Curiosity and demographic factors as determinants of children's probability-learning strategies

Children's curiosity, gender, activity level, and socioeconomic status (SES) were related to their performance on a partially reinforced discrimination-learning task. The 38 boys and 37 girls were in the first grade and were all white. Three factors of curiosity (manipulatory, conceptual, and about the complex) were assessed. Performance on the learning task was scored for the number of correct responses (maximizing) and for the frequency of three-step sequences reflecting variability, systematic patterning, and perseveration. In general, the three curiosity factors related negatively to maximizing and perseveration and positively to variability. (The same effects were found for activity level.) Systematic patterning related positively to one curiosity type and negatively to another. Girls used less maximizing and more systematic patterning than boys. The response choices of girls were affected more by differences in conceptual curiosity and those of boys by differences in curiosity about the complex. Activity level was unrelated to gender but differed with SES. The findings demonstrate the role of different curiosity factors in shaping response sequences and suggest some reasons for children's choice of probability-learning strategies.