Editing Curiosity (section)

{{Short description|Quality related to inquisitive thinking}}
{{redirect|Curious|other uses|Curious (disambiguation)|and|Curiosity (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Kométa C-2020 F3 (NEOWISE).jpg|thumb|upright=1.4|Space and telescopes have been a quintessential symbol for curiosity.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Inspiring with Astronomy |url=https://www.esa.int/Education/Teach_with_astronomy/Inspiring_with_Astronomy |access-date=2024-01-06 |website=www.esa.int |language=en}}</ref>]]
{{emotion}}

'''Curiosity''' (from Latin {{lang|la|[[wikt:curiositas#Latin|cūriōsitās]]}}, from {{lang|la|cūriōsus}} "careful, diligent, curious", akin to {{lang|la|cura}} "care") is a quality related to inquisitive [[thinking]], such as exploration, investigation, and [[learning]], evident in humans and other animals.<ref name="pmid13190171">{{cite journal | vauthors = Berlyne DE | title = A theory of human curiosity | journal = British Journal of Psychology | volume = 45 | issue = 3 | pages = 180–191 | date = August 1954 | pmid = 13190171 | doi = 10.1111/j.2044-8295.1954.tb01243.x }}</ref><ref name="pmid13252149">{{cite journal | vauthors = Berlyne DE | title = The arousal and satiation of perceptual curiosity in the rat | journal = Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology | volume = 48 | issue = 4 | pages = 238–246 | date = August 1955 | pmid = 13252149 | doi = 10.1037/h0042968 }}</ref> Curiosity helps [[Developmental psychology|human development]], from which derives the process of [[learning]] and [[desire]] to acquire [[knowledge]] and [[skill]].<ref>{{cite book |vauthors=Zuss M |title=The Practice of Theoretical Curiosity |year=2012 |publisher=Springer Publishing |location= New York |isbn=978-9-40072-117-3}}</ref>

The term ''curiosity'' can also denote the behavior, characteristic, or [[emotion]] of being curious, in regard to the desire to gain knowledge or [[information]]. Curiosity as a behavior and emotion is the driving force behind human development, such as progress in [[science]], [[language]], and industry.<ref>{{cite book | editor-last=Keller | editor-first=Heidi | editor-last2=Schneider | editor-first2=Klaus |title=Curiosity and Exploration |year=1994 |publisher=Springer-Verlag |location=Berlin |isbn=978-0-387-54867-8|name-list-style=vanc}}</ref>

Curiosity can be considered to be an [[evolution]]ary [[adaptation]] based on an organism's ability to learn.<ref name="pmid30889493">{{cite journal | vauthors = Wang, Maya Z | title = Monkeys are curious about counterfactual outcomes | journal = Cognition | volume = 189 | year = 2019 | pages = 1–10 | pmid = 30889493 | doi = 10.1016/j.cognition.2019.03.009| pmc = 8029581 }}</ref> Certain curious animals (namely, [[Corvidae|corvids]], [[octopus]]es, [[dolphin]]s, [[elephant]]s, [[rat]]s, ''etc.'') will pursue information in order to adapt to their surrounding and learn how things work.<ref name="Heinrich1995">{{cite journal |author-link=Bernd Heinrich |vauthors=Heinrich, Bernd |year=1995 |title=Neophilia and exploration in juvenile common ravens, Corvus corax |journal=Animal Behaviour |volume=50 |issue=3 |pages=695–704 |doi=10.1016/0003-3472(95)80130-8}}</ref> This behavior is termed [[Neophile|neophilia]], the love of new things. For animals, a fear of the unknown or the new, [[neophobia]], is much more common, especially later in life.<ref name="pmid34793696">{{cite journal | vauthors = Miller, Rachael | title = Socio-ecological correlates of neophobia in corvids | journal = Current Biology | volume = 32 | year = 2022 | issue = 1–6 | pages = 74–85.e4 | pmid = 3479369 | doi = 10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.045| bibcode = 2022CBio...32E..74M }}</ref>