disease were randomly assigned to either the gratitude condition or to a control condition. The gratitude-outlook groups exhibited heightened well-being across several, though not all, of the outcome measures across the 3 studies, relative to the comparison groups. The effect on positive affect appeared to be the most robust finding. Results suggest that a conscious focus on blessings may have emotional and interpersonal benefits.
Joint effects of daily events and dispositional sensitivities to cues of reward and punishment on daily positive affect (PA) and negative affect (NA) were examined in 3 diary studies. Study 1 showed that positive events were strongly related to PA but not NA, whereas negative events were strongly related to NA but not PA. Studies 2 and 3 examined how the dispositional sensitivities of independent appetitive and aversive motivational systems, the Behavioral Activation System (BAS) and the Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS), moderated these relationships. Participants in Study 2 with higher BAS sensitivity reported more PA on average; those with more sensitive BIS reported more NA. Also, BIS moderated reactions to negative events, such that higher BIS sensitivity magnified reactions to negative events. Study 3 replicated these findings and showed that BAS predisposed people to experience more positive events. Results demonstrate the value of distinguishing within-person and between-person effects to clarify the functionally independent processes by which dispositional sensitivities influence affect.
Gray (1981, 1982) holds that 2 general motivational systems underlie behavior and affect: a behavioral inhibition system (BIS) and a behavioral activation system (BAS). Self-report scales to assess dispositional BIS and BAS sensitivities were created. Scale development (Study 1) and convergent and discriminant validity in the form of correlations with alternative measures are reported (Study 2). In Study 3, a situation in which Ss anticipated a punishment was created. Controlling for initial nervousness, Ss high in BIS sensitivity (assessed earlier) were more nervous than those low. In Study 4, a situation in which Ss anticipated a reward was created. Controlling for initial happiness, Ss high in BAS sensitivity (Reward Responsiveness and Drive scales) were happier than those low. In each case the new scales predicted better than an alternative measure. Discussion is focused on conceptual implications.
SAS PROC MIXED is a flexible program suitable for fitting multilevel models, hierarchical linear models, and individual growth models. Its position as an integrated program within the SAS statistical package makes it an ideal choice for empirical researchers and applied statisticians seeking to do data reduction, management, and analysis within a single statistical package. Because the program was developed from the perspective of a "mixed" statistical model with both random and fixed effects, its syntax and programming logic may appear unfamiliar to users in education and the social and behavioral sciences who tend to express these models as multilevel or hierarchical models. The purpose of this paper is to help users familiar with fitting multilevel models using other statistical packages (e.g., HLM, MLwiN, MIXREG) add SAS PROC MIXED to their array of analytic options. The paper is written as a step-by-step tutorial that shows how to fit the two most common multilevel models: (a) school effects models, designed for data on individuals nested within naturally occurring hierarchies (e.g., students within classes); and (b) individual growth models, designed for exploring longitudinal data (on individuals) over time. The conclusion discusses how these ideas can be extended straighforwardly to the case of three level models. An appendix presents general strategies for working with multilevel data in SAS and for creating data sets at several levels.
This article reports the development and validation of a scale to measure global life satisfaction, the Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS). Among the various components of subjective well-being, the SWLS is narrowly focused to assess global life satisfaction and does not tap related constructs such as positive affect or loneliness. The SWLS is shown to have favorable psychometric properties, including high internal consistency and high temporal reliability. Scores on the SWLS correlate moderately to highly with other measures of subjective well-being, and correlate predictably with specific personality characteristics. It is noted that the SWLS is suited for use with different age groups, and other potential uses of the scale are discussed.
Psychologists have always been intrigued in interest, and modern research on interest can be found in nearly every area of the field: researchers studying emotions, cognition, development, education, aesthetics, personality, motivation, and vocations have developed intriguing ideas about what interest is and how it works. This book presents an integrated picture of how interest has been studied in all of the wide-ranging areas of psychology. Using modern theories of cognition and emotion as an integrative framework, it examines the nature of interest, what makes things interesting, the role of interest in personality, and the development of people's idiosyncratic interests, hobbies, and avocations. The examination reveals deep similarities between seemingly different fields of psychology and illustrates the profound importance of interest, curiosity, and intrinsic motivation for understanding why people do what they do. A comprehensive work devoted to interest, this book reviews the history of psychological thought on interest, presents classic and modern research, and suggests fruitful directions for future work.
The SWLS consists of 5-items that require a ratingon a 7-point Likert scale. Administration is rarely morethan a minute or 2 and can be completed by interview(including phone) or paper and pencil response. The in-strumentshouldnotbecompletedbyaproxyansweringfortheperson.Itemsofthe SWLSaresummedtocreatea total score that can range from 5 to 35.The SWLS is in the public domain. Permission isnot needed to use it. Further information regardingthe use and interpretation of the SWLS can be foundat the author’s Web site http://internal.psychology.illinois.edu/∼ediener/SWLS.html. The Web site alsoincludes links to translations of the scale into 27languages.
We examined the roles of curiosity, social anxiety, and positive affect (PA) and neg- ative affect (NA) in the development of interpersonal closeness. A reciprocal self-disclosure task was used wherein participants and trained confederates asked and answered questions escalating in personal and emotional depth (mimicking closeness-development). Relationships between curiosity and relationship out- comes were examined using regression analyses. Controlling for trait measures of social anxiety, PA, and NA, trait curiosity predicted greater partner ratings of attrac- tion and closeness. Social anxiety moderated the relationship between trait curios- ity and self-ratings of attraction such that curiosity was associated with greater attraction among those low in social anxiety compared to those high in social anxi- ety. In contrast, trait PA was related to greater self-ratings of attraction but had no relationship with partners' ratings. Trait curiosity predicted positive relationship outcomes as a function of state curiosity generated during the interaction, even after controlling for state PA.
We investigated the relationship between various character strengths and life satisfaction among 5,299 adults from three Internet samples using the Values in Action Inventory of Strengths. Consistently and robustly associated with life satisfaction were hope, zest, gratitude, love, and curiosity. Only weakly associated with life satisfaction, in contrast, were modesty and the intellectual strengths of appreciation of beauty, creativity, judgment, and love of learning. In general, the relationship between character strengths and life satisfaction was monotonic, indicating that excess on any one character strength does not diminish life satisfaction.
SAS PROC MIXED is a flexible program suitable for fitting multilevel models, hierarchical linear models, and individual growth models. Its position as an integrated program within the SAS statistical package makes it an ideal choice for empirical researchers and applied statisticians seeking to do data reduction, management, and analysis within a single statistical package. Because the program was developed from the perspective of a "mixed" statistical model with both random and fixed effects, its syntax and programming logic may appear unfamiliar to users in education and the social and behavioral sciences who tend to express these models as multilevel or hierarchical models. The purpose of this paper is to help users familiar with fitting multilevel models using other statistical packages (e.g., HLM, MLwiN, MIXREG) add SAS PROC MIXED to their array of analytic options. The paper is written as a step-by-step tutorial that shows how to fit the two most common multilevel models: (a) school effects models, designed for data on individuals nested within naturally occurring hierarchies (e.g., students within classes); and (b) individual growth models, designed for exploring longitudinal data (on individuals) over time. The conclusion discusses how these ideas can be extended straighforwardly to the case of three level models. An appendix presents general strategies for working with multilevel data in SAS and for creating data sets at several levels.
Pleasures of the mind are different from pleasures of the body. There are two types of pleasures of the body: tonic pleasures and relief pleasures. Pleasures of the body are given by the contact senses and by the distance senses (seeing and hearing). The distance senses provide a special category of pleasure. Pleasures of the mind are not emotions; they are collections of emotions distributed over time. Some distributions of emotions over time are particularly pleasurable, such as episodes in which the peak emotion is strong and the final emotion is positive. The idea that all pleasurable stimuli share some general characteristic should be supplanted by the idea that humans have evolved domain-specific responses of attraction to stimuli. The emotions that characterize pleasures of the mind arise when expectations are violated, causing autonomic nervous system arousal and thereby triggering a search for an interpretation. Thus pleasures of the mind occur when an individual has a definite set of expectations (usually tacit) and the wherewithal to interpret the violation (usually by placing it in a narrative framework). Pleasures of the mind differ in the objects of the emotions they comprise. There is probably a
The aims of this symposium were "to consider problems relevant to education, to allow researchers already in this area to communicate directly about common problems and to suggest new ideas and directions for research in the field of psychology in education." The proceedings were published because, in addition to the fact that there is no text or overview of the different theoretical positions on intrinsic motivation, there has been no attempt to relate the various theoretical positions to educationally relevant problems. Among the 15 contributions are: 1) Toward a History of Intrinsic Motivation; 2) The Psychological Significance of Success in Competitive Achievement Situations: A Threat as Well as a Promise; 3) Motivation Inherent in the Pursuit of Meaning: Or the Desire to Inquire; 4) Differences in the Personalities of Children Differing in Curiosity; and, 5) Intrinsic Motivation: Unlearned, Learned, and Modifiable. A few of the contributors to the book have extended their research on intrinsic motivation into an examination of maturity, mental health, creativity, vocational choice, and other factors in growth and development. Bibliographic references accompany each essay. (Author/JLB)
Five studies were conducted to map the content and structure of laypeople's conceptions of pleasure. Instances of the pleasure concept collected in Study 1 consisted predominantly of objects, events or persons described as sources of pleasure. Content analysis suggested that the pleasure category, like emotional response categories, might be formed at an implicit level where various pleasure antecedents are grouped based on common phenomenological qualities of the affective experience. Studies 2 and 3a showed that the pleasure category possesses a graded structure and fuzzy boundaries. Results further revealed that, either when explicitly presented with labels (Study 3b) or left to their own implicit categories during a sorting task (Study 4), laypeople represented pleasure as a hierarchical concept in which differentiated pleasure types (i.e., intellectual, emotional, social and physical) were subsumed under a higher level unitary form of pleasure. In this structure, unitary and differentiated pleasures shared a set of common affective qualities but were also distinguishable by unique and distinctive affective characteristics (Study 5). Ties to prior theories of pleasure and implications for decision making and behavioural research are discussed.
AN ATTEMPT TO ARRIVE AT A BETTER UNDERSTANDING OF REINFORCEMENT BY STUDYING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN AROUSAL AND REINFORCEMENT. EFFECTS OF AROUSAL LEVEL AND THE INTERACTION OF AROUSAL LEVEL AND AROUSAL POTENTIAL ARE DISCUSSED USING FINDINGS FROM HUMAN AND ANIMAL, VERBAL LEARNING, AND NEUROPHYSIOLOGICAL STUDIES. PSYCHOPHYSICAL, ECOLOGICAL, AND COLLATIVE STIMULUS PROPERTIES ARE FOUND TO "AFFECT REWARD VALUE AND, MORE GENERALLY, REINFORCEMENT VALUE IN SIMILAR WAYS." AROUSAL REDUCTION IS REJECTED AS NECESSARY FOR PRODUCING REINFORCEMENT. (322 REF.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The pursuit of happiness is an important goal for many people. However, surprisingly little scientific research has focused on the question of how happiness can be increased and then sustained, probably because of pessimism engendered by the concepts of genetic determinism and hedonic adaptation. Nevertheless, emerging sources of optimism exist regarding the possibility of permanent increases in happiness. Drawing on the past well-being literature, the authors propose that a person's chronic happiness level is governed by 3 major factors: a genetically determined set point for happiness, happiness-relevant circumstantial factors, and happiness-relevant activities and practices. The authors then consider adaptation and dynamic processes to show why the activity category offers the best opportunities for sustainably increasing happiness. Finally, existing research is discussed in support of the model, including 2 preliminary happiness-increasing interventions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
believe that attempts to relate the structure of central nervous system neurobiology and neurochemistry to the structure of personality . . . require a clear conceptual framework / a theoretical strategy is needed to guide selection of the neurobiological and personality variables hypothesized to relate / our theoretical approach to the neurobiology of personality is first explicated / began by broadening our understanding of [personality] structure by assessing the structure of behavioral systems as defined by ethology and psychology / the structure of behavior reflects the existence of neurobehavioral-emotional systems that elicit and motivate certain subjective emotional experiences and overt patterns of behavior to particular classes of stimulus / thus, a particular class of stimulus, the emotional feelings and motivation generated, and the behavior patterns expressed all form integral components of a coherent emotional system
analogous structure of neurobehavioral-emotional systems and personality [types and organization of neurobehavioral systems, the structure of a general neurobehavioral-emotional system, the structure of personality and its superfactors] / putative neurobiology of three personality superfactors [positive emotionality, constraint, negative emotionality] / studies of the relationship of DA [dopamine] to positive emotionality and 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT) to constraint / implications for personality disorders [implications for the development of substance abuse] (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The topics that are to be treated in this book were unduly neglected by psychology for many years but are now beginning to come to the fore. My own researches into attention and exploratory behavior began in 1947, and at about the same time several other psychologists became independently impressed with the importance of these matters and started to study them experimentally. It is interesting that those were also the years when information theory was making its appearance and when the reticular formation of the brain stem was first attracting the notice of neurophysiologists. During the last ten years, the tempo of research into exploratory behavior and related phenomena has been steadily quickening. The book is prompted by the feeling that it is now time to pause and take stock: to review relevant data contributed by several different specialties, to consider what conclusions, whether firm or tentative, are justified at the present juncture, and to clarify what remains to be done. The primary aim of the book is, in fact, to raise problems. The book is intended as a contribution to behavior theory, i.e., to psychology conceived as a branch of science with the circumscribed objective of explaining and predicting behavior. But interest in attention and exploratory behavior and in other topics indissociably bound up with them, such as art, humor and thinking, has by no means been confined to professional psychologists. The book has two features that would have surprised me when I first set out to plan it. One is that it ends up sketching a highly modified form of drive-reduction theory. Drive-reduction theory has appeared more and more to be full of shortcomings, even for the phenomena that it was originally designed to handle. The second surprising feature is the prominence of neurophysiology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Theoretical relations between anxiety and curiosity have been suggested, and analogies have been drawn between the state-trait formulation in anxiety theory and research and a similar formulation in curiosity. Individual differences in the potential for curiosity experiences suggest a trait (C-Trait) formulation; while individual differences in curiosity experiences themselves (C-State) suggest a state formulation. Three studies reporting psychometric aspects of the Melbourne Curiosity Inventory concern descriptive statistical characteristics of the C-Trait and C-State scales, and the validity of the state-trait distinction for curiosity research. It is concluded that the scales have acceptable levels of reliability and validity to justify their use as research instruments.
In two daily diary studies we examined the moderating role of sensation seeking in the patterns of relations between physical pleasure and life satisfaction. In study 1 (a 52-day daily diary study), daily physical pleasure was a signi®cantly stronger predictor of daily social satisfaction among high sensation seekers than among low sensation seekers. We extended the ®nding of study 1 to more general daily satisfaction in study 2 (a 23-day diary study). The present ®ndings indicate that physical pleasure is associated with daily satisfaction to the degree that one seeks for such an experience. In addition, we tested whether the association between physical pleasure and daily satisfaction would be moderated also by other facets of extraversion and extraversion as a whole. With the exception of the positive emotion facet in study 1, no facet or extraversion as a whole moderated the relation between physical pleasure and daily satisfaction. The present studies show speci®city and replicability of the role that sensation seeking plays in understanding the link between daily physical pleasure and daily satisfaction.
In two daily diary studies we examined the moderating role of sensation seeking in the patterns of relations between physical pleasure and life satisfaction. In study 1 (a 52-day daily diary study), daily physical pleasure was a significantly stronger predictor of daily social satisfaction among high sensation seekers than among low sensation seekers. We extended the finding of study 1 to more general daily satisfaction in study 2 (a 23-day diary study). The present findings indicate that physical pleasure is associated with daily satisfaction to the degree that one seeks for such an experience. In addition, we tested whether the association between physical pleasure and daily satisfaction would be moderated also by other facets of extraversion and extraversion as a whole. With the exception of the positive emotion facet in study 1, no facet or extraversion as a whole moderated the relation between physical pleasure and daily satisfaction. The present studies show specificity and replicability of the role that sensation seeking plays in understanding the link between daily physical pleasure and daily satisfaction. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Eudaimonic theories of well-being assert the importance of achieving one’s full potential through engaging in inherently meaningful endeavors. In two daily diary studies, we assessed whether reports of engagement in behaviors representative of eudaimonic theories were associated with well-being. We also examined whether eudaimonic behaviors were more strongly related to well-being than behaviors directed toward obtaining pleasure or material goods. In both studies, eudaimonic behaviors had consistently stronger relations to well-being than hedonic behaviors. Data also provided support for a temporal sequence in which eudaimonic behaviors were related to greater well-being the next day. Overall, our results suggest that “doing good” may be an important avenue by which people create meaningful and satisfying lives.
When time is limited, researchers may be faced with the choice of using an extremely brief measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions or using no measure at all. To meet the need for a very brief measure, 5 and 10-item inventories were developed and evaluated. Although somewhat inferior to standard multi-item instruments, the instruments reached adequate levels in terms of: (a) convergence with widely used Big-Five measures in self, observer, and peer reports, (b) test–retest reliability, (c) patterns of predicted external correlates, and (d) convergence between self and observer ratings. On the basis of these tests, a 10-item measure of the Big-Five dimensions is offered for situations where very short measures are needed, personality is not the primary topic of interest, or researchers can tolerate the somewhat diminished psychometric properties associated with very brief measures.