{"id":1416,"slug":"loewenstein-1994-information-gap-curiosity-foundational","title":"Loewenstein (1994), Psychological Bulletin 116(1) — information-gap theory: curiosity is cognitively induced deprivation from a perceived gap in knowledge or understanding","kind":"reference","scope":"business","status":"current","audiences":["kevin","smb-owner","candid-team"],"topics":["behavioral-economics","interactive-tool-mechanisms","curiosity-information-gap"],"reference_body":"**Claim:** George Loewenstein (1994), \"The Psychology of Curiosity: A Review and Reinterpretation,\" ***Psychological Bulletin* 116(1), 75-98** (DOI: 10.1037/0033-2909.116.1.75). Loewenstein frames curiosity as \"**cognitively induced deprivation that arises from the perception of a gap in knowledge or understanding**.\" An open question a tool poses (\"what is my number?\", \"what is my result?\") opens such a gap; the tailored result closes it.\n\n**Source:** Loewenstein (1994), Psychological Bulletin.\n\n**Confidence:** Verified (peer-reviewed; foundational).\n\n**Why this matters for Candid:** The cleanest single citation for *why a tool framed as a question pulls the user in*. Pair with the lineage to Berlyne ([[berlyne-1954-1960-epistemic-conflict-curiosity-lineage]]) and the design-critical inverted-U limit ([[curiosity-inverted-u-moderate-knowledge-finding]]).","rationale_body":null,"metadata":null,"links":{"outgoing":[],"incoming":[{"slug":"research-brief-engagement-mechanisms-top-up-smb-june-2026","title":"Research notes (capture-layer top-up): why interactive online tools are psychologically engaging — six additional mechanisms (June 2026)","kind":"research-notes","scope":"business","link_type":"relates-to"},{"slug":"berlyne-1954-1960-epistemic-conflict-curiosity-lineage","title":"Berlyne (1954, British Journal of Psychology; 1960, Conflict Arousal and Curiosity) — intellectual lineage of curiosity as resolving epistemic / conceptual conflict","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"kang-2009-wick-candle-curiosity-caudate-fmri","title":"Kang, Camerer, Loewenstein et al. (2009), Psychological Science 20(8) — \"Wick in the Candle of Learning\": fMRI shows curiosity → caudate (reward) activity; better recall 1-2 weeks later; people spend tokens to satisfy curiosity","kind":"reference","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"},{"slug":"rule-design-question-for-curiosity-inverted-u","title":"R1 — Design the tool's opening question for the curiosity inverted-U: ANSWERABLE-but-UNKNOWN; do not go too vague (backfire) or too obvious (no gap)","kind":"rule","scope":"business","link_type":"depends-on"}]},"created_at":"2026-06-20T19:24:15.866Z","updated_at":"2026-06-20T19:24:15.866Z"}