Cultivating an understanding of curiosity as a seed for creativity

Curiosity—the desire to know—is a powerful motivator for learning and behavior. Theoretical and anecdotal discussions have also linked curiosity to creativity and innovation, but there is little empirical evidence for this connection, aside from a handful of recent studies. We review the existing evidence and discuss potential mechanisms through which curiosity may facilitate the creative process. We further discuss important methodological issues that have limited past research on the relationship between curiosity and creativity. One limitation is the lack of studies investigating curiosity as a psychological state that fluctuates over time and with changing contexts rather than only as a trait. Another limitation is the scarcity of behavioral measures of exploration and curiosity. We discuss the few existing behavioral measures that have been used and introduce a new measure relying on real effort.