CAREER: Cultivating Curiosity to Promote Learning and Discovery

Arizona State University, Scottsdale AZ

Investigators

Abstract

Curiosity is fundamental to success in nearly every facet of life. Curiosity leads to enhanced achievement in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, improved psychological well-being, and adaptive aging. Economics experts recently identified curiosity as one of the key characteristics required to transform society, drive innovation, and shape the future. Though this points to the importance of cultivating new generations of curious children, there are still basic questions about how curiosity first develops and how to effectively promote it. This project will provide new information about the developmental building blocks of curiosity, the factors that shape curiosity, and the ways in which early curiosity influences later learning outcomes. Findings will be disseminated through community-based events designed to incorporate curiosity-promoting activities into children’s everyday experiences. By proactively fostering curiosity before children even step foot in the classroom, this project will have cascading influences on children’s educational engagement and ultimate success in STEM careers. Despite the importance of curiosity in learning, the basic mechanisms that drive early curiosity are poorly understood. Using newly developed, comprehensive techniques for studying curiosity, this project will fill this gap and provide new information about the psychological processes involved in curiosity starting in infancy. Drawing on cognitive science, developmental science, and education, research questions include: (1) what are the cognitive processes involved in early curiosity? (2) how does curiosity unfold across infancy and early childhood? (3) what role does the social environment play in shaping curiosity? (4) how does curiosity impact STEM learning readiness? (5) what factors cause increases in preschool-aged children’s curiosity? This project takes a multi-method approach by integrating experimental, observational, and longitudinal designs, and will advance our ability to detect and measure fine-grained individual differences in early curiosity. This research will transform theories of curiosity, how it develops, and how it impacts learning. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.