Epistemic Curiosity

Epistemic curiosity is the desire to obtain new knowledge (e.g., concepts, ideas, and facts) expected to stimulate intellectual interest (I-type) or eliminate conditions of informational deprivation (D-type). I-type epistemic curiosity appears to be maximally activated when individuals recognize opportunities to discover something completely new, whereas D-type epistemic curiosity is optimally stimulated when people lack specific pieces of information they wish to incorporate into an existing knowledge-set. Once activated, the degree to which each type of epistemic curiosity is experienced and behaviorally expressed has been found to vary according to individual differences in I- and D-type epistemic curiosity personality traits (Litman 2008).

I- and D-type epistemic curiosity each corresponds to different orientations toward seeking new information. I-type epistemic curiosity involves focusing on the…

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Psychology Department, University of South Florida, 140 7th Avenue South, Saint Petersburg, FL, 33701-5016, USA

   Jordan A. Litman Ph.D.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Jordan A. Litman Ph.D. .

Editors and Affiliations

1. Faculty of Economics and Behavioral Sciences, Department of Education, University of Freiburg, 79085, Freiburg, Germany

   Norbert M. Seel