Curiosity Can Be Cultivated, Says New Research

New research suggests that personality traits can, in fact, be changed and one trait in particular stands out: curiosity. At UC Santa Barbara, psychological researchers Madeleine Gross and Jonathan Schooler are exploring ways to strengthen this powerful characteristic.

“Curiosity is a psychological super virtue,” said Schooler, a distinguished professor and director of the Center for Mindfulness and Human Potential. “It’s associated with greater life satisfaction, deeper relationships, professional achievement, and even a longer lifespan.”

The encouraging part? Curiosity can be nurtured through everyday actions. Simple experiences like asking more thoughtful questions or spending time with art can trigger curiosity and increase our drive to explore and learn.

But can those small moments of curiosity actually lead to lasting personality changes? To find out, Gross a project scientist in Schooler’s META Lab developed a smartphone app aimed at helping users make curiosity a daily habit. Built with support from UC Santa Barbara computer science students, the app provides behavioral goals and audio-guided lessons to encourage a more inquisitive mindset.

These behavioral goals, or “daily challenges,” encourage users to make small, deliberate changes to their routines: listening to a podcast instead of a familiar playlist, asking a friend about something new they’ve learned, or trying out a new recipe. The idea is to offer a step-by-step approach to embedding curiosity into daily life.

“Curiosity isn’t just about seeking new experiences,” said Gross. “It’s also about engaging with familiar ones in a new way.” That’s why the app also includes “mindful curiosity” lessons audio guides that help users view everyday moments through a lens of wonder and exploration. Users are invited to notice their surroundings more deeply, asking questions about what they see, hear, or feel.

“Think about how children are constantly questioning everything,” Gross noted. “As adults, we don’t stop asking because the mysteries disappear we just stop noticing them.”

Participants used the app for three weeks, completing daily challenges and mindfulness lessons. By the end of the study, they showed a measurable increase in trait-level curiosity.

Challenging the long-standing belief that personality traits are largely fixed, this study demonstrates that certain traits may be more flexible than previously thought. Small, intentional shifts in daily behavior can have meaningful effects on who we are.

In fact, participants not only reported feeling more curious, but also experienced less boredom, more creative engagement, and a stronger sense of purpose. “Our research suggests that personality doesn’t just predict positive life outcomes it helps shape them,” said Schooler.

Gross and Schooler are now expanding their work. They plan to offer the app free of charge to UC Santa Barbara undergraduates and begin testing its benefits with older adults. “Older adults are especially at risk for isolation and cognitive decline,” Gross explained. “Curiosity could be a valuable tool for supporting healthy aging.”

By showing that curiosity can be enhanced through digital tools, this research opens the door to new ways of supporting psychological well-being. While further studies are needed to explore long-term effects, the findings are promising: curiosity isn’t just an inborn trait it’s a skill we can develop.

Source: https://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/how-become-more-curious-person-according-new-research