Within‐person variability in curiosity during daily life and associations with well‐being

Objective Curiosity promotes engagement in novel situations and the accruement of resources that promote well‐being. An open question is the extent to which curiosity lability, the degree to which curiosity fluctuates over short timescales, impacts well‐being. Method We use data from a 21‐day daily...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of personality 2020-08, Vol.88 (4), p.625-641
Main Authors: Lydon‐Staley, David M., Zurn, Perry, Bassett, Danielle S.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Activities of daily living
Adolescent
Adult
Affect - physiology
Aged
Anxiety - physiopathology
Associations
Curiosity
daily diary
depressed mood
Depression - physiopathology
Exercise - physiology
Exploratory Behavior - physiology
Female
Happiness
Humans
Life satisfaction
Male
Mental depression
Middle Aged
Original
Personal Satisfaction
Personality - physiology
Physical activity
positive affect
well‐being
Young Adult
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Summary:Objective Curiosity promotes engagement in novel situations and the accruement of resources that promote well‐being. An open question is the extent to which curiosity lability, the degree to which curiosity fluctuates over short timescales, impacts well‐being. Method We use data from a 21‐day daily diary as well as trait measures in 167 participants (mean age = 25.37 years, SD = 7.34) to test (a) the importance of curiosity lability for depression, flourishing, and life satisfaction, (b) day‐to‐day associations among curiosity and happiness, depressed mood, anxiety, and physical activity, and (c) the role of day's mood as a mediator between physical activity and curiosity. Results We observe positive associations among curiosity lability and depression, as well as negative associations among curiosity lability and both life satisfaction and flourishing. Curiosity is higher on days of greater happiness and physical activity, and lower on days of greater depressed mood. We find evidence consistent with day's depressed mood and happiness being mediators between physical activity and curiosity. Conclusions Greater consistency in curiosity is associated with well‐being. We identify several potential sources of augmentation and blunting of curiosity in daily life and provide support for purported mechanisms linking physical activity to curiosity via mood.
ISSN:0022-3506
1467-6494
DOI:10.1111/jopy.12515