The effects of curiosity-evoking events on activity enjoyment.

Whereas prior literature has studied the positive effects of curiosity-evoking events that are integral to focal activities, we explore whether and how a curiosity-evoking event that is incidental to a focal activity induces negative outcomes for enjoyment. Four experiments and 1 field study demonstrate that curiosity about an event that is incidental to an activity in which individuals are engaged, significantly affects enjoyment of a concurrent activity. The reason why is that curiosity diverts attention away from the concurrent activity and focuses attention on the curiosity-evoking event. Thus, curiosity regarding an incidental event decreases enjoyment of a positive focal activity but increases enjoyment of a negative focal activity. (PsycINFO Database Record © 2016 APA, all rights reserved)

from Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied - Vol 22, Iss 3 http://bit.ly/2cm2Mz4

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