Speaker
Description
Curiosity is a fundamental driver of human behavior. Yet, the interplay of emotional valence, self-relevance, and uncertainty in non-instrumental information-seeking remains unclear. This study aims to disentangle these influences using a trivia-based paradigm designed to isolate intrinsic motivation. Participants will decide whether to wait for answers to trivia questions varying in valence, relevance, and uncertainty, while controlling for confounds such as utility and topic diversity. We hypothesize that participants will be more curious about positively or negatively valenced items than neutral ones, that self-relevance will enhance valence effects, and that curiosity will peak at moderate uncertainty levels. A hierarchical Bayesian model will test these hypotheses, with planned Bayes factor thresholds guiding inference. Our results will clarify how affective and cognitive variables interact in real-time decisions to seek information, advancing current models of curiosity and informing applications in education, health communication, and media engagement.
