A UC Santa Barbara study shows that people can boost their curiosity by doing small daily activities.
Scientists wanted to know if simple behaviors could lead to lasting changes in personality– specifically, the trait of curiosity. The researchers created a smartphone app designed to encourage a curious mindset.
Over three weeks, the app prompted study participants to engage in daily behaviors to spark curiosity, such as asking questions or engaging with art.
Compared to a control group, the app users improved in three types of curiosity: epistemic curiosity– the desire to learn, perceptual curiosity– the interest in new sensory experiences, and mindful curiosity– a deeper awareness of the world around them.
“In addition to those curiosity variables, the app users also improved in their perceptions that their life was meaningful– so increased meaning in life and reduced in tendencies towards boredom,” UCSB Project Scientist Madeleine Gross said.
Greater curiosity can help people form deeper connections with their surroundings and with others. Gross said the findings show how important it is to hold on to that childlike sense of wonder.
“As we get older, it's not necessarily that we stop asking these questions because we know all the answers, but we just kind of stop noticing that there are these mysteries all around us,” Gross said. “So, mindful curiosity is a way of tuning into the present moment in a way that suspends critical doubts and embraces the idea that there is something to be discovered in everyday moments.”
According to Gross, the findings demonstrate how practicing certain habits regularly can lead to lasting changes in personality.
The team plans to offer the app for free to UCSB students and start testing it with older adults. The curiosity app is expected to launch publicly in August.
