1 . “When we think of curiosity, we often think of the need for immediate answers,” said Abby Hsiung, Ph. D. , a postdoctoral researcher at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences and lead author of a new research paper. “But we found that when people were more curious, they were actually more pleased to wait.”
“When we watch TV shows or football games, we’re watching that information develop over time, uncertain about how it’s all going to end,” said Hsiung. “I wanted to know if higher curiosity would push people to seek, or to avoid getting an immediate ‘spoiler’ (剧透).”
Hsiung drew inspiration from short cooking videos that are popular on social media. “These videos caught my attention because even though they’re so short, they manage to develop a description and suspense (悬念), so that you’re attracted and curious about how the pizza will all come together.” So Hsiung got out her digital paintbrush and made a lot of 30-second animated line drawing videos that, like the cooking videos, eventually ended up as something highly recognizable, like a hamburger or a dog.
More than 2,000 adults from across the U. S. then watched 25 of these short line drawing videos online. Participants in Hsiung’s study were asked along the way how curious they were, how they felt, and to guess what the drawing would become. Viewers also had a spoiler button to skip ahead to see the final drawing. Hsiung and her team were surprised to find that when people were curious, they refused to hit the spoiler button and kept watching the drawings unfold. It was when people were less curious that they tended to go for an instant answer.
The study also found that curiosity increased at different stages of watching these videos. “We saw higher curiosity during moments when it seemed like the drawing could turn into anything and also when participants were starting to really home in on a single answer,” said co-author Jia-Hou Poh, Ph. D. , a postdoctoral researcher at the Duke Institute for Brain Sciences.
1. What is the popular belief concerning curiosity?| A．It fuels the urge for answers. | B．It leads to endless patience. |
| C．It stresses the need to wait. | D．It brings the pleasure of waiting. |
| A．The evolution the TV shows displayed. | B．The fantasy the short cooking videos shared. |
| C．The way the short cooking videos developed. | D．The popularity the short cooking videos achieved. |
| A．Make drawings to take a shortcut. | B．Answer some questions while watching. |
| C．Press the spoiler button to finish the task. | D．Hunt for an answer as quickly as possible. |
| A．The influence of patience on curiosity | B．Curiosity delays eagerness for the answer |
| C．Curiosity arises from the patience of waiting | D．The way to hold back the urge for an answer |
