Reference entries (7)
- reference Curiosity gaps can BACKFIRE when teasers are too vague/abstract — information-seeking drops (Scientific Reports 2024; OBHDP 2023 frustration finding)
- reference Curiosity follows an INVERTED-U over prior knowledge/confidence — peaks at MODERATE knowing, falls when one knows nearly nothing or nearly everything (Kang 2009, Dubey-Griffiths 2020, Lee 2024)
- reference Gruber, Gelman & Ranganath (2014), Neuron 84(2) — high-curiosity states enhanced midbrain (SN/VTA) + nucleus accumbens activity; improved memory for target AND incidental information
- reference 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
- reference Berlyne (1954, British Journal of Psychology; 1960, Conflict Arousal and Curiosity) — intellectual lineage of curiosity as resolving epistemic / conceptual conflict
- reference Loewenstein (1994), Psychological Bulletin 116(1) — information-gap theory: curiosity is cognitively induced deprivation from a perceived gap in knowledge or understanding
- research-notes Research notes (capture-layer top-up): why interactive online tools are psychologically engaging — six additional mechanisms (June 2026)
