Interesting Things and Curious People: Exploration and Engagement as Transient States and Enduring Strengths

How do question-answer exchanges among generations matter for children's happiness?

Intergenerational exchange plays an increasing role in realizing sustainable societies. Question-answer exchanges are the trigger for individuals to initiate some intergenerational relations, and the literature has established that inquisitiveness (curiosity about something and someone different) contributes to people's generativity and happiness. However, little is known about how children's inquisitiveness influences their generative concern and happiness. We claim that inquisitiveness is essential for children to enhance their happiness and hypothesize that those who receive a positive response from adults tend to be inquisitive and express the signs of generativity. To empirically examine the hypothesis, we have statistically characterized inquisitiveness in relation to adult-child interaction, generativity (offering care for people and the natural environment) and happiness, using the data from a survey of 511 Japanese children between 9 and 14 years and by applying the revised generativity concern scale (GCS-R). The results show that inquisitiveness correlates with generativity and happiness, primarily that a positive response by adults to children's inquiries promotes their inquisitiveness through adult-child interactions. Our analysis shows that children's inquisitiveness, encouraged by adults' positive responses, is more significant in happiness than the generativity concern during childhood. Overall, the results suggest that adults responding positively to children's questions is essential for promoting inquisitiveness and increasing happiness.

The costs of curiosity and creativity: Minimizing the downsides while maximizing the upsides

The unbridled positivity toward curiosity and creativity may be excessive. Both aid species survival through exploration and advancement. These beneficial effects are well documented. What remains is to understand their optimal levels and contexts for maximal achievement, health, and well-being. Every beneficial element to individuals and groups carries the potential for harm - curiosity and creativity included.

Curiosity, proactive personality, organizational culture and work engagement in the aviation industry in the UAE during Covid-19: A non-probabilistic moderated-mediation model

The crisis created by the pandemic severely disrupted the working patterns of employees, especially in the aviation industry. It is insufficient for workers to be satisfied – they have to be engaged in their work to deal with crises and situations never encountered before. Thus, investigating the antecedents of work engagement and their interactive effects is crucial to organizational survival. The paper examines the impact of the trait of curiosity on proactive personality, which ultimately leads to work engagement. The moderated-mediation model looks at the mediating effect of proactive personality on the relationship between curiosity and work engagement. It also examines the moderating effect of organizational culture perceptions on the relationship between curiosity and proactive personality. A sample of 327 respondents was collected from 32 organizations in the aviation industry in the United Arab Emirates through purposive sampling. The hypothesized associations were analyzed via structural equation modelling. As predicted, proactive personality is a mediator, and organizational culture moderates the said relationships. Managers desirous of improving employees’ work engagement will now understand how employees’ curiosity can enhance work engagement through proactive personality. Managers can also ensure that organizational culture can further strengthen the relationship between curiosity and proactive personality.

Awe, Curiosity, and Multicultural Experience

INTRODUCTION

Despite broad consensus about multicultural experience's benefits, there is a lack of research on the antecedents to multicultural experiences. Research has indicated that awe shifts attention away from the self towards larger entities, which could include elements of other cultures.

METHODS

Four studies (N = 2,915) tested whether trait, daily, and induced awe promoted multicultural experience.

RESULTS

Studies 1-2 (adolescents, young, middle, and older adults) showed that trait awe predicted greater multicultural identity and experience independent of other positive emotions and openness. Study 3 (students & adults in U.S. & Malaysia) demonstrated that daily awe predicted more daily multicultural experience independent of yesterday's multicultural experience. These results were explained by trait and daily curiosity. Study 4 (adults) found that induction of awe increased state multicultural identity and experience via state curious emotions and then state curious personality.

CONCLUSION

We found that experiencing more awe can be a tool for enhancing the multicultural experience. The discussion focuses on the implications for future research on awe and multicultural experiences.

Achieving Long-term Goals Amidst Uncertainty: An Integrative Model for the Psychological Resources of Grit

This article proposes an integrative model for the psychological resources of grit. The growing body of work in nursing on the topic of grit indicates considerable interest in achieving long-term goals, especially amidst uncertainty from the COVID-19 pandemic. Motivational behaviors are thought to influence engagement in continuing education in nursing, thereby improving clinical practice and patient outcomes. The model was informed by a comprehensive review of the literature. Sixteen attributes for acquiring and strengthening four psychological resources of grit were identified. Each attribute is discussed along with interrelationships and implications for professional nursing development. Given the complex demands placed on health professionals, this model is both timely and relevant for all nurse and education providers interested in enhancing personal characteristics that may mitigate against stress and build capabilities for goal achievement. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(8):355-363.].

A meta-analytic investigation of the impact of curiosity-enhancing interventions

Curiosity is associated with a number of beneficial outcomes, such as greater life satisfaction, more work engagement and better academic performance. The connection between curiosity and beneficial outcomes supports the importance of examining whether it is possible to increase curiosity and to investigate what approaches may be effective in facilitating curiosity. This meta-analysis consolidated the effects of curiosity-enhancing interventions. Across 41 randomized controlled trials, with a total of 4,496 participants, interventions significantly increased curiosity. The weighted effect size was Hedges' g = 0.57 [0.44, 0.70]. These results indicated that interventions were effective across a variety of intervention principles used, with participants in various age groups, across various measures, and over different time periods. Interventions aiming to increase general curiosity showed larger effect sizes than interventions aiming to increase realm-specific curiosity. Interventions incorporating mystery or game playing had especially high effect sizes. Because higher levels of curiosity tend to be associated with various beneficial outcomes, the finding that across studies interventions are effective in increasing curiosity holds promise for future efforts to increase curiosity to bring about additional benefits.

How does inquisitiveness matter for generativity and happiness?

Inquisitiveness (curiosity & acceptance to something and someone different) is the main engine for one person to initiate some relation, and the literature has established that maintaining nice relationships with friends, family and general others contributes to generativity and happiness. However, little is known about how generativity and happiness are characterized by inquisitiveness. We hypothesize that inquisitiveness is a fundamental determinant for generativity and happiness, empirically examining the relationships along with cognitive, noncognitive and sociodemographic factors. We conduct questionnaire surveys with 400 Japanese subjects, applying quantile regression and structural equation modeling to the data. First, the analysis identifies the importance of inquisitiveness in characterizing generativity in that people with high inquisitiveness tend to be generative. Second, people are identified to be happy as they have high generativity and inquisitiveness, demonstrating two influential roles of inquisitiveness as direct and indirect determinants through a mediator of generativity. Overall, the results suggest that inquisitiveness shall be a key element of people’s happiness through intergenerational and intragenerational communications or relations.

Online High School Community Health Worker Curriculum: Key Strategies of Transforming, Engagement, and Implementation

Background: Ample research evidence has demonstrated that Community Health Worker (CHW) programs are a cost-effective, culturally integrated, and impactful way to improve community health. Although most existing CHW programs recruit adults as CHWs, high school students, with their intellectual readiness and intimate community knowledge, also have great potential to be engaged as CHWs that impact community health. With this potential in mind, the High School Community Health Worker Curriculum (HSCHW), for face-to-face training, was created in 2016 at Morehouse School of Medicine (MSM) as an innovative solution to improve community health in underserved, urban neighborhoods. Sixteen Metro Atlanta high school students participated in the program's first cohort. The face-to-face HSCHW training program received very positive feedback from the students and community partners involved. Additionally, during the inaugural training, the program received more than 150 nationwide inquiries about an opportunity to either participate in the program or replicate its curriculum. Hence, in 2018, a corresponding online curriculum was created to meet these needs. The online HSCHW curriculum covers the roles and competencies described in the CHW Core Consensus (C3) Project and focuses on developing high school students' critical thinking, decision-making, and communication skills. As of February 2021, 346 high school community health workers have participated in this online curriculum.

Purpose: This paper reports on the research study of the critical processes and strategies of transforming, engaging, and implementing the online HSCHW curriculum.

Method: The project team conducted the research study to identify the key strategies to transform the face-to-face HSCHW curriculum, the engagement strategies embedded in the online curriculum's content development, and, ultimately, the curriculum's outcomes. Altogether, this mixed-method study analyzed and reported on the learning outcomes of 265 students', in tandem with 17 high school students' focused-group interviews and responses to online surveys.

Results: The results showed that integrating instructional design processes is critical for the online curriculum's success. “Interestingness,” the latent concept embedded in the online HSCHW curriculum, engages high school students in learning about complex CHW skills, through digital content and activities. Furthermore, the successful implementation of the program and its student learning outcomes was assured by integrating the online curriculum with local schools and community resources, training the local community and school “trainers” to facilitate the curriculum online, and providing ongoing coaching support from the program team.

Impacts: This paper provides a research report on the key strategies and processes of creating and implementing an online CHW curriculum for high school students. Its findings will inform future endeavors to develop an online CHW curriculum for lifelong learners and increase training effectiveness. The online HSCHW curriculum increases the national capacity of community health workers, whose work will increase community engagement and health equity. The curriculum also empowers high school students to acquire health knowledge that can bridge the educational gap between health knowledge acquisition and health knowledge application. Additionally, the online HSCHW curriculum presents a concrete example of leveraging digital platforms to teach complex public health competencies to young adults who can positively impact community health.

Adaptive Homeostatic Strategies of Resilient Intrinsic Self-Regulation in Extremes (RISE): A Randomized Controlled Trial of a Novel Behavioral Treatment for Chronic Pain

Current treatments for chronic pain have limited benefit. We describe a resilience intervention for individuals with chronic pain which is based on a model of viewing chronic pain as dysregulated homeostasis and which seeks to restore homeostatic self-regulation using strategies exemplified by survivors of extreme environments. The intervention is expected to have broad effects on well-being and positive emotional health, to improve cognitive functions, and to reduce pain symptoms thus helping to transform the suffering of pain into self-growth. A total of 88 Veterans completed the pre-assessment and were randomly assigned to either the treatment intervention (n = 38) or control (n = 37). Fifty-eight Veterans completed pre- and post-testing (intervention n = 31, control = 27). The intervention covered resilience strengths organized into four modules: (1) engagement, (2) social relatedness, (3) transformation of pain and (4) building a good life. A broad set of standardized, well validated measures were used to assess three domains of functioning: health and well-being, symptoms, and cognitive functions. Two-way Analysis of Variance was used to detect group and time differences. Broadly, results indicated significant intervention and time effects across multiple domains: (1) Pain decreased in present severity [F ( 1, 56) = 5.02, p < 0.05, η2 p = 0.08], total pain over six domains [F ( 1, 56) = 14.52, p < 0.01, η2 p = 0.21], and pain interference [F ( 1, 56) = 6.82, p < 0.05, η2 p = 0.11]; (2) Affect improved in pain-related negative affect [F ( 1, 56) = 7.44, p < 0.01, η2 p = 0.12], fear [F ( 1, 56) = 7.70, p < 0.01, η2 p = 0.12], and distress [F ( 1, 56) = 10.87, p < 0.01, η2 p = 0.16]; (3) Well-being increased in pain mobility [F ( 1, 56) = 5.45, p < 0.05, η2 p = 0.09], vitality [F ( 1, 56) = 4.54, p < 0.05, η2 p = 0.07], and emotional well-being [F ( 1, 56) = 5.53, p < 0.05, η2 p = 0.09] Mental health symptoms and the cognitive functioning domain did not reveal significant effects. This resilience intervention based on homeostatic self-regulation and survival strategies of survivors of extreme external environments may provide additional sociopsychobiological tools for treating individuals with chronic pain that may extend beyond treating pain symptoms to improving emotional well-being and self-growth. Clinical Trial Registration: Registered with ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04693728).

Psychometric of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II in Indonesia

Background: Curiosity is a personality characteristic, which fits with wellbeing and positive functioning. The objective of this study was to assess the construct validity of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory II (CEI-II) in Indonesia. Design and Methods: The study included 256 undergraduate students who lived in Indonesia, mean age 19.8 years old. The CEI-II measures stretching and embracing using 11 items. The English version of CEI-II was translated into Bahasa. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) were addressed to examine internal consistency reliability and the test-retest reliability. To evaluate construct validity, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was used to assess factor structure and confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) was used to evaluate the structural model fit of the CEI-II Indonesia version. Results: The study showed Cronbach's alpha for the internal consistency of the overall CEI-II Indonesia version was 0.77. The ICC for the test-retest reliability ranged between 0.753-0.829. EFA showed adequate with the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin value of 0.86 and the Bartlett's test of sphericity was statistically significant. CFA tested the second-order model with two-order factors and showed a model fit. Conclusions: The CEI-II Indonesia version indicated acceptable construct validity to evaluate curiosity in Indonesia.

The Role of Curiosity in the Sociopolitical Development of Black and Latinx Adolescents

Sociopolitical development, the process of coming to understand and take action against systems of oppression, is associated with key outcomes for youth. Although rooted in Paulo Freire's work on critical consciousness, sociopolitical development models overlook a motivational attribute-curiosity-that Freire characterized as a catalyst of such development. This longitudinal study investigated the relationship between curiosity and two aspects of sociopolitical development (social analysis, societal involvement) in a sample of Black and Latinx adolescents (N = 659). Longitudinal growth models demonstrated positive growth in all constructs over 4-years of high school. Multivariate growth models revealed a positive correlation at baseline between curiosity and both constructs; growth in curiosity was also positively correlated with growth in social analysis and societal involvement.

Are awe-prone people more curious? The relationship between dispositional awe, curiosity, and academic outcomes

OBJECTIVE

Guided by a functional account of awe, we aimed to test the hypothesis that people who often feel awe are also more curious (Studies 1 and 2), and that this relationship in turn relates to academic outcomes (Study 3).

METHOD

In Study 1 (n = 1,005), we used a self-report approach to test the relationship between dispositional awe and curiosity. In Study 2 (n = 100), we used a peer-report approach to test if participants' dispositional awe related to how curious they were rated by their friends. In Study 3, in a sample of 447 high school adolescents we tested if dispositional awe related to academic outcomes via curiosity.

RESULTS

We found that dispositional awe was positively related to people's self-rated curiosity (Study 1) and how curious they were rated by their friends (Study 2). In Study 3, we found that dispositional awe was related to academic outcomes via curiosity.

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that among the seven positive emotion dispositions tested, awe was related to unique variance in curiosity, and this link in turn predicted academic outcomes. This work further characterizes awe as an epistemic emotion and suggests that activities that inspire awe may improve academic outcomes.

Fostering adolescent curiosity through a question brainstorming intervention

INTRODUCTION

High adolescent curiosity is associated with several positive outcomes, yet questioning, a common behavioral manifestation of curiosity, declines once children enter formal schooling. The present quasi-experimental study empirically investigated whether directly teaching students to question helps to foster students' more enduring, dispositional tendency towards curiosity.

METHOD

The study explored the impact of a direct-instruction student-brainstorming intervention, the Question Formulation Technique (QFT), on adolescents' curiosity. The study's sample included adolescents (N = 3173) in four public high schools in the United States nested within 43 educators' English/Language Arts classrooms. Teachers (N = 43) were randomly assigned to two groups, one of which received professional development in the QFT in fall 2015 and the other in the winter of 2016. The study utilized student self-report questionnaires and teacher fidelity checks at three time points (fall, winter, and spring) to consider the impact of the QFT on participating adolescents' curiosity.

RESULTS

Multilevel modeling results indicated a positive treatment effect of the QFT on adolescents' curiosity, a positive adherence effect on adolescents' curiosity growth, and a positive dosage effect on adolescents' curiosity growth.

CONCLUSIONS

The study suggests that adolescent dispositional curiosity can be significantly increased by directly teaching students to question.

Longitudinal Course and Predictors of Apathetic Symptoms after Severe Traumatic Brain Injury

Objectives

Apathy is one of the most common behavioral symptoms encountered after traumatic brain injury (TBI). However, very little is known about the longitudinal course and predictors of apathetic manifestations. The aims of the present study were to examine how apathy changes and the predictive value of cognitive factors (memory, attention/executive mechanisms, and multitasking) and personal identity factors (self-esteem and self-efficacy beliefs) for apathy over a period of 10 months.

Method

To this end, 68 participants (32 patients with severe TBI matched with 36 control participants) living in the community were enrolled. At Time 1, participants were given three questionnaires to assess self-esteem, self-efficacy beliefs, anxiety and depression symptoms, and five tasks to assess cognitive processes. Simultaneously, a close relative of each participant completed a questionnaire that assessed lack of initiative/initiative. At Time 2, all questionnaires were re-administered to each patient and their relatives.

Results

Patients displayed a significant lack of initiative/interest at all post-injury assessments. At the individual level, the results revealed that a majority of patients had no change in their apathetic symptoms over the 10-month follow-up, whereas in the others, apathetic symptoms mostly increased. Furthermore, impaired memory was the only mechanism that significantly predicted later apathetic manifestations. Complementary profile analyses indicated that patients with worsening symptoms over the follow-up period showed higher inaccurate memory at Time 1 than patients with stable symptoms.

Conclusions

These results provide valuable insight into the longitudinal evolution and predictors of apathy after TBI, which opens interesting prospects for psychological interventions.

Science Is Awe-Some: The Emotional Antecedents of Science Learning

Scientists from Einstein to Sagan have linked emotions like awe with the motivation for scientific inquiry, but no research has tested this possibility. Theoretical and empirical work from affective science, however, suggests that awe might be unique in motivating explanation and exploration of the physical world. We synthesize theories of awe with theories of the cognitive mechanisms related to learning, and offer a generative theoretical framework that can be used to test the effect of this emotion on early science learning.

Curiosity and time: from not knowing to almost knowing

How does it feel to be curious? We reasoned that there are two sides to curiosity: not knowing something (i.e. information-gap) and almost knowing something (i.e. anticipation of resolution). In three experiments, we showed that time affects the relative impact of these two components: When people did not expect to close their information-gap soon (long time-to-resolution) not knowing affected the subjective experience of curiosity more strongly than when they expected to close their information-gap quickly (short time-to-resolution). As such, people experienced less positive affect, more discomfort, and more annoyance with lack of information in a long than a short time-to-resolution situation. Moreover, when time in the long time-to-resolution setting passed, the anticipation of the resolution became stronger, positive affect increased, and discomfort and annoyance with lack of information decreased. Time is thus a key factor in the experience of curiosity.

Validation of the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (CEI-II) Among Chinese University Students in Hong Kong

This study aimed at validating the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory-II (CEI-II; Kashdan et al., 2009 ) in a Chinese context. A total of 294 Chinese first-year undergraduate students in Hong Kong completed the CEI-II and measures of satisfaction with university life, the Big Five personality traits, and human values. The results of exploratory structural equation modeling, parallel analysis, and confirmatory factor analysis supported a 1-factor solution and did not replicate the original 2-factor structure. Time invariance of the 1-factor structure was obtained among 242 participants who completed the questionnaires again after 4 months. The latent means and correlation indicated that curiosity as measured by the CEI-II was quite stable over the period of investigation. The CEI-II was found to be positively correlated with satisfaction with university life, extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness to experience, and openness to change values, but negatively with neuroticism and conservation values. The results of hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that the CEI-II score had incremental validity above and beyond the Big Five personality traits in predicting human values and satisfaction with university life.

Curiosity protects against interpersonal aggression: cross-sectional, daily process, and behavioral evidence

OBJECTIVE

Curiosity is the propensity to recognize and seek out new information and experience, including an intrinsic interest in learning and developing one's knowledge. With few exceptions, researchers have often ignored the social consequences of being curious.

METHOD

In four studies using cross-sectional (N = 64), daily diary (Ns = 150 and 110, respectively), and behavioral experimental (N= 132) designs, we tested the hypothesis that individual differences in curiosity are linked to less aggression, even when people are provoked.

RESULTS

We showed that both trait and daily curiosity were linked to less aggressive responses toward romantic relationship partners and people who caused psychological hurt. In time-lagged analyses, daily curiosity predicted less aggression from one day to the next, with no evidence for the reverse direction. Studies 3 and 4 showed that the inverse association between curiosity and aggression was strongest in close relationships and in fledgling (as opposed to long-lasting) romantic relationships. That is, highly curious people showed evidence of greater context sensitivity. Intensity of hurt feelings and other personality and relationship variables failed to account for these effects.

CONCLUSIONS

Curiosity is a neglected mechanism of resilience in understanding aggression.

When curiosity breeds intimacy: taking advantage of intimacy opportunities and transforming boring conversations

Curious people seek knowledge and new experiences. In 3 studies, we examined whether, when, and how curiosity contributes to positive social outcomes between unacquainted strangers. Study 1 (98 college students) showed that curious people expect to generate closeness during intimate conversations but not during small talk; less curious people anticipated poor outcomes in both situations. We hypothesized that curious people underestimate their ability to bond with unacquainted strangers during mundane conversations. Studies 2 (90 college students) and 3 (106 college students) showed that curious people felt close to partners during intimate and small-talk conversations; less curious people only felt close when the situation offered relationship-building exercises. Surprise at the pleasure felt during this novel, uncertain situation partially mediated the benefits linked to curiosity. We found evidence of slight asymmetry between self and partner reactions. Results could not be attributed to physical attraction or positive affect. Collectively, results suggest that positive social interactions benefit from an open and curious mind-set.

Psychological flexibility as a fundamental aspect of health

Traditionally, positive emotions and thoughts, strengths, and the satisfaction of basic psychological needs for belonging, competence, and autonomy have been seen as the cornerstones of psychological health. Without disputing their importance, these foci fail to capture many of the fluctuating, conflicting forces that are readily apparent when people navigate the environment and social world. In this paper, we review literature to offer evidence for the prominence of psychological flexibility in understanding psychological health. Thus far, the importance of psychological flexibility has been obscured by the isolation and disconnection of research conducted on this topic. Psychological flexibility spans a wide range of human abilities to: recognize and adapt to various situational demands; shift mindsets or behavioral repertoires when these strategies compromise personal or social functioning; maintain balance among important life domains; and be aware, open, and committed to behaviors that are congruent with deeply held values. In many forms of psychopathology, these flexibility processes are absent. In hopes of creating a more coherent understanding, we synthesize work in emotion regulation, mindfulness and acceptance, social and personality psychology, and neuropsychology. Basic research findings provide insight into the nature, correlates, and consequences of psychological flexibility and applied research provides details on promising interventions. Throughout, we emphasize dynamic approaches that might capture this fluid construct in the real-world.