THE CURIOSITY-EFFORT RELATIONSHIP: TRUTH OR MYTH?

Abstract

Although the belief that curiosity leads to effort is common in society, there is a lack of scientific research that has investigated this phenomenon. This study hopes to contribute to the delineation of the curiosity-effort relationship using a research activity tailored to an undergraduate participant population. Participants were made to conduct research on a specific topic, either 'panda ant' or 'velvet ant'. Their trait and state curiosity were measured, while effort was operationalised as sources used, points written and time spent. We hypothesised that (1) curiosity would predict effort, and (2) predict sources used and points written better than time spent. Regression analyses of effort on curiosity suggested that while state curiosity predicts effort, trait curiosity does not. Furthermore, state curiosity only predicted effort when the research topic was 'velvet ant'. In addition, state curiosity predicted all three effort measures equally. Our results highlight (1) the need for education systems to focus more on state curiosity in the classroom, and (2) the need for further research to identify the circumstances under which the state curiosity-effort relationship does and does not apply.