How Does Curiosity Affect the Brain?

A Research Paper By Rebekah Christensen, Leadership and Life Coach, AUSTRALIA

The Act of Being Curious

Curiosity is at the heart of coaching. As a coach, we are curious about our clients and their situations. We ask questions and offer observations that can help to broaden the client’s perspectives about themselves and their challenges. In doing this, we also encourage our clients to be curious about themselves and their situations.

When I am the client being coached, there is a physical sensation that comes with this act of being curious and inquiring about myself and my situation. I can feel a buzz of activity in my head, followed by a sense of satisfaction when I make a discovery or uncover a new insight. Being aware of these sensations has in turn made me curious about what is actually happening in our brains when we’re in the act of being curious. How does curiosity affect the brain?

As I started to do some initial research about this, I discovered more layers and nuances to my question. There are both psychological and physiological outcomes of curiosity. The impacts can be short-lived, and over time can also lead to lasting changes. Curiosity is an invaluable element in education, with inquiry-based learning well established as an approach to teaching and learning that is focused on stimulating, enabling, and facilitating a learner’s own curious journey.

This paper explores these topics in more detail, starting with a general definition and background of curiosity, an overview of the neural mechanisms associated with curiosity, and the role of curiosity and learning. I conclude with some reflections on the role of curiosity in the coaching process.

What Is Curiosity?

There are many dimensions and definitions of curiosity, and it is something that has been shown not only in humans, but animals including monkeys, pigeons, rats, crabs, and even roundworms.

One of the early working definitions of curiosity was offered by Berlyne (1954)_[1], who defined different dimensions of curiosity: perceptual versus epistemic curiosity, and specific versus diversive curiosity:

• Perceptual curiosity: motivates us to seek out new stimuli. This is a primary driver of exploratory behavior.
• Epistemic curiosity: is opposite to perceptual, and is a motivation to access information to reduce uncertainty, and acquire knowledge.
• Specific curiosity: is a desire for a particular piece of information.
• Diversive curiosity: is a general desire for perceptual or cognitive stimulation (i.e. avoidance of being bored).

Modern views on curiosity consider it as an intrinsic or internal drive for information, devoid of strategic benefit or outcome. So, if you are driven to find information about making a soufflé because you want to cook one for dinner (a strategic outcome), that is not considered to be curiosity. If you are driven to find that information purely because you think soufflés are interesting, then that is considered to be curiosity.

From an evolutionary perspective, exhibiting curiosity can be risky or come at a cost. For example, being curious to explore a new area could expose you to danger; being curious to eat a new food could make you sick; and all of the time that you spend being curious takes time and energy away from core survival functions like eating, sleeping, and reproducing. In order to stick around in our repertoire of behavior, curiosity must have sufficient benefits to outweigh these risks and costs.

The origins of curiosity in humans are thought to come from our need to acquire information about our world. Our brains evolved to solve complex problems in a natural world that is full of uncertainty and information gaps. Reducing that uncertainty and acquiring information can help survival, and this is where a drive to seek information – curiosity – comes in_[2]

Information on its own may be considered intangible, but it can have tangible value if you make use of it. For example, if you find information about a new food source that no one else has, you have an advantage over your competitors. The benefit arising from new information could be immediate, or it could come sometime in the future. In the case of future benefits, there is an additional step of learning and memory required to achieve that benefit, e.g. you would have to remember where the food is and how to return to it. This interaction with learning and memory is something I explore more below_[3].

Based on my reading, and for the purposes of this paper, I adopt the definition of curiosity as an intrinsic drive to fill perceived gaps in knowledge.

Neural Mechanisms of Curiosity

We are yet to fully understand the web of neural and psychological systems linked to curiosity, and this is an evolving field of research. Many studies seem to produce as many questions as they do answers. That said, the body of current research does have some consistent findings that show links between curiosity and the brain’s reward structures, as well as parts of the brain associated with learning and memory.

The most common way to investigate questions about neural mechanisms is with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). This is a particular kind of MRI technique that images the movement of oxygen-rich blood in the brain. The movement of oxygen-rich blood is thought to be a reliable indicator of activity, and so fMRI enables you to see how different parts of the brain activate when they are given different tasks. When exploring curiosity, the most common task given in research studies is asking questions (e.g. trivia questions), or showing images, which can stimulate different levels of curiosity from low to high.

The results of many of these studies show that the dopamine-related midbrain neurons, striatum, and ventral orbital surface, are all activated by curiosity. Dopamine is a chemical released in the brain that makes you feel good, and these areas of the brain are all associated with reward. This implies that there is a similar ‘neural code’ in the brain for reward-seeking and information-seeking _[2,4,5,6]. In addition, curiosity activates the hippocampus and the para-hippocampal gyrus, which are areas of the brain associated with learning and memory_[3,6,7].

fMRI studies also enable you to observe the behavior or action that is happening at the same time as the activation of the brain. This enables researchers to see how curiosity-related brain activation correlates with behavior outcomes, with some key findings including:

• People are better at remembering the answers to trivia questions they were highly curious about, than to questions on topics they weren’t curious about _[5,6];
• People had better memory of incidental or unrelated information that was presented to them when they were in a highly curious state than information that was presented when they were in a low curiosity state _[2,5,6];
• Participants were more likely to spend a resource (money or time) to get answers to questions they were highly curious about, than for things they weren’t curious about_[6];
• Curiosity increases with uncertainty – if you’re sure you don’t know something then your curiosity is low, and if you’re sure you do know something your curiosity is low. But if you’re in the middle where you don’t know if you’re right or wrong, curiosity is high _[6].

Collectively, these findings lead to some important conclusions:

• When the brain is in a curious state, it is anticipating and/or experiencing a feeling of reward. It is possible that the brain sees information in the same way as tangible rewards like food _[3];
• When you are curious about something, you have improved memory for information about it, AND for any other information you encounter while you’re in that curious state _[5,6];
• Curiosity isn’t indiscriminate – we’re not curious about all things all the time. Also, a little bit of information on a topic can ‘prime’ our curiosity for more information on that topic _[6];
• Your level of curiosity about something influences your likelihood of activating brain areas that can assist in learning. The more curious you are, the more likely the learning areas of your brain will be activated _[6].

With strong links between curiosity and the parts of the brain involved in reward, learning, and retention, there is understandable interest in the role of curiosity in learning and I will explore that next.

Curiosity and Learning

As mentioned earlier, information can have tangible value if you make use of it. However, the benefit from information relies on your ability to learn from and retain the information _[3]. In other words, curiosity on its own doesn’t lead to tangible benefits. It needs to be coupled with learning and memory to result in a benefit. From this perspective, it isn’t surprising that the areas of the brain activated with curiosity, are areas associated with learning and memory.

What Does This Mean About the Role of Curiosity in Learning?

From a developmental perspective, it’s not effective to be curious about all things at all times. We need a way to focus our attention for learning to happen. It turns out there is a ‘sweet spot’ of utility for curiosity and learning.

It’s likely that the less you know about a topic, the more curious you’ll be about it, as long as you realize there is a gap in your knowledge. Blissful ignorance doesn’t lead to curiosity and learning. But knowing that you don’t know something can stimulate curiosity and learning. This is why a small amount of information on a topic can stimulate curiosity – it is enough to show you that you have more to learn _[6,8].

While curiosity is important for learning success, there is also an intersection with ‘challenge level’ that’s needed. To learn well, we need not only to be curious about something but also to explore it at an appropriate level of challenge. No matter how curious you are about something, novices will choose to learn easier materials, while experts will gravitate toward the harder materials _[8]. For best learning outcomes, we need to operate at the level of complexity just beyond our current mental model – too close to where we already are and there’s nothing novel to explore (no curiosity), and too far away and it’s too surprising or threatening to make the leap _[3,8].

The ‘Tip of the tongue’ (TOT) state is the ultimate sweet spot for learning, with the perfect balance between curiosity and challenge. This is the feeling of having an answer or insight right on the tip of your tongue, or of being right on the verge of discovery. You devote attention, and focus, and strongly anticipate the reward of discovery. Studies have shown that curiosity is much higher in a TOT state than in other states. You are twice as likely to want the answer when you’re in a TOT state than when not, and you are more likely to remember answers when you’re in a TOT state _[9,10].

The importance of curiosity in effective learning is demonstrated through inquiry-based learning (IBL), a widely used model. A key characteristic of IBL is that it is linked to the internal motivation of the student – their level of interest or curiosity in the subject directs what happens_[11]. People of all ages are more motivated to study things they are curious about _[3,8]. In education settings, while IBL is motivated by the student, it is facilitated by a teacher. The teacher’s role is to facilitate both the ongoing curiosity of the student and the right level of challenge for them – in effect, to keep the student as close as possible to the TOT state. The teacher adapts their role as the student progresses – while the student is a novice in their area of interest the teacher might be more instructive, but as the student grows their knowledge and capability the teacher’s role will transition to supporter _[11].

Conclusion: What Does This Mean for Coaching?

We have seen that curiosity is a motivating and rewarding force, closely linked with the brain’s learning structures and processes. This means curiosity can be a powerful aid to the coaching process.

Whether or not a client would use the word ‘curiosity’, they come to coaching with some degree of curiosity about their situation, challenge, problem, and/or themselves. They are looking to explore, develop, and/or change something in their thinking and their reality.

Our opportunity as coaches is to support the client’s curiosity and keep them in a sweet spot equivalent to a ‘tip-of-the-tongue’ state, to maximize the possibility of discovery for them. This means asking curious questions to broaden perspectives, without stretching too far beyond the current mental model of the client. It also means acknowledging and celebrating discovery and learning when we observe it in the client, tapping into the brain’s reward systems, and ensuring the client is accessing that sensation of reward and accomplishment.

As a word of caution, it’s also important for us as coaches to remain aware of what our own curiosity is doing to us. It’s possible for our curiosity to ‘hijack’ us away from what the client needs. The test of this is: are we asking questions to satisfy our own curiosity, or to support the client? We must keep our focus on leveraging the client’s curiosity for their benefit, without being hijacked by our own curiosity.

References

1. Berlyne, DE, (1954) A theory of human curiosity. British Journal of Psychology45(3):180-191
2. Cervera, RL, Wang, MZ, Hayden, BY (2020) Systems neuroscience of curiosity.Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences 35:48-55
3. Kidd, C, Hayden, BY (2015) The psychology and neuroscience of curiosity.Neuron88(3):449–460
4. Bromberg-Martin, ES, Hikosaka, O (2009) Midbrain dopamine neurons signal a preference for advanced information about upcoming rewards. Neuron63(1):119-126
5. Gruber, MJ, Gelman, BD, Ranganath C (2014) States of Curiosity ModulateHippocampus-Dependent Learning via the Dopaminergic Circuit. Neuron84:486-496
6. Kang, MJ, Hsu, M, Krajbich, IM, Loewenstein, G, McClure, SM, Wang, JT, Camerer, CF (2009) The Wick in the Candle of Learning: Epistemic Curiosity Activates Reward Circuitry and Enhances Memory. Psychological Science20(8):963-975
7. Jepma, M, Verdonschot, RG, van Steenbergen, H, Rombouts, SARB, Nieuwenhuis, S (2012) Neural mechanisms underlying the induction and relief of perceptual curiosity. Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience6:1-9
8. Metcalfe, J, Schwartz, BL, Eich, TS (2020) Epistemic curiosity and the region of proximal learning. Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences35:40-47
9. Metcalfe J, Schwartz BL, Bloom PA (2017) The Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) state and curiosity. Cognitive Research: Principles and Implications2:31
10. Bloom PA, Friedman D, Xu J, Vuorre M, Metcalfe J (2018) Tip–of-the-tongue states predict enhanced feedback processing and subsequent memory. Consciousness and Cognition62:206-217
11. Kidman, G. (2019) Explainer: what is inquiry-based learning and how does it help prepare children for the real world? https://theconversation.com/explainer-what-is-inquiry-based-learning-and-how-does-it-help-prepare-children-for-the-real-world-115299