The Wick in the Candle of Learning

@article{Kang2009TheWI,
  title={The Wick in the Candle of Learning},
  author={Min Jeong Kang and Ming Hsu and Ian Krajbich and George Loewenstein and Samuel M. McClure and Joseph Tao-yi Wang and Colin Camerer},
  journal={Psychological Science},
  year={2009},
  volume={20},
  pages={963 - 973}
}
Curiosity has been described as a desire for learning and knowledge, but its underlying mechanisms are not well understood. We scanned subjects with functional magnetic resonance imaging while they read trivia questions. The level of curiosity when reading questions was correlated with activity in caudate regions previously suggested to be involved in anticipated reward. This finding led to a behavioral study, which showed that subjects spent more scarce resources (either limited tokens or… Expand
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464 Citations
Highly Influential Citations
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Methods Citations
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464 Citations

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Induction and Relief of Curiosity Elicit Parietal and Frontal Activity
TLDR
It is demonstrated that curiosity can be driven by outcome uncertainty, over and above of reward, which lies at the core of human information seeking and serves to optimize the individual's current world model. Expand
States of Curiosity Modulate Hippocampus-Dependent Learning via the Dopaminergic Circuit
TLDR
Findings suggest a link between the mechanisms supporting extrinsic reward motivation and intrinsic curiosity and highlight the importance of stimulating curiosity to create more effective learning experiences. Expand
Systems neuroscience of curiosity
Curiosity refers to a demand for information that has no instrumental benefit. Because of its critical role in development and in the regulation of learning, curiosity has long fascinated… Expand
Thirst for knowledge: The effects of curiosity and interest on memory in younger and older adults.
TLDR
It is indicated that curiosity and interest contributed to the formation of judgments of learning and had a unique increasing relationship with older, but not younger, adults' memory performance after a one-week delay. Expand
The Psychology and Neuroscience of Curiosity
TLDR
It is proposed that, rather than worry about defining curiosity, it is more helpful to consider the motivations for information-seeking behavior and to study it in its ethological context. Expand
Curiosity-driven memory enhancement persists over time but does not benefit from post-learning sleep
TLDR
This study suggests that curiosity may be a learning factor that is not subsequently affected by sleep-dependent memory consolidation, but more work ought to examine the role of sleep on curiosity-driven memory in other contexts. Expand
Motivation to Learn.
TLDR
Performance on a memory test 1 week later suggested that curiosity enhanced long-term retention, and that rewards did not undermine the benefit of curiosity. Expand
Lighting the wick in the candle of learning: generating a prediction stimulates curiosity
TLDR
It is suggested that generating a prediction stimulates curiosity by increasing the relevance of the knowledge gap, and higher curiosity was associated with larger pupil dilation during anticipation of the correct answer. Expand
Learning facts during aging: the benefits of curiosity
TLDR
Findings show that elderly individuals benefit from the memory-enhancing effects of curiosity, which may lead to the implementation of learning strategies that target and stimulate curiosity in aging. Expand
How Curiosity Enhances Hippocampus-Dependent Memory: The Prediction, Appraisal, Curiosity, and Exploration (PACE) Framework
TLDR
The PACE framework generates testable predictions that can stimulate future investigation of the mechanisms underlying curiosity-related memory enhancements, and attempts to explain curiosity and memory in terms of cognitive processes, neural circuits, behavior, and subjective experience. Expand
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