Prenevost, Mathilde H. and FitzGibbon, Lily and Bazhydai, Marina (2025) Research plan. Curiosity Battery : a toolkit to measure children’s curiosity. In: EPS Dundee meeting, 2025, 2025-07-08 - 2025-07-11.
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Abstract
Curiosity is a key driver of information seeking and learning, beginning in early childhood. Yet, research on children’s curiosity remains fragmented (Grossnickle, 2016), and there is a lack of standardized, validated tools that reflect its multifaceted nature (Jirout et al., 2024). Our study aims to develop a comprehensive toolkit to assess individual differences in curiosity among children aged 7–11 years. We will target theoretically derived curiosity facets (e.g., epistemic, perceptual, interpersonal, breadth, depth), capturing both the curiosity-driven processes and children’s explicit valuation of curiosity through behavioural tasks and self-report measures. Measure selection will be guided by a scoping review of existing measures (Prenevost et al., 2024). Validation of the Curiosity Battery will proceed in two phases to evaluate psychometric properties (Phase 1) and predictive validity (Phase 2). In Phase 1, we will recruit 600 children to assess reliability and construct validity, and a separate sample of 200 to examine test-retest reliability. Phase 2 will be a longitudinal study of 1,200 children to determine whether the curiosity battery predicts academic achievement and well-being. Altogether, the study will lay the groundwork for advancing curiosity as a measurable and impactful educational target. References: Grossnickle, E. M. (2016). Disentangling Curiosity: Dimensionality, Definitions, and Distinctions from Interest in Educational Contexts. Educational Psychology Review, 28(1), 23-60. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-014-9294-y Jirout, J. J., Evans, N. S., & Son, L. K. (2024). Curiosity in children across ages and contexts. Nature Reviews Psychology, 3(9), 622-635. https://doi.org/10.1038/s44159-024-00346-5 Prenevost, M. H., FitzGibbon, L., & Bazhydai, M. (2024). Operationalization of Curiosity in Childhood: A Scoping Review. https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/N8VT5 This work was supported by the Leverhulme Trust, RPG-2023-333.