Thirst for knowledge: The effects of curiosity and interest on memory in younger and older adults.
Level 3 - non-randomized controlled study
Non-randomized behavioral laboratory study comparing age cohorts (by design analogy, non-clinical)
PubMed 26479013 · doi:10.1037/a0039801
What was done
Younger and older adults completed a task where they read trivia questions, rated their curiosity to learn each answer, and subsequent to seeing the answer, provided confidence ratings, interest ratings, and judgments of learning. Memory performance was assessed following a one-week delay.
What was found
The abstract provides no numerical data, sample sizes, or test statistics. It reports no overall age-related differences in memory performance. Curiosity and interest both contributed to judgments of learning. Additionally, subjective interest had a unique positive association with memory performance after a one-week delay in older adults, an effect not observed in younger adults.
Why it matters
These findings suggest that intrinsic interest may act as a selective cognitive enhancer for long-term retention in older adults, potentially compensating for typical age-related memory deficits.
Limits
The abstract does not disclose participant counts, demographic characteristics, or the specific retrieval task used. Because no quantitative metrics, effect sizes, or confidence intervals are reported, the magnitude and precision of the reported relationships cannot be evaluated from the abstract alone.
Cited by
- supports Older adults remember items they are most curious about while effectively forgetting items they are not curious about.
- supports State curiosity for information a person cares about increases with age.