Instigation and Maintenance of Curiosity Behavior as a Function of Surprise versus Novel and Familiar Stimuli12

The hypothesis was tested that surprise produced by a nonconfirmation of a precise expectancy is capable of instigating curiosity behavior, and that nonconfirmation is more effective than either confirmation or conditions in which there are no precise expectancies or repeated events which always confirm precise expectancies. In two experiments involving 32 preschoolers and 80 first and third graders, Ss, who were surprised by a trick violation of conservation of substance, played the experimental game significantly longer, with more facial surprise and longer latencies, than controls. Surprise would seem to be an important part of a motivational mechanism responsible for cognitive development.