The Science of Curiosity

People’s curiosity decreases over time.

Most children are highly curious. But people’s inquisitiveness decreases over time due to various factors. Research by psychologist Susan Engel suggests that schools can be an impediment to children’s natural curiosity. In her study, Engel found that the curiosity students exhibited through asking questions, manipulating objects and visual attention decreased from 2.36 “episodes” every two hours in kindergarten to only 0.48 episodes by fifth grade. 

Author and general systems scientist George Land conducted a longitudinal study to measure how the creative potential of 1,600 children developed ...