The latent structure of trait curiosity: Evidence for interest and deprivation curiosity dimensions.

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Paul Silvia, Professor (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/

Abstract: To evaluate Litman and Jimerson’s (2004) Interest/Deprivation (IlD) model of curiosity, 355 students (269 women, 86 men) responded to 6 trait curiosity measures including the Curiosityl Interest in the World scale (ClIW; Peterson & Seligman, 2004), the Curiosity and Exploration Inventory (CEI; Kashdan, Rose, & Fincham, 2004), the Perceptual Curiosity scale (PC; Collins, Litman, & Spielberger, 2004), the Epistemic Curiosity scale (EC; Litman & Spielberger, 2003), and the Curiosity as a Feeling-of-Deprivation scales (CFD; Litman & Jimerson, 2004). Consistent with expectations, the results of confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that the ClIW, CEI, PC, EC scales defined an Interest (I) curiosity factor, whereas the CFD scales formed a Deprivation (D) curiosity factor. However, as compared to the other interest-based curiosity measures, one of the EC subscales was found to be less differentiated from the CFD scales, presumably because these instruments assess overlapping aspects of Berlyne’s (1954) concept of epistemic curiosity. The results of this study indicated that I and D curiosity are related but differentiated curiosity dimensions, providing evidence for the validity of the IlD model.

Additional Information

Publication
Journal of Personality Assessment, 86, 318-328
Language: English
Date: 2006
Keywords
Trait curiosity, Interest/Deprivation (IlD) model of curiosity

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