The curiosity we feel when something surprises us or when something doesn’t quite agree with what we know or think we know. 
That is felt as an unpleasant state, as an adversity state. It’s a bit like an itch that we need to scratch. That’s why we try to find out the information in order to relieve that type of curiosity.

Perceptual curiosity

This is a pleasurable state associated with an anticipation of reward.
That’s our level of knowledge. That’s what drives all scientific research. It drives many artworks. It drives education and other things like that.

Epistemic curiosity

Most psychological traits, and curiosity is no exception, have a genetic component to them.
The fact that some people are much more curious than others largely has to do with their genetics. But, as in all cases, genetics is never the whole story.

The genetic component of curiosity

Love of knowledge and our willingness to learn new things appears to be constant across all ages. 
People at very old ages are still willing to learn things, to discover new things, to read. The topics that you are curious about may change with age or with time or with whatever occupation you are in.

Curiosity and aging

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That’s the curiosity we feel when something surprises us or when something doesn’t quite agree with what we know or think we know. That is felt as an unpleasant state, as an adversity state. It’s a bit like an itch that we need to scratch. That’s why we try to find out the information in order to relieve that type of curiosity.
On the other hand, there is something that has been dubbed epistemic curiosity, which is a pleasurable state associated with an anticipation of reward. That’s our level of knowledge. That’s what drives all scientific research. It drives many artworks. It drives education and things like that
Most psychological traits, and curiosity is no exception, have a genetic component to them. The fact that some people are much more curious than others largely has to do with their genetics. But, as in all cases, genetics is never the whole story. 
Some people think that as we grow up we lose our curiosity, and that’s not entirely true. We do lose some elements of diversive curiosity or the ability to be surprised. But actually epistemic curiosity, that love of knowledge, appears to be roughly constant across all ages.
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The science of curiosity

Perceptual curiosity

Epistemic curiosity

The genetic component of curiosity

Curiosity and aging

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