Curiosity – broadly defined as a desire for new information — is an extraordinarily complex psychological construct. The scientific study of curiosity demands a consideration of (at bare minimum) individual differences in personality, the nature of the information sought (e.g., intellectual knowledge, sensory-perceptual experience), memory and metacognition (i.e., what we think we do or don’t know), emotion and motivation, the formation of self-directed learning goals, the self-regulation of controlling and monitoring progress towards meeting those goals, the specific behaviors involved in gathering new information, and the neural circuitry of desire and reward that underlies the experience, expression and satiation of curiosity.

My previous (and current) theoretical and empirical work on curiosity has endeavored to explore all of these areas in some form or another (click on Publications & Media for more information), but has only begun to scratch the surface.

A deeper understanding of curiosity also requires one to take into account individuals’ pervasive (and the development of new!) domains of interests and individuals’ views on where and how to even locate new information they can use, such as attitudes about what sources of knowledge are trustworthy.

Suffice to say, the study of curiosity is highly multidisciplinary, and I am extremely interested in collaborating with other scientists across a wide range of areas who may have also found themselves asking questions about the experience and expression of curiosity in their work on memory and cognition, problem-solving, media, art, creativity, intellectual development, etc. –. Click here to see examples of the latest research or to learn more about my research currently in progress click here or on the picture to the right.

If you are interested in collaborating on a project, please Contact Me.