CURIOSITY IN YOUNG, MIDDLE?AGED, AND OLDER ADULTS

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Abstract
The present investigation examined the relationship between age and curiosity in young, middle‐aged, and older adults. In addition, the relationship between surprise, perceived value, and desire for additional knowledge as determinants of curiosity within these age groups was examined. One hundred community dwelling adults were grouped into 3 age categories: young (25 to 35 years), middle‐aged (45 to 55 years), and older 65 to 75 years). Each participant completed two self‐report inventories: the Experiment Descriptions Inventory (EDI) and the Ontario Test of Intrinsic Motivation (OTIM). The EDI consists of 10 descriptions of previously reported psychological experiments and their results. These results were rated in terms of their surprisingness, perceived value, and the desire to gain additional knowledge about a research area. The OTIM is a “trait‐like” curiosity measure consisting of 110 true/false items. For the EDI data, a significant positive relationship between perceived value and desire for additional knowledge was found in young and middle‐aged adults, replicating the findings of previous research (Rossing & Long, 1981). This relationship was not significant for older adults. For the OTIM data, results indicated a significant relationship between age level and curiosity aroused by boredom, but no significant relationships between age level and other curiosity measures were observed. Implications of the findings for learning in later life, and the relations between our results and current stereotypes about aging, are discussed.

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