A Laboratory Study of Curiosity Behavior in Feedback-Based Decisions

Abstract

Problem statement: This study adopts an interdisciplinary approach in conducting the study on "curiosity" with a toolset of experimental economics. Approach: I hypothesized that the Decision Makers (DMs) tended to exhibit curiosity behavior when two conditions were met: (1) The DMs faced "small feedback-based" decision problems; (2) The DMs bore tangible costs of their curiosity behavior. Results: This study was the first to address the phenomenon of curiosity, using an economics experiment, where the DMs received financial performance-based incentives (i.e., monetary payoffs that were contingent on their performance in the experiment). Economics studies the cost and benefit of any action made by the DMs, whereas psychologists do not. A key feature of the current experiment was that the DMs faced 100-fold binary choice between two alternatives, both of which yielded fixed payoffs. Conclusion/Recommendations: Experimental results were interpreted as a confirmation of the hypothesis that curiosity was aroused when the aforementioned two conditions were met.