Individual differences in trait curiosity influence hybrid search speed across the adult lifespan

Trait curiosity is an intrinsic drive for acquiring knowledge and experience, which motivates learning and exploration. This study examined how age and individual differences in trait curiosity influence speed and incidental learning in a hybrid (visual and memory) search task. Participants searched for four, previously memorized target objects, presented in fixed sequences (incidental learning condition) or random order (no-learning condition) over search trials. We hypothesized that higher curiosity would correlate with faster search and greater learning-related improvements in search speed, and anticipated a decline in learning and search speed with age. As expected, both speed and learning declined with age. Furthermore, our findings showed that trait curiosity was unrelated to incidental learning effects. Trait curiosity, however, was associated with faster search speed, independently of the effect of age on speed. Together, our results support the notion that trait curiosity can benefit cognition, specifically, increase search speed, across the adult lifespan.