ArticlePloS one2025
Curiosity across the adult lifespan: Age-related differences in state and trait curiosity.
Article in PloS one, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Mnemonic benefits of state curiosity-A meta-analysis.Psychonomic bulletin & review · 2026Pooled it
- Schizotypy and subclinical depression relate to specific trait curiosity dimensions.Scientific reports · 2026Article
- The relationship between epistemic curiosity and successful aging in older adults: the role of self-perceptions of aging and perceived social support.BMC psychology · 2026Article
- Subjective semantic search space as an estimate of prior knowledge predicts curiosity to learn among younger and older adults.Psychology and aging · 2026Article
- Curiosity in younger and older adults: the relationship between information value and memory.Frontiers in cognition · 2026Article
- Age differences in the conceptualization and experience of curiosity: A qualitative study.PloS one · 2026Article
- Age-Related Changes in Curiosity: The Influence of Locus Coeruleus on Information-Seeking Behavior.bioRxiv : the preprint server for biology · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Maintaining curiosity in older age may be a key predictor of successful aging, but prior research on the relationship between curiosity and age is mixed, with mounting evidence showing that curiosity declines with age. However, there is evidence suggesting that state curiosity - a situational feeling of curiosity in response to information - may increase with age. Prior work has largely not adequately differentiated state and trait curiosity when examining its relationship with age. In a large lifespan sample (pilot study N = 193; preregistered main study N = 1,218), we assess trait curiosity and state curiosity (using a trivia rating task) to examine the relationship between each construct and age. The results show that, in line with prior work, trait curiosity shows a negative relationship with age, but state curiosity shows a positive relationship with age, while controlling for demographic variables. The results suggest that curiosity may have a more complex relationship with age than previously considered, which can have implications for engagement in cognitive activities in everyday life.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.