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The nature of curiosity in children
Abstract
Examined behaviors claimed to reflect curiosity to determine whether there are 1 or more types of curiosity. A secondary purpose was to examine the relations between the 1 or more types of curiosity and sex, social class, intelligence, achievement level, and ratings of personality traits. In 2 sessions 84 American 1st graders were administered 5 tasks which measured observation of complex and simple stimuli, preference of complex and simple stimuli, preference for the unknown, structure of meaning, and object exploration. A normalized Varimax factor analysis allowed the extraction of 5 factors: manipulatory curiosity, perceptual curiosity, conceptual curiosity, curiosity about the complex, and adjustive-reactive curiosity. Only the 1st factor was related to a demographic variable, sex. The nature of the factors and their theoretical and practical significance are discussed. (38 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
... However, Coie's (1974) study did not consider the child's confidence or social skills, or their motivation or security to ask questions or talk, and this appears to be a limitation of this study. Kreitler, Zigler and Kreitler (1975) examined the nature of curiosity in children using different observable behaviours to determine if these were different types of curiosity. ...
... questions differed between home and school and that teachers could affect the opportunities for inquiry, hypothesising and question-asking (see Kreitler, Zigler and Kreitler, 1975;Lowry and Johnson, 1981;Engel, 2009;Jirout, 2011;Jirout and Klahr, 2012). The literature supports the notion that schools and teachers can negatively impact students' questions, regarded as potential expressions of epistemic curiosity, and this also seemed to be the case at Hillview School. ...
... The data also showed that when the Echo Dots were present the teacher was still responsible for the majority of the talk, using 'The Way' from 'The Front', to students who were seated in rows. There is a limitation of this pedagogical approach (see Kreitler, Zigler and Kreitler, 1975;Lowry and Johnson, 1981;Scardamalia and Bereiter 2006;Engel, 2009;Jirout, 2011, Jirout andKlahr, 2012), particularly for students, and this is a negative impact on deeper understanding and knowledge because it overlooks the importance of talking and thinking. Bereiter (2002, p.269) has described a similar form of instruction as a reductive pedagogy which is damaging for education, stating that: ...
The aim of the study was to critically analyse teachers pedagogical approaches and how voice technology was used by students as a more knowledgeable other and the extent to which it affected students’ epistemic curiosity.
Using an exploratory ethnographic approach, Amazon’s Echo Dot voice technology was studied in lessons at Hillview School. Data was collected through participant observation, informal interviews and recordings of students’ interactions with ‘Alexa’. Students asked questions to Alexa in large numbers. Alexa was asked 87 questions during two lessons suggesting that Alexa was a digital more knowledgeable other. Types of questions asked to Alexa, such as ‘Can fish see water?’, were epistemic questions and suggestive of epistemic curiosity. Teachers used the Echo Dots infrequently and in a limited number of ways. Teachers relied upon a pedagogical approach and talk oriented around performance which overlooked students’ learning talk. The answer to why students might not be curious was not found. However, evidence to understand how and why they might appear not curious was revealed.
The study makes contributions to knowledge through the novel use of the Echo Dots to collect data and through a new data visualisation technique called ‘heatmaps’. The study contributes to knowledge by proposing three tentative notions that emerged inductively from the research: ‘performance-oriented talk’, ‘metricalisation’ and ‘regulativity’. The study aims to make a further contribution to knowledge by suggesting evidence of a ‘pedagogy of performance’. The study recommends ‘learning-oriented talk’ and development of Alexa ‘Skills’ as a way to disrupt the pedagogy of performance and as an area for further research.
... The Maw and Maw scale and ranking system were later modified to include behavioral measures after criticism that its scale measured intelligence rather than curiosity (Maw & Maw, 1970). Kreitler, Zigler, and Kreitler (1975) utilized questionnaire-type items, observed behaviors, and conversation between the researcher and first-grade students to examine five different 'types' of curiosity: (a) manipulatory curiosity, (b) perceptual curiosity, (c) conceptual curiosity, (d) curiosity about the complex, and (e) adjustive-reactive curiosity. Their findings indicated that not only were there different types of curiosity, but similar to , it is necessary to clearly define the types of curiosity in order to measure curiosity accurately. ...
... Similarly, Jirout and Klahr (2012) utilized behavioral measures to measure scientific curiosity of children by observing their preferences and uncertainty during exploratory behavior. Jirout and Klahr adapted earlier procedures for children (Kreitler et al., 1975) and adults (Loewenstein, 1994) to create a protocol for 3-to 5-year old children in which a child chooses between pairs of items with varying levels of information provided about each. The child's choice was interpreted as the measure of curiosity. ...
Although curiosity is considered an integral aspect of science learning, researchers have debated how to define, measure, and support its development in individuals. Prior measures of curiosity include questionnaire type scales (primarily for adults) and behavioral measures. To address the need to measure scientific curiosity, the Science Curiosity in Learning Environments (SCILE) scale was created and validated as a 12-item scale to measure scientific curiosity in youth. The scale was developed through (a) adapting the language of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II [Kashdan, T. B., Gallagher, M. W., Silvia, P. J., Winterstein, B. P., Breen, W. E., Terhar, D., & Steger, M. F. (2009). The curiosity and exploration inventory-II: Development, factor structure, and psychometrics. Journal of Research in Personality, 43(6), 987–998] for youth and (b) crafting new items based on scientific practices drawn from U.S. science standards documents. We administered a preliminary set of 30 items to 663 youth ages 8–18 in the U.S.A. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis resulted in a three-factor model: stretching, embracing, and science practices. The findings indicate that the SCILE scale is a valid measure of youth’s scientific curiosity for boys and girls as well as elementary, middle school, and high school learners.
... young children (Berlyne & Frommer, 1966;Courage, Reynolds, & Richards, 2006;Henderson & Moore, 1979;Keller, Schölmerich, Miranda, & Gauda, 1987;Keller, 1994;Kreitler, Zigler, & Kreitler, 1975;Lansink, Mintz, & Richards, 2000;Maw & Maw, 1966;Minuchin, 1971;Moch, 1987;Penny & McCann, 1964;Penny, 1965). Building on our familiarity with these literatures, we evaluated the content of the items of the existing I-and D-type scales (Litman, 2008) to identify candidates for adaptation, as well as constructed a number of new items for potential inclusion in an I/D-YC item pool. ...
... To assess the construct validity of the I/D-YC scales, we examined the relationships between scores on each of the I/D scales and scores on four measures of constructs that are relevant to different aspects of early children's intellectual exploration and engagement, namely sensation seeking, shyness, inhibitory control and hyperactivity-inattention. Sensation seeking (SS) is a trait defined by the seeking of varied, novel and complex sensations and experiences (Zuckerman, 2006). Although in adults the relationships between SS and EC is generally weak (Collins, Litman, & Spielberger, 2004;Litman & Spielberger, 2003;Litman et al., 2005;Reio, Petrosko, Wiswell, & Thongsukmag, 2006;Spielberger & Starr, 1994), in children, tendencies to engage in novelty seeking aimed at new sensory experiences may have greater overlap with tendencies to seek out new information for purposes of gaining knowledge (Keller et al., 1987;Kreitler et al., 1975). Given the theoretical connection between SS and novelty seeking, we hypothesized early childhood SS would correlate positively with I-type EC but be either unrelated or only weakly positively related to D-type EC. ...
Epistemic curiosity (EC) is the desire to obtain new knowledge capable of either producing positive experiences of intellectual interest (I-type) or of reducing undesirable conditions of informational deprivation (D-type). Although researchers acknowledge that there are individual differences in young children's epistemic curiosity, there are no existing measures to assess the I- and D-type constructs of EC in early childhood. The aim of this study was to develop and validate parent-report scales that reliably assessed early expressions of I- and D- type EC in young children. To develop the I/D-Young Children (I/D-YC) scales, 16 potential items were administered to 316 parents of children aged 3 to 8. These items were adaptations of an existing adult self-report measure of EC as well as newly developed items. Confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a 10-item 2-factor (5 I-type, 5 D-type) model had the best fit. Construct validity analyses and psychometric data indicated that our newly developed I/D-YC scales are valid and reliable measures of individual differences in early expressions of I- and D-type EC. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
... Factor analytical studies: behavioral and questionnaire Kreitler, Zigler, and Kreitler (1975) used a factor-analysis approach to measure curiosity in firstgrade students. They collected both questionnaire-style teacher ratings as well as several direct behavioral measures of different manifestations of curiosity. ...
... Our general procedure, adapted from an exploration measure used by Kreitler et al. (1975), is as follows. Children are presented with a series of items, each requiring them to choose one of two options to explore. ...
... Starting in childhood and extending across the lifespan, curiosity has been shown to be a multidimensional trait that draws on distinct underlying "curiosity factors" (Kreitler et al., 1975;Henderson and Moore, 1979;Kashdan et al., 2018). Each of these factors reflects distinct psychological processes and includes Joyous Exploration (the joy of discovering new information), Deprivation Sensitivity (frustration in the face of uncertainty), Stress Tolerance (ability to handle stress associated with confronting something new), Social Curiosity (interest in learning about others), and Thrill Seeking (willingness to take risks). ...
Infants are drawn to events that violate their expectations about the world: they look longer at physically impossible events, such as when a car passes through a wall. Here, we examined whether individual differences in infants’ visual preferences for physically impossible events reflect an early form of curiosity, and asked whether caregivers’ behaviors, parenting styles, and everyday routines relate to these differences. In Study 1, we presented infants (N = 47, Mage = 16.83 months, range = 10.29–24.59 months) with events that violated physical principles and closely matched possible events. We measured infants’ everyday curiosity and related experiences (i.e., caregiver curiosity-promoting activities) through a newly developed curiosity scale, The Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale (EMCS). Infants’ looking preferences for physically impossible events were positively associated with their score on the EMCS, but not their temperament, vocabulary, or caregiver trait curiosity. In Study 2A, we set out to better understand the relation between the EMCS and infants’ looking preferences for physically impossible events by assessing the underlying structure of the EMCS with a larger sample of children (N = 211, Mage = 47.63 months, range = 10.29–78.97 months). An exploratory factor analysis revealed that children’s curiosity was comprised four factors: Social Curiosity, Broad Exploration, Persistence, and Information-Seeking. Relatedly, caregiver curiosity-promoting activities were composed of five factors: Flexible Problem-Solving, Cognitive Stimulation, Diverse Daily Activities, Child-Directed Play, and Awe-Inducing Activities. In Study 2B (N = 42 infants from Study 1), we examined which aspects of infant curiosity and caregiver behavior predicted infants’ looking preferences using the factor structures of the EMCS. Findings revealed that infants’ looking preferences were uniquely related to infants’ Broad Exploration and caregivers’ Awe-Inducing Activities (e.g., nature walks with infants, museum outings). These exploratory findings indicate that infants’ visual preferences for physically impossible events may reflect an early form of curiosity, which is related to the curiosity-stimulating environments provided by caregivers. Moreover, this work offers a new comprehensive tool, the Early Multidimensional Curiosity Scale, that can be used to measure both curiosity and factors related to its development, starting in infancy and extending into childhood.
... Moreover, little research has examined using such design patterns in procedural design. To et al. [45] provided generalizable game design guidelines by exploring how designers can influence players' curiosity through the curiosity model by Kreitler et al. [23], which distinguishes between different curiosity triggers. These guidelines provide designers with various possible design decisions to induce player curiosity. ...
... Second, children's parent-child tourism experiences can be enhanced by introducing novel activities. The world, in children's eyes, is filled with activities that are novel and enjoyable for children (53), which can bring them a sense of novelty and joy and, in turn, make them surprised and delighted. Compared to adults, child travelers have a stronger curiosity and desire to explore and a different understanding of novelty. ...
The family cultural environment affects children's cognitive development and socialization processes, and different family cultural environments lead to differences in children's tourism experiences. The current research on children's tourism experiences demands a shift from the families' perspective to that of children's perspective. In response to this, grounded on the cognitive development theory, this paper, from the perspective of children's memorable parent-child tourism experience, uses 321 children's drawings to project the tourism elements, people, activities, scenes, and colors that children perceive from travel, reveals the main cognitive contents of children's parent-child tourism experiences. Furthermore, this paper analyzes the influence of family cultural background on children's tourism experiences through interviews with children. Our results show that with the growth of age, children's perception of elements changes from the macro level to the micro level, and the contents they perceive change from concrete to abstract. In addition, children have an acute perception of people and are impressed by novel activities during travel. They adapt well to changes in travel scenes and prefer bright and vibrant colors during trips. Therefore, we recommend the design of appropriate tourism products that combine the characteristics of children's experiences when offering parent-child travel programs, as well as upgrading the market of parent-child tourism experiences through novel activities.
... Moreover, other curiosity dimensions may be more optimal for proxy reports. Notably, one child study (43) did an exploratory factor analysis on data from different behavioral tests of curiosity and rendered curiosity factors of manipulatory curiosity, perceptual curiosity, conceptual curiosity, curiosity about the complex, and adjustive-reactive curiosity, which may prove to be more favorable for proxy ratings of child curiosity. Nevertheless, considering that the internal consistency in the Swedish version of the I/D-YC, when combining both subscales was good and that I-and D-factors were highly overlapping, it is fully conceivable that the I/D-YC combined scale result broadly captures important perspectives of children's trait EC. ...
Background
Proxy ratings of young children’s curiosity has the potential to be useful for research in Sweden. One such proxy rating is the parent-rating Interest/Deprivation Young Children scale. This scale has previously only been validated in Dutch samples, where it differentiated curiosity dimensions of interest (joyful exploration) and deprivation (reduction of aversive feelings of not knowing).
Objective
The objective of this study was to investigate internal and construct validity of the Swedish version of the Interest/Deprivation Young Children scale.
Method
A translation of the Interest/Deprivation Young Children scale was conducted and then administered to 266 parents in Sweden, who rated their children (4-6-years old) on 10 items, with 5 items each for subscales of interest and deprivation dimensions of epistemic curiosity. Responses were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis.
Results
Results indicate acceptable internal reliability for deprivation-curiosity items (α = 0.78) and for interest-curiosity items (α = 0.79). For the combined scale score alpha was found good (α = 0.84). However, confirmatory factor analysis failed to differentiate interest and deprivation dimensions of curiosity.
Conclusions
Item revisions are suggested which could be implemented for further investigations. Also, the possibility of using the I/D-YC total score as a more general measure of child curiosity is argued for. An open question is how other dimensions of curiosity might be more viable for proxy ratings of child curiosity.
... These patterns can then serve as a guideline for the analysis and development of games. To et al. [71] investigated how game designers can elicit the curiosity of players, following a model of curiosity [34] that distinguishes between different triggers of curiosity. This approach is particularly useful for creating generalizable design guidelines, as it gives game designers a range of possible design interventions for invoking curiosity. ...
Video games frequently feature 'open world' environments, designed to motivate exploration. Level design patterns are implemented to invoke curiosity and to guide player behavior. However, evidence of the efficacy of such patterns has remained theoretical. This study presents an empirical study of how level design patterns impact curiosity-driven exploration in a 3D open-world video game. 254 participants played a game in an empirical study using a between-subjects factorial design, testing 4 variables: presence or absence of patterns, goal or open-ended, nature and alien aesthetic, and assured or unassured compensation. Data collection consisted of in-game metrics and emotion word prompts as well as post-game questionnaires. Results show that design patterns invoke heightened exploration, but this effect is influenced by the presence of an explicit goal or monetary compensation. There appear to be many motivations behind exploratory behavior in games, with patterns raising expectations in players. A disposition for curiosity (i.e. 'trait curiosity') was not found to influence exploration. We interpret and discuss the impact of the conditions, individual patterns, and player motivations.
... For example, children are normally active participants in festivals (Idema & Patrick, 2019). Because curiosity is one of the characteristics of children (Kreitler et al., 1975), if children have concerns or questions, they might ask their parents when attending festivals together. Additionally, most parents try to educate their children with new knowledge in daily life. ...
Participants attending a festival(s) with children is a family activity that influences family relationships. This study examines the relationship between attending status (e.g., with or without children), event experience, subjective well-being, and family quality of life (FQOL). A total of 585 festival participants’ data analyzed by structural equation modeling (SEM) revealed that participants attending with children have a higher level of subjective well-being and FQOL compared to those without children. Participants attending with children have a higher level of cognitive engagement and experience novelty in festivals compared to those without children. Event experience results in a significant positive relationship with subjective well-being. This study expands current event literature in terms of FQOL and provides a practical guideline to event organizers to better understand the significance of festivals.
... Measures themselves vary as well; for example, in studies related to academic performance, curiosity has been measured with surveys of openness to experience, intellectual engagement, need for cognition, and the drive to experience and feel [11]. In other cases, curiosity is measured simply by asking someone to rate their curiosity level (e.g., [12]) or using a variety of different types of behaviors, for example looking time with visual stimuli, exploration choice among different options, or object manipulation (e.g., [13]). ...
Curiosity is essential for scientific discovery and innovation [1, 2] and, more universally, is a natural and irrepressible characteristic of young children [3, 4, 5]. Yet it is also sometimes considered maladaptive in its influence later in development [6]. In the U. S. education system, which is now heavily focused on students meeting fixed standards and performing well on standardized tests, curiosity can actually create a type of risk for teachers, insofar as it threatens performance toward these rigid goals [5]. While curiosity and learning have traditionally been viewed as symbiotic, there are ample reasons to be concerned that our current education system suppresses rather than promotes students' natural curiosity. Why does this inconsistency exist? What would curiosity-promoting educational practice look like, and how does this differ from what happens more typically in classrooms? In this chapter, we explore these questions. After a brief review of why curiosity should be a priority in education, we discuss how curiosity might be promoted or suppressed in educational settings based on prior research, what curiosity in classrooms might look like, and how research on curiosity can be applied to educational settings. We will focus on the process of qualitatively observing educational practice and linking the observations to this prior work to identify ways of influencing students' preferences for uncertainty. We will then shift direction to argue for the need to study curiosity in classrooms and naturalistic learning environments, and the difficulty in doing this if curiosity is understood and studied as a unitary, independent construct. We end with potential future directions to bridge and broaden research on curiosity for educational application.
... Then, the natural curiosity of children can develop and blossom, leading to a questioning attitude and offering to properly trained teachers any number of opportunities to communicate expertise and knowledge, to build competencies and increase involvement of children and parents in school activities (Fig. 5). We like to designate the age between 5 and 12 the golden age of curiosity, even if the exact cognitive development and function of curiosity has not yet been well elucidated (Kreitler, Zigler and Kreitler 1975;Litman 2008 gather, analyze, and interpret data;proposing answers, explanations, and predictions;and communicating the results. National Research Council (1996) It thus appears an apparent contradiction between the eagerness of children for discovery and understanding on the one hand, and the poor vision of science by youngsters on † http://www.ils.uio.no/english/rose ...
Inquiry-based science education is currently receiving a consensus as a pedagogy to teach science at primary and middle school levels, with the goal to reach all children and youngsters, no matter what their future professional choices will be. By the same token, it also greatly increases the fraction of the school population in which future technicians, engineers and sciences could be recruited for further training. La main à la pâte is the name of the action undertaken by the French Académie des Sciences to develop inquiry in France, and then in many collaborating countries. The focus is on science as a whole, and not on particular disciplines such as physics, biology, and so on, since it is the understanding of scientific method and use of evidence which is at the heart of inquiry. Yet, astronomy is offering so many opportunities to demonstrate the scientific method that La main à la pâte has developed a number of inquiry activities in this field, which are presented here, such as Measuring the Earth, Calendars and cultures, the use of One Laptop per Child for Moon observations, etc.
... Les présentes études sont prometteuses et permettent de révéler que les enfants autistes peuvent apprendre à poser des questions. Même si cette habileté est classée sous la rubrique de la curiosité (Beer, 1986;Henderson & Moore, 1980;Kreitler, Zigler & Kreitler, 1975), il n'est pas certain que Mary, Jack et Russel ont appris à être curieux. Nous nous sommes attardés à l'un des aspects de la curiosité et à une seule question à poser. ...
... On the assumption that curiosity is meaningfully related to question asking, Shmidheiser (cited in Maw & Maw, 1978) found curiosity to be the best predictor of kindergarten children's achievement. In a study of 168 first grade students, Krietler, Zigler, and Krietler (1975) extracted five curiosity factors which they contended described the domain of curiosity, i.e., manipulatory, perceptual, conceptual, curiosity about the complex, and adjustive-reactive curiosity. Harty and Beall (1984) determined that students who are highly curious achieved higher grades in science. ...
Thesis (Ph. D.)--Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, 1997. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (p. 98-108). Photocopy. "April 2, 1997."
... The present series of studies are promising, and suggest the possibility that children with autism can be taught to ask questions. Although question asking has been included as one of the behaviors under the rubric of curiosity (Beer, 1986;Henderson & Moore, 1980;Kreitler, Zigler, & Kreitler, 1975), it is uncertain whether Mary, Jack, and Russel have learned to be curious. These studies tapped into one aspect of curiosity and one form of a whquestion. ...
A time delay procedure was used to teach 3 children with autism to ask the question "What's that?" when novel stimuli were presented during an instructional task. Once the ability to ask the question was acquired, the children's ability to learn novel information by asking the question was assessed. The children were then taught to ask the question within a less structured context. All three studies used a multiple baseline across participants. Generalization was assessed in a different room, to a new person, and to novel stimuli. All of the children learned to ask the question within the instructional context, while on a walk in the school building, and to request information about three-dimensional objects. The acquisition of novel information was consistent for receptive and expressive tests for 2 of the children, with varied results for the 3rd. These studies indicate that children with autism can be taught to ask questions that lead to the acquisition of new information.
... gage in information seeking. However, this desire is not a unitary construct. It includes a trait facet that differentiates among persons as well as a state facet that fluctuates over time and across situations (Boyle, 1989;Naylor, 1981). Curiosity includes a wide array of beliefs and affects aroused in new situations (H. Kreitler & Kreitler, 1982;S. Kreitler, Zigler, & Kreitler, 1975), and it has a wide variety of sensory and cognitive manifestations (S. Kreitler & Kreitler, 1986). ...
Five studies examined the association between adult attachment style and information processing. Studies 1-2 focused on information search (curiosity-related beliefs and behaviors). Studies 3-5 focused on the integration of new information within cognitive structures; namely, the level of cognitive closure and its expressions in social judgements. Secure and anxious-ambivalent persons described themselves as more curious and held more positive attitudes toward curiosity than did avoidant persons. Time competition between information search and social interaction increased information search among avoidant persons, but decreased it among anxious-ambivalent persons. Finally, secure persons reported less preference for cognitive closure and were more likely to rely on new information in making social judgements than avoidant and anxious-ambivalent persons. The theoretical implications of the link between attachment and information processing are discussed.
في ظل التطورات المتسارعة التي يفرضها العالم المتغاير، كثرت الآراء والتوصيات لتحسين المناهج لمواكبة عصر الاستكشاف وإكساب المتعلم بالمهارات اللازمة ومن ضمن تلك الأفكار الجديدة توظيف هذه المهارة، ويستحضر المقال التراكمات العلمية والمفاهيم الأساسية التي تشكل مرجعيات المقاربة النظرية، فهو وإن اختلفت مفاهيمه من الممارسات التي تقلص الجهد، بل قد تكون خيار للمعلم لقياس أثر التعلم. ويعرض المقال مقترحات وخيارات معتمدة تسهل عملية تطبيقه وهو حقل خصب تتجلى خصوبته في انفتاحه على مشارب معرفية متعددة. والمقالة الحالية تحاول تقديم لمحة عامة حول التفسيرات النظرية للفضول وكيف تناولت الأبحاث الأولية والمستقبلية الفضول الذهني بأنه القوة الدافعة ومن ثم كسمة شخصية وخصائص بالإمكان تطويرها. كما وقد يقود استعماله حل بعض الإشكالات وتجاوز العقبات. ونسعى لعرض أهميته وتطبيقاته الفاعلة في التحول التفاعلي النشط للتعليم والتعلم والانفتاح على كفاءة القدرات، إن الوعي بالسياقات التي يستعمل فيها هذه الاستراتيجيات يُمكن المدرس من صياغة أنشطة ذهنية، لما يسمح من فهم عميق وتنشيط عمليات الاكتساب المعرفي. ونحاول في هذه الورقة توسيع فهمنا للفضول الذهني من خلال فهمنا للتساؤل الذي يمكن أن يطرح هنا: كيف يمكن أن يساعد هذا الخط الجديد من الطرح في فهم الآليات الكامنة وراء التعلم المرتبط بالفضول الذهني بشكل أفضل؟ وإلى أي مدى يمكن أن يساعد في ارتياد التعلم المستقبلي؟
This study aims to explore what determinants affect learners’ intention to continue using virtual reality (VR) for learning in formal classroom settings. In the proposed theoretical framework, three eudaemonic factors, namely perceived utility, curiosity, and superior influence, were adapted as external stimuli. Moreover, individuals’ cognitive absorption and reflective thinking were set as mediators, while the traits of openness and digital literacy were set as moderators. A total of 463 school students (grades 9/10, M=284, F=179) participated in the designed experiment based on a personal computer-based immersive environment. Then, the students were asked to complete a perceived utility scale, superior influence scale, curiosity and cognitive absorption scale, reflective thinking scale, digital literacy and trait of openness scale. The results demonstrated that eudaemonic factors positively influence students’ cognition (cognitive absorption and reflective thinking) and learners’ intention to continue to use VR for learning. Notably, individuals’ digital literacy and openness traits significantly moderate personal reflective thinking in an immersive environment. In this study, we illustrated the conceptual view of learners’ intention to continue using VR for learning, which has theoretical and practical implications for educators, researchers, and policy-makers.
Curiosity is a fundamental trait of human nature, and as such, it has been studied and exploited in many aspects of game design. However, curiosity is not a static trigger that can just be activated, and game design needs to be carefully paired with the current state of the game flow to produce significant reactions. In this paper we present the preliminary results of an experiment aimed at understanding how different factors such as perceived narrative, unknown game mechanics, and non-standard controller mapping could influence the evolution of players’ behaviour throughout a game session. Data was gathered remotely through a puzzle game we developed and released for free on the internet, and no description on potential narrative was provided before gameplay. Players who downloaded the game did it on their free will and played the same way they would with any other game. Results show that initial curiosity towards both a static and dynamic environment is slowly overcome by the sense of challenge, and that interactions that were initially performed with focus lose accuracy as result of players’ attention shift towards the core game mechanics.
Curiosity is considered an important aspect of human life, but understanding the circumstances that cause a person to become curious poses a challenge for research. This paper proposes video games as a stimulus for the experimental study of curiosity. For this purpose, we conducted a survey with the goal of assessing what video game titles and genres could be considered reliable instruments for invoking curiosity. To involve different types of curiosity, we included the Five-Dimensional Curiosity Scale (5DC) questionnaire. The survey was completed by 113 participants, and resulted in 301 game suggestions that warrant further analysis. Exploration and Social Simulation games in particular were found to rank high in triggering curiosity. To explain this result, we present a first analysis of potential game patterns that help trigger curiosity within these genres.
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apply across the technological sensory tool of virtual reality cardboard, in the elaboration of
the artistic aptitudes of physiotherapy scholars from the university Autonoma of Manizales.
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Autonoma of Manizales mediados (Experimental Group).
Curiosity is an important motivator to facilitate learning in all aspects of life, including formal education. Digital games stand out among the methods that can be used to invoke curiosity by providing an interactive, yet controlled environment. In this paper we present the conceptual design for CURIO, a multi-user classroom game that seeks to invoke curiosity through its gameplay. We describe a series of three focus groups with educators, conducted with the purpose of determining what requirements such a game needs to fulfill. On this basis we have developed a conceptual game design that will be further evaluated and modified through future test sessions.
Curiosity is an important aspect of life, but studying it is challenging without reliable stimuli. Digital games provide an ideal stimulus to investigate the circumstances that trigger curiosity and how it is expressed. A survey was conducted with the goal of assessing what game titles and game genres should be analysed to further the study of curiosity. To consider different types of curiosity, we included the Five-Dimensional Curiosity Scale (5DC) questionnaire. The survey was completed by 113 participants, and resulted in 301 game suggestions that warrant further analysis. Exploration, social simulation, and collecting tasks within games were found to rank high in triggering curiosity. We further found that social curiosity in individuals correlates with having curiosity triggered by social simulations.
Curiosity has usually been seen as a multidimensional concept. The aim of the present study was to verify the factor structure of the 40-item trait scale developed by Olson (1986), who conceptualized exploration aroused by curiosity in terms of four distinct dimensions: Exploration of the Complex or Ambiguous, Manipulatory Exploration, Conceptual Exploration, and Perceptual Exploration. However, the reported high homogeneity of the total trait scale suggested item redundancy and overlapping subscales. There were also some doubts that at least the Manipulatory Exploration factor may be gender-related. Using hand rotation it was possible to combine both exploratory and more confirmatory factor analysis in the same analysis. The purpose of the exploratory factor analysis was to find out the gender-related items of the scale. The results showed that the scale contained only 17 reliable and unambiguous items which formed a highly correlating gender-free four-factor structure. An interpretationally meaningful second-order structure explained the intercorrelations of the first-order factors very well. The models were cross-validated using confirmatory factor analysis.
Almost all studies of exploratory behavior in preschoolers have noted the high amount of individual variation in different curiosity-oriented behaviors. Only a small amount of this variation can be explained by the age and sex of the children. In one of our own earlier studies in which we had confronted preschoolers with Corinne Hutt’s novel box (see Schneider, Moch, Sandfort, Auerswald, & Walther-Weckman, 1983), interindividual differences in the total time the 99 children (ages 3 to 6) dealt with the novel box (exploration and playing) were determined only partially (about 20%) by the individual difference variables “age” (3 age groups) and “sex” of the children.
What is exploratory behavior? There are numerous definitions of exploration, but all agree on the result of exploratory behavior: exploration leads to the acquisition of information about unknown objects or situations. The concept of unknown as a feature of an object is quite difficult, and the different definitions of exploration simply assume that something unknown can become known to an exploring individual.
More than a decade ago, presenters at a conference on imagination, play and curiosity (e.g., Keller, 1987; Wohlwill, 1987) suggested that more attention needed to be paid to individual differences in curiosity and exploration. The presence of a section on individual differences in the present volume indicates that those earlier suggestions did not fall on deaf ears. In this chapter, I argue that individual differences in curiosity and exploration represent an important subcategory of behaviors that I will call experience-producing tendencies. I then review some preliminary research on the relation between individual differences in the tendency to produce experiences through exploration and individual differences in measured intelligence and achievement. My interpretation of the role of exploration in intellectual development is tentative and speculative in nature, but it is consistent with some recent views of how children create their own environments and thus influence their own intellectual abilities (e.g., Anastasi, 1985; Plomin, 1986; Scarr & McCartney, 1983).
A large body of research showed that exploration plays an important role in cognitive development, problem solving, thinking and creativity (e.g., Cagle, 1985; Gibson, 1988; Kagan, 1978; Singer & Singer, 1990; Voss & Keller, 1983). Thus, it is a major factor in the construction and maintenance of a cognitive system that comprises the contents and processes necessary for coping intelligently with a complex and changing external and internal environment. Therefore it is of great theoretical and practical importance to clarify the motivational and cognitive determinants of exploration. This is the major purpose of the present chapter. It summarizes empirical findings and theoretical conclusions obtained by applying to the study of curiosity and exploration two theoretical frameworks: the theories of cognitive orientation and of meaning (Kreitler & Kreitler, 1976a, 1990a). To be sure, these theories and the methodologies they have generated have been applied also to a broad range of issues other than exploration and curiosity. Yet it may be of interest to note that the investigations of exploration have played a seminal role in the development and refinement of these theories and methods. Exploration, motivational determinants and cognitive determants are the three major terms in the chapter’s title. We will deal with each in turn before we describe an empirically based theoretical attempt at their integration.
Humans interact with their environment in different behavioral modes such as seeing, hearing, smelling, touching, approaching, manipulating, and talking. These interactions create information and belong to the behavioral system of exploration. Although they share the common purpose of information input, they differ significantly in structure. Shulamith and Hans Kreitler (1987, see also this volume; and Kreitler, Zigler, & Kreitler, 1974, 1975) who have done extensive research on the factor structure of exploration have repeatedly identified five factors in children as well as in adults. The most powerful factors with respect to the amount of explained variance in 6-to 8-year-old children were manipulative exploration (17.5%, focused on exploring by means of motor actions), followed by perceptual exploration (12.5%, focused on exploring by means of viewing, listening, or smelling) and conceptual exploration (9.3%, focused on exploring by checking meanings and their interrelations and by asking questions).
The curiosity of 116 graduate students was compared with their knowledge of the items used to measure curiosity. There was an insignificant correlation (—.06) between curiosity and knowledge but a significant correlation between the curiosity value and the knowledge value (—.51) of the individual items on the test.
Under this heading appear summaries of studies which, to 500 words or less, provide useful data substantiating, not substantiating, or refining what we think we know. Additional details concerning the results can be obtained by communicating directly with the investigator or, when indicated, by requesting supplementary material from Microfiche Publications.
Two studies of the exploratory behaviour of preschool children and first grade elementary school children using Hutt's novel object are reported. The novel object was a box with a movable level. Manipulating the lever released sound and light effects from the box. The task was such that manipulatory behaviour dominated other forms of exploration, like perceptual investigation and asking questions. Children were observed in one encounter with the novel object in which the box was offered together with three familiar toys in a familiar surrounding. Observation time was 10 minutes in the first and 15 minutes in the second study. For the observation of the behaviour a checklist was used with 12 categories.
The results confirmed the assumption of a typical sequence of exploratory behaviour and play behaviour with the new object, suggested by Hutt, and Nunnally and Lemond. In addition, boys manipulated the object more than girls (study 2) and children generally dealt more with the new object the older they were however, the oldest group of first grade elementary school children in study 2 again showed less interest in the novel object. The younger girls also asked more social-emotional but not information questions than boys of the same age.
In contrast to a strong sequential hypothesis, however, subjects shifted back and forth between neighbouring categories of exploratory behaviour and also between exploratory behaviour and playing with the new object. Thus, there is no clear sequential order between exploration and play.
The effect of social context on individual differences in children's exploratory behavior was examined in 3 studies. In Study 1, 68 high-, moderate-, and low-exploratory children 3-6 years of age identified by their responses to a battery of novel tasks explored novel toys with their parents. There were no differences in exploration as a function of parent present or assessment level of exploration. Mothers and fathers behaved similarly in the sessions. Study 2 investigated the absence of assessment-level differences with 38 preschool children exploring similar sets of novel toys with their mothers and with an experimenter. Assessment-level differences were obtained only in the experimenter-child session. Study 3 was conducted with 55 children ages 3-6 to determine if maternal presence or mother-child interaction was responsible for the absence of assessment-level effects in Studies 1 and 2. Assessment-level differences in exploratory behavior were found only in sessions where the mother was passive. The implications of the studies for understanding the nature of individual differences in exploration and social influences on exploration are discussed in terms of Vygotsky's notion of the zone of proximal development.
The exploration of 97 children 3-7 years of age in independent and adult support sessions was compared. Children were first identified as high-, medium-, or low-exploratory on the basis of a pretest battery. Each child then participated in an independent session and 1 of 2 types of supportive sessions with an adult. The active interest supportive sessions stressed close attention by the adult to the child's exploration. The focusing supportive session emphasized modeling and direction by the adult. Results indicated higher levels of questions, manipulations, and time exploring in both types of supportive sessions relative to the independent sessions. Children made more manipulations and spent more time exploring in the focusing supportive condition. These results are discussed as they relate to the nature of individual differences in exploration and Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development.
Twenty-four 3- and 4-year-old boys and girls were assigned to either a high or low curiosity group on the basis of teacher's ratings. They were observed twice in dyads, once with a high and once with a low sociometric choice partner. A 2 (high vs. low curiosity) x 2 (3- vs. 4-year-old) x 2 (high vs. low choice partner) analysis of variance was used to analyze observations of the children's manipulatory behaviors in a novel setting. High-choice dyads exhibited greater manipulatory curiosity than low-choice pairs (p < .01) with 4-year-olds showing greater curiosity than 3-year-olds (p < .001). Teacher's ratings of curiosity did not discriminate between children on their observed curiosity. The possibility that interpersonal attraction (measured as sociometric choice) may operate as a stimulating condition leading to a heightened drive state could account for the increased manipulatory behaviors which were observed. Age effects were noted as they related to general increase in manipulatory behaviors. A need for alternatives to teacher's ratings was also noted.
Research on curiosity has undergone 2 waves of intense activity. The 1st, in the 1960s, focused mainly on curiosity's psychological underpinnings. The 2nd, in the 1970s and 1980s, was characterized by attempts to measure curiosity and assess its dimensionality. This article reviews these contributions with a concentration on the 1st wave. It is argued that theoretical accounts of curiosity proposed during the 1st period fell short in 2 areas: They did not offer an adequate explanation for why people voluntarily seek out curiosity, and they failed to delineate situational determinants of curiosity. Furthermore, these accounts did not draw attention to, and thus did not explain, certain salient characteristics of curiosity: its intensity, transience, association with impulsivity, and tendency to disappoint when satisfied. A new account of curiosity is offered that attempts to address these shortcomings. The new account interprets curiosity as a form of cognitively induced deprivation that arises from the perception of a gap in knowledge or understanding. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
A battery of 4 tasks designed to measure curiosity and exploratory behavior (preference for unknown, curiosity drawer box, puzzle box, and preference for complexity) was administered to 113 preschool boys and girls and 109 1st- and 2nd-grade girls. No sex differences were found for the preschoolers on any of the 13 variables from the tasks. Age differences, however, were evident; some indicated higher levels of exploration by the older Ss, and others indicated higher levels of exploration by the younger Ss. Despite the age differences, separate factor analyses for preschool boys, preschool girls, and school-aged girls resulted in similar factor structures indicative of both mode of exploration (verbal, tactile) and style of exploration (depth, breadth) factors for all groups. Results are compared and contrasted to findings from other factor analytic studies of curiosity. (12 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Developmentally analyzed the exploratory patterns of 112 4–12 yr olds. Ss were presented with groups of visual patterns, songs, and toys and asked about their preference for 1 item in each group. Analysis of the Ss' preferences for both visual and auditory stimuli revealed a significant increase in preference for complexity with age. Ss' preference for a unknown toy over a known toy was influenced by the novelty of the known toy. Ss were less likely to surrender a more novel known toy; this relation became stronger with age. Analysis of Ss' exploration of novel, concealed toys indicated that older Ss were more likely to systematically examine all the toys first before returning for a in-depth appraisal of particular toys of interest. The younger Ss were more likely to be captivated by a novel toy and not to finish examining the rest of the environment. There was some evidence of a qualitative jump in development between these 2 strategies. Younger Ss were also more likely to ask an adult questions as a means of acquiring information, and Ss of all ages asked most of their questions at the beginning of the exploratory task. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The article focuses on defining the role of demonstration in general and experiments in particular in science education at the high school level, on the basis of psychological data and recent conceptions about the nature of science. It is argued that experiments play a restricted role in transmitting knowledge, but may be used as deductions demonstrating concepts; they are useless or harmful in teaching problem-solving but important as aids in testing alternative solutions and in training specific scientific skills; and finally, they are not the best means for evoking and maintaining curiosity in adolescents. Special consideration is paid to the role of concepts and concretizations in science, adolescent thinking and science instruction.
If response to novelty is a major source of continuity in intelligence, it is reasonable to expect significant correlations between measures of exploration and intelligence. Multiple indicators of exploration of novel objects and the Kaufman Assessment Battery for Children (K-ABC) were administered to a group of 41 preschool children. Canonical analyses failed to reveal a significant correlation between measures of exploration and intelligence. Simple correlations indicated low but significant correlations between comments about novel objects and some K-ABC global scales. Alternative explanations for these results and a proposal of a predictive relationship between curiosity and intellectual growth are discussed.
Children's curiosity, gender, activity level, and socioeconomic status (SES) were related to their performance on a partially reinforced discrimination-learning task. The 38 boys and 37 girls were in the first grade and were all white. Three factors of curiosity (manipulatory, conceptual, and about the complex) were assessed. Performance on the learning task was scored for the number of correct responses (maximizing) and for the frequency of three-step sequences reflecting variability, systematic patterning, and perseveration. In general, the three curiosity factors related negatively to maximizing and perseveration and positively to variability. (The same effects were found for activity level.) Systematic patterning related positively to one curiosity type and negatively to another. Girls used less maximizing and more systematic patterning than boys. The response choices of girls were affected more by differences in conceptual curiosity and those of boys by differences in curiosity about the complex. Activity level was unrelated to gender but differed with SES. The findings demonstrate the role of different curiosity factors in shaping response sequences and suggest some reasons for children's choice of probability-learning strategies.
The curiosity behaviors of 20 hyperactive boys, both on and off stimulant drugs, and in relation to 20 nonhyperactive boys, were assessed. Comparisons on object, manipulative, conceptual, perceptual, and reactive curiosity tasks indicated that stimulants reduced only the object curiosity task performance of hyperactive boys, although the level tended to remain above that of nonhyperactive boys. Also, hyperactive boys both on and off drugs tended to have lower conceptual curiosity scores than controls. Implications are discussed.
Extensive literature is accumulating in the area of stimulus-selection behaviors. Unfortunately, studies on human infants and children constitute a small fraction of the available research. Among child psychologists who have shown an interest in the topic, a concern with an individual difference variable of “curiosity” appears in several instances to have played a rather predominant role in determining their choices of the kinds of data to gather. In such cases, there has been a relative lack of emphasis on the stimulus variables involved. Even clearer instances of this kind of approach may be found in studies that compare various behaviors of children receiving high and low “curiosity” scores, via peer, teacher, or self-ratings, or through the administration of “tests” of curiosity. The search for such laws relating individual differences in “curiosity” to stimulus selection constitutes a perfectly legitimate scientific enterprise. From the standpoint of motivational theory, however, this approach has tended to be accompanied by certain terminological usages that suggest the operation of special purpose motives.
This paper deals with the measurement of meaning. The theoretical and practical difficulties of measuring meaning are elucidated in a discussion of the main techniques of measurement and their deficiencies in sensitivity, comparability, generality and validity A new method for collecting and analyzing data is described. Findings of studies in which this method was applied lead to the definition of meaning as a pattern of values, i.e., representations of varying abstractness, along dimensions, i.e., general modes of categorization. A series of 13 dimensions of lexical meaning and a continuum of 10 dimensions of symbolic meaning are defined; their interrelations of hierarchical ordering, differential facilitation, etc. are described. Theoretical and methodological implications of the multidimensional conception of meaning for other theories of meaning and research domains, e.g., change in attitude and learning, are discussed.
617 adults and children served as Ss in 9 studies of the relation between expressed preference and differing amounts of variability of stimulation. Random shapes and different sequential approximations to English were used as variations in stimulus variability. The results supported the following generalizations. Human beings arc sensitive to amount of variability in stimulation. There is an intermediate amount of variability which was consistently most preferred by unsophisticated Ss. Preference for the stimuli used was jointly determined by number of independent characteristics of the stimuli and their meaningfulness. Preference for variability changed with Ss' experience with variable stimulation, whether the experience was induced experimentally or was the result of specific professional training. The tendency to increase preference for stimulation of high variability is related to Ss' ability to code or process variability.
In two experiments, children were exposed to a sequence of stimulus items consisting of stories, pictures, and stories accompanied by pictures, and invited to ask questions after each item. Novel, surprising, and incongruous items were found to elicit more questions than others, in conformity with Berlyne's theory of epistemic curiosity. Provision of answers did not significantly affect the incidence of questions, although there were some indications of an increase in grade 3 children. There were significant age differences in the incidence of questions, and the content of questions was found to vary with age and with the nature of the stimulus item. The probability of asking about the outcome of a story with an uncertain ending increased with age.
Sixty experimental Ss were individually habituated to an array of eight small toys. Following this, each child was shown four additional arrays and asked to choose one for further play. The five arrays represented a series graduated with respect to degree of novelty as follows: 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 per cent. Anxiety scores for each child were obtained by means of independent ratings by three teachers on a scale devised for this purpose. It was found that for the total group the preference value of a toy array increased as a direct function of its degree of novelty. Older children, boys, and low-anxious children preferred greater novelty significantly more frequently then did younger children, girls, and high-anxious children.
Pairs of random shapes were presented to 787 Ss. Preferences were measured in 2 ways: (a) the stimulus of a pair judged as preferred, (b) the stimulus of a pair viewed the longest. These preferences were scaled using Thurstone's Law of Comparative Judgment. Scaled functions for both measures of preference for Ss through 12 years, and judged preference for Ss through 16 years were generally monotonic, Ss preferring the most complex stimuli. Judged preference functions for 17-, 18-, and 19-year Ss were nonmonotonic and showed a systemative decreasing preference for complexity with increasing age. Most data revealed few inconsistencies of judgment, suggesting that complexity as a single dimension mediates the preference of Ss. Methodological problems were considered; comparisons were made with recent work of Munsinger, Kessen, and Kessen, and suggestions made for future research.
A series of studies with children in Grades 1-4 inquired into the immediate and historical determinants of a preference for analytic conceptual groupings. An analytic concept is based upon shared similarity in a particular objective component among a set of stimuli (e.g., animals with 1 car, people with hats on). Results revealed that 2 more fundamental cognitive dispositions each contributed variance to the production of analytic concepts: the tendency to reflect over alternative solutions or classifications in situations in which several response alternatives arc available simultaneously, and the tendency to analyze visual arrays into their component parts. These 2 dispositions are relatively independent of each other, orthogonal to verbal skills; and each influences the frequency of errors in perceptual recognition tasks. Degree of reflection over alternative solution hypotheses (as measured by response time) displayed remarkable generality across a variety of tasks and marked intraindividual stability over a 1-yr. period. There was an inverse relation between the production of analytic concepts and extreme degrees of hyperactivity and distractibility contemporaneously as well as during the 1st 8 yr. of life.
THE POSSIBILITY OF DEVELOPING A NUMBER OF PAPER AND PENCIL TEST INSTRUMENTS AND TECHNIQUES WAS EXPLORED FOR YIELDING RELIABLE MEASURES OF CURIOSITY AMONG ELEMENTARY SCHOOL CHILDREN. INVESTIGATIONS WERE CONDUCTED IN APPROXIMATELY 40 FIFTH-GRADE CLASSROOMS AND CARRIED OUT IN 2 PHASES--A PREPARATION PHASE AND A TESTING PHASE. IT WAS FIRST NECESSARY TO IDENTIFY GROUPS OF CHILDREN POSSESSING DIFFERENT AMOUNTS OF CURIOSITY, AND TO DO THIS, CURIOSITY ITSELF, AS IT PERTAINED TO SCHOOL CHILDREN, HAD TO BE DEFINED. A MAJOR STUDY TESTED A FINAL BATTERY OF 11 ITEMS DESCRIBED AS FOLLOWS--(1) PICTURE-AND-STORY-SATISFACTION, (2) PREFERRED-BEHAVIOR, (3) HIDDEN-PICTURE, (4) BREADTH-OF-INFORMATION, (5) MEMORY-FOR INCOMPLETE-STORY, (6) PREFERENCE-FOR-THE-UNBALANCED-AND/OR-UNFAMILIAR, (7) WHICH-SAYING-DO-YOU-BELIEVE, (8) RIDDLE-PATH-PUZZLE, (9) CODE-TEST, (10) FOOLISH-SAYINGS-TEST, AND (11) MAZE-TEST. THESE ITEMS WERE THEN TESTED FOR RELIABILITY IN MEASURING CURIOSITY. NO SINGLE ITEM OR ANY COMBINATION THEREOF WAS SUCCESSFUL IN IDENTIFYING WITH A HIGH DEGREE OF ACCURACY CURIOSITY IN ANY GIVEN CHILD. WITH RESPECT TO THE SELECTION OF GROUPS OF CHILDREN WITH HIGH CURIOSITY, HOWEVER, THE TESTS WERE MUCH MORE SUCCESSFUL, PARTICULARLY THOSE WHICH PROVIDED DISTURBANCES AND NOVELTY FACTORS AND WHICH MEASURED BREADTH-OF-KNOWLEDGE AND PERSISTENCE. PERHAPS THE GREATEST CONTRIBUTION OF THIS PROJECT WAS THAT IT PROVIDED DATA FOR STIMULATING A NUMBER OF BROADER STUDIES IN THIS FIELD. THESE POTENTIAL PROGRAMS WERE OUTLINED IN THE REPORT. (JH)
This study reports the description of and the normative data obtained with a scale of reactive curiosity (RC Scale) for use with Grade 4, 5, and 6 children. A 90-item, RC Scale and a 10-item Lie Scale are described. The RC Scale's 2-wk. test-retest reliabilities ranged from .65 to .78 for the different sex by grade classifications. At all grade levels, girls scored higher than boys on the RC Scale. The lie scores yielded high test-retest reliabilities, and the intercorrelations beween the RC Scale and the Lie Scale were not significant except for fifth grade girls (.20). Intercorrelations between scores on the RC Scale and IQs based on the California Test of Mental Maturity although low and positive were not significant. However, the RC scores of Grade 6 children were positively related to originality measures that were derived from a modified Unusual Uses Test. (15 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
THE PREFERENCES OF 224 SS FOR POLYGONS OF VARYING DEGREES OF COMPLEXITY WERE ANALYZED IN TERMS OF SS' BIRTH ORDER AND SEX. ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE INDICATED THAT SEX WAS A HIGHLY SIGNIFICANT DETERMINANT OF COMPLEXITY PREFERENCE, WITH FEMALES TENDING TO PREFER MORE COMPLEXITY THAN MALES, AND, IN ADDITION, THERE WAS A SIGNIFICANT SEX * BIRTH ORDER INTERACTION, WITH 1ST-BORN MALES PREFERRING MORE COMPLEXITY THAN LATER-BORN MALES, BUT LATER-BORN FEMALES PREFERRING MORE COMPLEXITY THAN 1ST-BORN FEMALES. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
This chapter takes a closer look at motivational problems raised by exploratory and epistemic behavior. Discussion begins with an examination into the nature and determinants of exploratory behavior. The need to relate the facts about exploratory behavior to prevalent theories of motivation then obliges us to discuss the nature/legitimacy of "exploratory drive." We then turn to recent neurophysiological research on the reticular formation, arousal processes, and the orientation reaction, which puts the notion of drive, both in its general aspects and as related to exploratory behavior, in a new light. Under the heading of Collative Motivation, we attempt to synthesize some of the implications for motivation theory of the facts reviewed up to this point. We also look at epistemic, or knowledge-seeking, behavior, which, although it overlaps with exploratory behavior in human subjects and seems to have much in common with it, requires a separate analysis at this stage. Finally, we point to a variety of current lines of inquiry, both theoretical and experimental, suggesting a far wider range for the concepts and principles that our discussion has brought to the fore. Research guided by these concepts and principles may not merely increase our understanding of exploratory and epistemic behavior but illuminate fresh aspects of some of the most basic questions in psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Judges agreed fairly well on the thought implications of student questions asked in class and on ranking various students on the basis of these questions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
The article focuses on defining the role of demonstration in general and experiments in particular in science education at the high school level, on the basis of psychological data and recent conceptions about the nature of science. It is argued that experiments play a restricted role in transmitting knowledge, but may be used as deductions demonstrating concepts; they are useless or harmful in teaching problem-solving but important as aids in testing alternative solutions and in training specific scientific skills; and finally, they are not the best means for evoking and maintaining curiosity in adolescents. Special consideration is paid to the role of concepts and concretizations in science, adolescent thinking and science instruction.
Typescript. Thesis (M.A.)--University of Maryland. Vita. Includes bibliographical references.
Animals spend much of their time seeking stimuli whose significance raises problems for psychology.
With 196 undergraduate Ss it was found that (a) females preferred more complexity than males, and first-born males and later-born females preferred more complexity than their respective sex groups; (b) first-born males and later-born females checked adjectives which were like those of independent Ss in a conformity study; (c) there were no significant differences with the Internal-External Control Scale; (d) males preferred more form than females. These significant findings were related to previous research in personality and in creativity.
Osgood's semantic differential technique is applied to visual patterns varying in complexity.
Judgments of complexity were obtained on shapes in which certain physical characteristics were systematically varied. Complexity appeared to be determined by the number of turns in the contour, symmetry, and differences in degrees between successive turns in the contour.
Ss were allowed to press a key to produce tachistoscopic exposures of visual figures. The number of responses was used as a measure of the intensity of curiosity aroused by a particular figure. The following properties of figures increased curiosity: incongruity, surprisingness, relative entropy, and absolute entropy. "Theoretical questions raised by the concept of a curiosity drive, alternative ways of accounting for the phenomena, and data obtained from using the same experimental technique with children are discussed." 23 references.
Ss were presented with a succession of pairs of visual figures. Which figure was fixated first and for how long were the data recorded. In Experiment I one figure of each pair was "more complex" and in all cases significantly more time was spent looking at this figure. In Experiment II the same figure recurred for a number of trials while a new figure appeared every time with it. The fixation time for the varying stimuli progressively increased. Discussion in terms of the relation between attention and perceptual curiosity. 21 references.
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Tests for the evaluation of early childhood education: The Cincinnati Autonomy Test Battery (CATB)
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Collative stimulus properties and the orientation reaction
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Beitrag zur Bestimmung der Interessenrichtung von Schuelern auf Grund von Schuelerfragen
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