Editing Curiosity (section)

== Theories ==
Like other desires and need-states that take on an appetitive quality (e.g. food/hunger), curiosity is linked with exploratory behavior and experiences of reward. Curiosity can be described in terms of positive emotions and acquiring knowledge; when one's curiosity has been aroused it is considered inherently rewarding and pleasurable. Discovering new information may also be rewarding because it can help reduce undesirable states of uncertainty rather than stimulating interest. Theories have arisen in attempts to further understand this need to rectify states of uncertainty and the desire to participate in pleasurable experiences of exploratory behaviors.

=== Curiosity-drive theory ===
Curiosity-drive theory posits undesirable experiences of "[[uncertainty]]" and "[[ambiguity]]". The reduction of these unpleasant feelings is rewarding. This theory suggests that people desire coherence and understanding in their thought processes. When this coherence is disrupted by something that is unfamiliar, uncertain, or ambiguous, an individual's curiosity-drive causes them to collect information and knowledge of the unfamiliar to restore coherent thought processes. This theory suggests that curiosity is developed out of the desire to make sense of unfamiliar aspects of one's environment through exploratory behaviors. Once understanding of the unfamiliar has been achieved and coherence has been restored, these behaviors and desires subside.<ref name=":0">{{cite journal|vauthors=Mahama I, Bakari YD, Asamoah-Gyimah K|year=2023|title=Predictive abilities of curiosity, creativity, and motivation on academic performance of high school students in Ghana|journal=Education Research International|volume=2023 |pages=1–10 |doi=10.1155/2023/4626945 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

Derivations of curiosity-drive theory differ on whether curiosity is a primary or secondary drive and if this curiosity-drive originates due to one's need to make sense of and regulate one's environment or if it is caused by an external stimulus.<ref name="csun.edu">{{cite web|vauthors=Edleman S|year=1997|url=http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/explore.htm |title=Curiosity and Exploration|website=California State University, Northridge |access-date=2011-12-28 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111230213048/http://www.csun.edu/~vcpsy00h/students/explore.htm |archive-date=2011-12-30 }}</ref> Causes can range from basic needs that need to be satisfied (e.g. hunger, thirst) to needs in fear-induced situations.<ref name="csun.edu"/> Each of these derived theories state that whether the need is primary or secondary, curiosity develops from experiences that create a sensation of uncertainty or perceived unpleasantness. Curiosity then acts to dispel this uncertainty. By exhibiting curious and exploratory behavior, one is able to gain knowledge of the unfamiliar and thus reduce the state of uncertainty or unpleasantness. This theory, however, does not address the idea that curiosity can often be displayed even in the absence of new or unfamiliar situations.<ref name="litman">{{cite journal | vauthors = Litman J | title = Curiosity and the pleasures of learning: Wanting and liking new information | journal = Cognition & Emotion | volume = 19 | issue = 6 | year = 2005 | pages = 793–814 | issn = 0269-9931 | doi = 10.1080/02699930541000101 | s2cid = 144976076 }}</ref> This type of exploratory behavior, too, is common in many species. A human toddler, if bored in his current situation devoid of arousing stimuli, will walk about until he finds something interesting. The observation of curiosity even in the absence of novel stimuli pinpoints one of the major shortcomings in the curiosity-drive model.

=== Optimal-arousal theory ===
Optimal-arousal theory developed out of the need to explain this desire to seek out opportunities to engage in exploratory behaviors without the presence of uncertain or ambiguous situations. Optimal-arousal suggests that one can be motivated to maintain a pleasurable sense of arousal through such exploratory behaviors.<ref name=":Berlyne"/>

When a stimulus is encountered that is associated with complexity, uncertainty, conflict, or novelty, this increases arousal above the optimal point, and exploratory behavior is employed to learn about that stimulus and thereby reduce arousal again. In contrast, if the environment is boring and lacks excitement, arousal is reduced below the optimal point and exploratory behavior is employed to increase information input and stimulation, and thereby increasing arousal again. This theory addresses both curiosity elicited by uncertain or unfamiliar situations and curiosity elicited in the absence of such situations.

===Cognitive-consistency theory===
[[cognitive dissonance|Cognitive-consistency]] theories assume that "when two or more simultaneously active cognitive structures are logically inconsistent, arousal is increased, which activates processes with the expected consequence of increasing consistency and decreasing arousal."<ref name=":Kampen">{{cite journal | vauthors = van Kampen HS | title = The principle of consistency and the cause and function of behaviour | journal = Behavioural Processes | volume = 159 | pages = 42–54 | date = February 2019 | pmid = 30562561 | doi = 10.1016/j.beproc.2018.12.013 | s2cid = 56478466 }}</ref> Similar to optimal-arousal theory, cognitive-consistency theory suggests that there is a tendency to maintain arousal at a preferred, or expected, level, but it also explicitly links the amount of arousal to the amount of experienced inconsistency between an expected situation and the actually perceived situation. When this inconsistency is small, exploratory behavior triggered by curiosity is employed to gather information with which expectancy can be updated through learning to match perception, thereby reducing inconsistency.<ref name=":Loewenstein"/><ref name=":Kampen"/><ref>{{cite book | vauthors = Inglis IR |chapter=Towards a cognitive theory of exploratory behaviour |year=1983 | veditors = Archer J, Birke LI |title= Exploration in Animals and Humans |pages=72–112 |location= Wokingham, England |publisher= Van Nostrand Reinhold }}</ref>

This approach associates curiosity with [[aggression]] and [[fear]]. If the inconsistency is larger, fear or aggressive behavior may be employed to alter the perception in order to make it match expectancy, depending on the size of the inconsistency as well as the specific context. Aggressive behavior alters perception by forcefully manipulating it into matching the expected situation, while fear prompts flight, which removes the inconsistent stimulus from the perceptual field and thus resolves the inconsistency.<ref name=":Kampen"/>

=== Integration of the reward pathway into theory ===
Taking into account the shortcomings of both curiosity-drive and optimal-arousal theories, attempts have been made to integrate neurobiological aspects of [[Reward system|reward]], wanting, and pleasure into a more comprehensive theory for curiosity. Research suggests that desiring new information involves [[mesolimbic pathway]]s of the brain that {{clarify|text=account for|reason=do these pathways "account for" dopamine activation, or do they more straightforwardly "activate dopamine"?|date=July 2023}} [[dopamine]] activation. The use of these pathways, and dopamine activation, may be how the brain assigns value to new information and interprets this as reward.<ref name="csun.edu"/><ref name="Costa_2014">{{cite journal | vauthors = Costa VD, Tran VL, Turchi J, Averbeck BB | title = Dopamine modulates novelty seeking behavior during decision making | journal = Behavioral Neuroscience | volume = 128 | issue = 5 | pages = 556–566 | date = October 2014 | pmid = 24911320 | pmc = 5861725 | doi = 10.1037/a0037128 }}</ref><ref name="Kakade_2002">{{cite journal | vauthors = Kakade S, Dayan P | title = Dopamine: generalization and bonuses | journal = Neural Networks | volume = 15 | issue = 4–6 | pages = 549–559 | year = 2002 | pmid = 12371511 | doi = 10.1016/s0893-6080(02)00048-5 | url = https://zenodo.org/record/890565 | url-status = live | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20170913183503/https://zenodo.org/record/890565 | archive-date = 2017-09-13 }}</ref> This theory from neurobiology can supplement curiosity-drive theory by explaining the motivation of exploratory behavior.