Role of Metacognitive Confidence Judgments in Curiosity: Different Effects of Confidence on Curiosity Across Epistemic and Perceptual Domains.

Previous research suggests that curiosity is sometimes induced by novel information one has no relevant knowledge about, but it is sometimes induced by new information about something that one is familiar with and has prior knowledge about. However, the conditions under which novelty or familiarity triggers curiosity remain unclear. Using metacognitive confidence judgments as a proxy to quantify the amount of knowledge, this study evaluates the relationship between the amount of relevant knowledge and curiosity. We reviewed previous studies on the relationship between subjective curiosity and confidence and reanalyzed existing large-sample data. The findings indicate that the relationship between curiosity and confidence differs depending on the nature of the stimuli: epistemic versus perceptual. Regarding perceptual stimuli, curiosity is stronger when individuals have lower confidence levels. By contrast, for epistemic stimuli, curiosity is stronger when individuals have higher confidence levels. These results suggest that curiosity triggered by perceptual stimuli is based on perceived novelty, whereas that triggered by epistemic stimuli is based on familiarity with prior knowledge.

Evaluación de las propiedades psicométricas de la Escala de Curiosidad Epistémica de Litman en hispanohablantes

La Curiosidad Epistémica (CE) es el deseo que motiva a las personas a adquirir nuevo conocimiento. La escala de CE de Litman fue desarrollada para operacionalizar este constructo, y aunque su estructura latente ha sido validada en varios estudios, estos se han realizado en su mayoría en Alemania, EE. UU. y los Países Bajos, que son sociedades educadas, industrializadas, ricas y democráticas. Por consiguiente, el presente estudio evaluó las propiedades psicométricas de la escala de CE, en una muestra de adultos del noroeste de México (N = 334) con edades de 18 a 50 años. Al igual que en investigaciones previas, se compararon dos modelos: unidimensional y bidimensional, mediante análisis factoriales confirmatorios. Adicionalmente, se incluyeron los residuales correlacionados significativos, como parte de ambos modelos, y se examinó si el instrumento tiene invarianza de medición. Los resultados muestran que el modelo bifactorial presentó el mejor ajuste. La consistencia interna fue aceptable, y se comprobó que la escala posee invarianza configural, métrica, escalar y estricta. Usos potenciales de este constructo emergente incluyen su estudio como un factor motivacional relevante, en el nivel de involucramiento y las estrategias de formación de los estudiantes, así como su papel mediador en varios tipos de ansiedad en el aprendizaje.

Epistemic Curiosity (EC) is the desire that motivates people to acquire new knowledge. Litman's EC scale was developed to operationalize this construct, and although its latent structure has been validated in several studies, these have been conducted mostly in Germany, the Netherlands, and the United States, which are educated, industrialized, wealthy, and democratic societies. Therefore, the present study evaluated the psychometric properties of the EC scale in a sample of adults from northwestern Mexico (N = 334) aged 18 to 50 years. As in previous research, two models were compared: one unidimensional and one bidimensional, using Confirmatory Factor Analysis. Additionally, significantly correlated residuals were included as part of both models, and it was examined whether the instrument has measurement invariance. The results show that the bifactor model presented the best fit. The internal consistency was acceptable, and the scale was found to have configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance. Potential uses of this emerging construct include its study as a relevant motivational factor in students' level of engagement and study strategies, as well as its mediating role in various types of learning anxiety.

Measuring an understudied factor in medical education - development and validation of the medical curiosity scale.

Curiosity, which has been called the third pillar of academic achievement and positively predicts academic performance (von Stumm et al., 2011), is widely recognized as an important factor in acquiring knowledge and skills in medical training, and may be critical for students´ sound mental health. Medical educators have advocated that curiosity should play a more significant role in medical training and have criticized didactic barriers impeding student curiosity. However, in medical training, curiosity is understudied partly due to a lack of methods for measuring curiosity. Therefore, this study was designed to develop and validate a scale to measure medical curiosity. After reviewing the literature and interviewing a panel of experts (n = 7), 25 preliminary items assessing medical curiosity were developed and administered to n = 305 medical students (n = 163 female and n = 142 male) at Heidelberg University across all medical school years. Following exploratory factor analysis (EFA) with oblique (promax) rotation, we measured medical curiosity in a medical student sample. We have identified two distinct factors: intellectual medical curiosity (IMC) and social medical curiosity (SMC). IMC describes the desire to acquire medical knowledge for curiosity's sake, while SMC refers to curiosity about human nature and, in particular, patient health. Both factors showed good psychometric properties, with eigenvalues of 6.7 and 3.5, explaining 26.6% and 14.0% of the variance and internal consistencies of 0.796 and 0.866, respectively, and high convergent and discriminant validity. While first-year students showed significantly higher IMC scores than final-year medical students, SMC scores remained stable and tended to increase throughout medical school. This study has succeeded in developing the first scale to measure aspects of medical curiosity and, thus, lays the groundwork for future studies examining medical students' curiosity. A deeper understanding of medical students' curiosity can help to foster this curiosity effectively.

Curious enough to start up? How epistemic curiosity and entrepreneurial alertness influence entrepreneurship orientation and intention.

Epistemic curiosity as the desire to acquire new knowledge and ideas is considered as an important attribute for successful entrepreneurs among practitioners, yet there is lacking empirical evidence of epistemic curiosity having an effect on entrepreneurial outcomes. This study aims to put a spotlight on epistemic curiosity as a predictor for entrepreneurial intentions and orientation. We found that epistemic curiosity has a stronger influence on entrepreneurial outcomes in comparison to the Big Five personality trait openness to experience, which is a widely used and conceptually related predictor for entrepreneurship. Furthermore, we found evidence for a mediating role of entrepreneurial alertness which gives further insights about how personality influences the ability to recognize business opportunities and leads to the formation of entrepreneurship orientation and intentions. Our findings contribute to the field of entrepreneurship research by emphasizing that epistemic curiosity may be one of the most important personality indicators for the emergence of entrepreneurial intentions and behavior.

How Does Hands-On Making Attitude Predict Epistemic Curiosity and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Career Interests? Evidence From an International Exhibition of Young Inventors.

Whether the hands-on experience of creating inventions can promote Students' interest in pursuing a science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) career has not been extensively studied. In a quantitative study, we drew on the attitude-behavior-outcome framework to explore the correlates between hands-on making attitude, epistemic curiosities, and career interest. This study targeted students who joined the selection competition for participating in the International Exhibition of Young Inventors (IEYI) in Taiwan. The objective of the invention exhibition is to encourage young students to make innovative projects by applying STEM knowledge and collaborative design. We collected 220 valid data from participants in the 2021 Taiwan IEYI selection competition and conducted a confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling to test the hypotheses. Results indicated that: (1) hands-on making attitude was positively related to two types of epistemic curiosity; (2) interest-type epistemic curiosity (IEC) and deprivation-type epistemic curiosity (DEC) were positively associated with STEM career interest; additionally, DEC had a higher coefficient on STEM career interest than IEC; (3) both types of EC had a mediating role between hands-on making attitude and STEM career interest. It is expected that encouraging students to participate in invention exhibition competitions can raise both types of EC and increase their interest in pursuing STEM careers.

A Classroom-Based Study on the Antecedents of Epistemic Curiosity in L2 Learning.

This classroom-based study investigated the antecedents of epistemic curiosity among 25 Thai university students in an English oral communication course. Using a whole-class survey and focus group interview, we recursively asked the students to describe a time in class when they experienced epistemic curiosity and the reasons behind it. A modified version of constant comparative analysis suggested seven thematic factors as the antecedents of epistemic curiosity and positive affect linked to its experience. Utilizing descriptions of the lessons kept in the teacher's record, we provide contextualized accounts of how and why the students experienced epistemic curiosity in class. We conclude by offering pedagogical suggestions for creating learning environments that inspire language learners' epistemic curiosity.

An Exploratory Assessment of Epistemic Curiosity in Students at Three Doctor of Pharmacy Programs.

Objective. To determine the level of epistemic curiosity in a sample of student pharmacists from three Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) programs as well as any differences in epistemic curiosity levels that exist between programs and with regard to professional year. Methods. Litman's Epistemic Curiosity Scale (ECS) was administered to student pharmacists at three different PharmD programs. Descriptive statistics were calculated, and overall mean ECS scores as well as mean scores on epistemic curiosity motivated by intellectual interest (I-type) and informational deprivation (D-type) were compared among student pharmacists at the three institutions using analysis of variance. Reliability analyses were also performed on the data. Results. A total of 569 out of 1143 eligible students responded to the survey, for an overall response rate of 49.8%. The mean overall ECS score was 27.6 (SD=4.9). Mean I-type epistemic curiosity was 14.9 (SD=2.8) overall, but was statistically different among the schools. Mean D-type epistemic curiosity was 12.7 (SD=3.2) overall, but was statistically similar among the programs. Overall, the data demonstrated good internal consistency, with a Cronbach's alpha of .81. Conclusion. This study was the first to characterize epistemic curiosity in student pharmacists and included data from multiple years and multiple programs. Future analyses should investigate associations between epistemic curiosity and other factors of interest to help elucidate how better understanding epistemic curiosity or enhancing it in student pharmacists may help facilitate student success.

Effects of an extracurricular science intervention on elementary school children's epistemic beliefs: A randomized controlled trial.

BACKGROUND: Further developing students' thinking about knowledge and knowing in science (epistemic beliefs) is considered a normative goal of science education in many countries around the world, even for elementary-school-aged children. AIMS: The goal of the present study was to introduce and evaluate a new intervention in science education aimed at developing children's epistemic beliefs, epistemic curiosity, and investigative interests. The intervention included an inquiry-based learning approach as well as reflections on epistemic issues because these methods are currently seen as most promising for fostering students' epistemic beliefs. SAMPLE: Data were collected from 65 elementary school children in Grades 3 and 4 (58.46% boys, age: M = 8.73, SD = 0.60) who participated in a voluntary extracurricular STEM enrichment programme in south-west Germany. METHODS: We investigated the effectiveness of the intervention by applying a randomized block design with a treated control group and repeated measures. The effectiveness of the intervention was analysed via multiple linear regression analyses. RESULTS: The results indicated that the children assigned to the intervention developed more sophisticated epistemic beliefs and a higher level of epistemic curiosity than the children assigned to the control condition. No intervention effects were found on investigative interests. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide initial evidence for the effectiveness of the intervention and demonstrate that it is possible to improve epistemic beliefs among elementary school children in Grades 3 and 4. The study provides a starting point for understanding how young children develop epistemic beliefs.