People often hunt for new, engaging information—we are curious by nature. Our curiosity can guide us in many ways, such as learning new things, starting a hobby, sleuthing for answers (and sometimes seeking out gossip), and even leading us to follow our passions. Curiosity is triggered by the awareness of a gap in our knowledge, engaging a strong motivational drive to close this gap, which can keep our brain sharp. As we get older, curiosity may wane for things that we don’t care about, but curiosity may be critical to maintain in older age to stimulate our brain and prevent Alzheimer’s disease by triggering the production of new brain cells in older age.
Curiosity can be divided into two different types: state and trait curiosity. Trait curiosity is a characteristic of a person who has a desire to explore, learn new things, and is open to new ideas. Some research shows that as we get older, our trait curiosity may decline. State curiosity is a momentary feeling of interest or engagement that people experience when asked about specific topics. While the two types of curiosity are related, state curiosity can be stimulated when we encounter something that piques our interest. For example, certain trivia questions can trigger a state of curiosity.
Try to answer these questions to see if they lead to some state curiosity:
- How many teaspoons of sugar does the average American consume?
- What was the first country to grant women the right to vote?
- What is a flock of flamingos called?
Some of these questions may lead to a momentary state of curiosity, while other questions may not be engaging, and this differs from person to person. Some people feel the persistent need to know these answers right now, and will want to Google them to satisfy these states! (To save you the search time, the answers are: 15-20 teaspoons of sugar, New Zealand in 1893, a flamboyance)
A new study that we recently completed examined how trait and state curiosity may change across the adult lifespan. We tested over 1,000 adults between the ages of 20 to 84 years, asking these types of trivia questions, and having people rate how interested they were to learn the answers, to measure levels of state curiosity. We also then administered a short survey that measured trait curiosity, which included questions such as “I enjoy exploring new ideas” and “I spend hours on a problem because I can’t rest without the answer.”
Consistent with prior research, we found that trait curiosity tended to decline with age, as it was highest in the 20-year-old adults, and gradually decreased after that age, but state curiosity showed a much different pattern. State curiosity was fairly high in the 20 to 30 age group, but there was a drop-off in midlife (40-50) and then a steady increase in the healthy older adults (after the age of 60)! Older people remembered what engaged state curiosity. This suggests that older adults are interested in learning things that are of real interest, may forget what isn’t important, and can engage in state curiosity to fuel lifelong learning.
Curiosity may help keep our brain sharp in older age, allowing us to explore topics that we find of interest, and this stimulates neurogenesis, which allows brain cells to develop even in older age. This engagement of the brain may help to prevent Alzheimer’s disease. There may also be a social component to curiosity—we often want to share what we have learned with other interested people and parties (and at parties!).
Curiosity can be a double-edged sword, as curiosity can sometimes be a time sink, and as illustrated by Pandora’s box in Greek mythology, it can lead to some negative outcomes. Thus, there can be some costs to curiosity. Clickbait can take us down dangerous paths on the Internet, opening spam emails can be risky, and curiosity about who is calling on the phone can lead to scams and fraud, something that has great consequences for people of any age, and especially for older adults. Keep your guard up, and use your curiosity to keep your brain sharp!
