Curiosity can Encourage Delayed Over Instant Gratification

What is it about?

Curiosity is often viewed as a need for immediate information, like an itch that must be scratched. But there are many instances where we intentionally delay getting immediate answers even when we really want it; for example, avoiding spoilers while watching a new tv series. We wanted to understand whether curiosity would push people to view spoilers or if it would encourage patience to watch how events unfold. We created a task where participants watched 30-second animated line drawing videos that ended up as highly recognizable objects, ranging from a taco to a dog. During the videos, participants were asked how curious they were, how they felt, and to guess what the drawing would become. Participants then chose whether they wanted to continue watching the video or move to the next trial. Importantly, some participants had the option for a ‘spoiler’ where they could see the final drawing without watching the entire video. Unlike scratching an itch, we found that people were more patient when they felt curious, continuing to watch the videos even when they had the option to get instant answers. In other words, curiosity didn’t just motivate getting answers; it increased the value of the journey itself. We also found that ‘curiosity’ was not a singular experience, but could arise both during an exploratory phase where the identity of the video seemed most uncertain and also during a more focused phase when people were homing in on the eventual answer. Lastly, curiosity coincided with different emotions across video watching. Curiosity could be experienced as either positive or negative, depending on a participant’s level of confidence and how much control they had over when they could make guesses. Collectively, we show that while curiosity changed over the course of these videos, it encouraged continued engagement, rather than taking the shortest path to resolution.

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Photo by GeoJango Maps on Unsplash

Photo by GeoJango Maps on Unsplash

Why is it important?

This work expands our understanding of curiosity. It is more than just a need for information; it is a state that encourages deeper engagement. Curiosity puts value in understanding how information comes together, which can lead to better learning. The association of curiosity and joy helps explain why people often avoid spoilers. With the increasing popularity of short form content and the immense competition for our attention, our intrinsic curiosity is a key factor for promoting investment and enhancing knowledge acquisition. This work also highlights that curiosity can arise from the different questions we ask on the journey to reaching resolution, emphasizing the importance our own thoughts have in engendering curiosity.

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