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Related Concept Videos

Purposive Learning01:22

Purposive Learning

E. C. Tolman emphasized the purposiveness of behavior — the idea that much of our behavior is goal-directed. For instance, employees who aim for a promotion work diligently to meet their targets. Tolman argued that when classical conditioning and operant conditioning occur, the organism acquires certain expectations. In classical conditioning, a child might fear a dog because they expect it to bite. In operant conditioning, a person might consistently work overtime because they expect a bonus...
Cognitive Learning01:21

Cognitive Learning

Cognitive learning is based on purposive behavior, incidental learning, and insight learning.
E. C. Tolman's theory of purposive behavior emphasizes that much behavior is goal-directed. He argued that to understand behavior, we must look at the entire sequence of actions leading to a goal. For instance, high school students study hard, not just due to past reinforcement but also to achieve the goal of getting into a good college.
Tolman introduced the idea that behavior is influenced by...
Observational Learning01:12

Observational Learning

Albert Bandura's observational learning, also known as imitation or modeling, occurs when a person observes and imitates another's behavior. It is a quicker process than operant conditioning. A well-known example is the Bobo doll study, where children who saw an adult acting aggressively towards the doll were more likely to act aggressively when left alone, compared to those who observed a nonaggressive adult. Many psychologists view observational learning as a form of latent learning because...
Hindsight Biases01:12

Hindsight Biases

Hindsight bias leads you to believe that the event you just experienced was predictable, even though it really wasn’t. In other words, you knew all along that things would turn out the way they did. Can you relate this to the phrase "Hindsight is 20/20" now?
The Availability Heuristic01:08

The Availability Heuristic

A heuristic is a general problem-solving framework (Tversky & Kahneman, 1974). You can think of these as mental shortcuts that are used to solve problems. Different types of heuristics are used in different types of situations, and the impulse to use a heuristic occurs when one of five conditions is met (Pratkanis, 1989):
Metacognition01:26

Metacognition

Metacognition is a conscious process where individuals are aware of their cognitive and executive processes, such as planning before solving a problem or self-monitoring during reading. For instance, a writer may need help with composing a piece. The situation involves a writer who is working on a piece of writing, but while doing so, they realize that something is missing. They notice that their characters lack depth or details. This realization occurs because the writer is reflecting on their...

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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
10:26

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

Knowability predicts curiosity and learning.

Samuel Recht1, Nick Yeung2

  • 1Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Department for Continuing Education, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.

Cognition
|June 28, 2026
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Curiosity is driven by the perception that information is retrievable, not just an information gap. This finding enhances understanding of curiosity and its impact on learning and memory retention.

Keywords:
CuriosityLearningMemoryMetacognition

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Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
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Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Jun 30, 2026

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities
10:26

Problem-Solving Before Instruction (PS-I): A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task
11:18

Quantifying Learning in Young Infants: Tracking Leg Actions During a Discovery-learning Task

Published on: June 1, 2015

Area of Science:

  • Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuroscience
  • Learning Sciences

Background:

  • Curiosity is a fundamental human trait driving cognition and behavior.
  • Existing research suggests curiosity enhances learning, but underlying mechanisms are unclear.
  • Loewenstein's information gap theory posits curiosity peaks at intermediate knowledge levels.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To explore the interplay between curiosity, confidence, and learning.
  • To investigate the role of perceived information "knowability" in curiosity.
  • To test if curiosity is triggered by information retrievability.

Main Methods:

  • Two online experiments using trivia questions.
  • Participants estimated candidate answers, reported curiosity and confidence.
  • Memory retention assessed five days later via a memory test.

Main Results:

  • Greater availability of candidate answers predicted heightened curiosity.
  • Moderate confidence and enhanced memory retention were observed.
  • Findings were replicated, controlling for prior knowledge.

Conclusions:

  • Curiosity is influenced by the subjective perception of information retrievability.
  • Perceived information accessibility significantly impacts curiosity and learning.
  • Findings contribute to understanding cognitive processes underlying curiosity and effective learning strategies.