Integrating lines of research on children’s curiosity-driven learning

Epistemic curiosity is considered indispensable in children’s learning, but previous empirical research on children’s curiosity-driven learning has been fragmented; separate research lines tend to focus on single learning outcomes. Therefore, this study aimed at integrating different research lines by adapting an existing paradigm to investigate not only the relation between children’s state curiosity and their memory performance but also their desire to explore. In addition, this study examined a possible mechanism through which curiosity affects recall: increased attentional processes. Last, this study investigated the role of intelligence and perceived prior knowledge in the relation between curiosity and recall. We applied a within-participants design in which the Trivia task (N = 32) and Raven’s Standard Progressive Matrices were administered to 10- to 12-year-olds. In the Trivia task, participants learn answers to trivia questions for which they have high and low curiosity, and subsequently recall is tested. Main findings include that children memorized trivia facts better when they were in a high-curious state rather than a low-curious state, and this positive relation may increase with intelligence. Importantly, the relation between curiosity and recall still held when taking into account perceived prior knowledge. Curiosity was positively related not only to recall but also to children’s desire to further explore the concerning topic. Given that in some educational contexts promoting curiosity is not considered a priority and children express little school-related curiosity, an important value of this study for educational practice lies in the reinforcement of the notion of curiosity being a main driver of children’s learning.