“The Architecture of Curiosity: How Spatial Configuration Influences Affect, Exploration, and Memory”

Curiosity is a key driver of exploration and learning. Prior empirical studies have largely focused on internal mechanisms of curiosity and not its interaction with the environment. This study broadens that view by examining how spatial configuration—specifically architectural enclosure—influences perceptual curiosity, affect, and memory. We conducted a mixed-methods experiment using immersive virtual reality (VR) to test our hypothesis. Three environments—with minimal, maximal, and intermediate enclosure—were systematically designed by architects based on dominant architectural disciplines, and manipulated using space syntax tools for enclosure. Twenty-two young healthy adults navigated all three layouts in a within-subjects design using VR headsets with integrated eye-tracking. Behavioral and physiological measures (gaze shifts, pupil dilation, head orientation, locomotion, and time) were recorded alongside pre- and post-task assessments of curiosity, affect, and memory. Results showed that spatial enclosure significantly influenced outcomes. Memory recall was higher in minimally-enclosed and intermediate environments than in maximally-enclosed ones. The intermediate layout elicited the strongest curiosity, greatest exploratory behavior, and most distributed movement patterns. Affective responses mirrored these findings: the intermediate layout was rated more positively and as more curiosity-triggering than both minimally and maximally enclosed ones, and positive valence significantly correlated with memory performance, suggesting a reciprocal relationship between emotion and cognition in spatial experience. In all three environments curiosity and exploration peaked at architectural thresholds, highlighting the role of spatial transitions in information-seeking.