Constant curiosity? Children and adults prefer to ask "why" questions about variability over constancy
Abstract
Children frequently ask, "Why?" Here, we examined which "why" questions learners ask, hypothesizing that they are more curious about why things vary versus are constant. Informed by the Explanation-Seeking Curiosity Model (Liquin & Lombrozo, 2020), we predicted that explanatory curiosity about variability aligns with children's judgments that (1) they will learn more when asking about variability (i.e., explanations are complex rather than simple), and (2) explanations for variability are more useful. Two pre-registered experiments with children (N = 84 five- to ten-year-olds) and adults (N = 80) supported these hypotheses. Children and adults generated and selected "why" questions about variability more than constancy, reasoned that constancy has simpler explanations, and evaluated variability as more useful to explain in everyday life. Perceived utility, but not simplicity, predicted participants' question preferences. We discuss how explanatory curiosity about variability may be leveraged by educators, but also caution that children and adults may underexamine important constants.