Our brains are hardwired to be curious. Research from Berkley shows that we are rewarded for curiosity by dopamine, which is released in the face of a new experience. Other research shows that curiosity is associated with higher levels of positive emotions, and greater psychological well-being. It may be the case that people who are already happier tend to be more curious, but since novelty makes us feel good through the release of dopamine, it seems possible that it works both ways. Curious people also seem not only to do better at work through greater enjoyment, but also to have a greater ability to concentrate. It also appears that a number of organisations take great steps to hire curious individuals and to hardwire curiosity into their practices. Companies such as Google and IDEO have designed their hiring practices to identify the curious and Pixar has developed an approach to idea generation called “plussing” that involves building on ideas without using judgmental language. Instead of rejecting a sketch, for example, a director might find a starting point by saying, “I like Woody’s eyes, and what if we…?” Someone else might jump in with another “plus”. This technique allows people to remain curious, listen actively, respect the ideas of others, and contribute their own. Listening to the scientific research, the case for curiosity is compelling: Curious people are more likely to expand their social circles and the outcome of meeting people from different backgrounds with different perspectives is, unsurprisingly, greater empathy. Todd Kashdan took his research one step further and found that people were rated as warmer and more attractive if they showed real curiosity in a social exchange. This implies that demonstrating curiosity towards someone is a great way to build your closeness with them. However, this isn’t just about building closeness for its own sake. Research from Dr Jodi Halpern has shown that when doctors are genuinely curious about their patients’ perspectives, both report less anger and frustration, make better decisions, leading to better patient outcomes. If all this wasn’t enough, the habit and practice of curiosity also appears to strengthen our social fabric. This is the Lorenz “Butterfly Effect” where the flapping of a butterfly’s wings in Brazil can cause a tornado in Texas. In a complex, even chaotic world, we may not be able to control or even determine how a complex system evolves, but we can control the choices we make that determine the conditions the system faces. Our hardwired sense of curiosity, which has served us for millennia, may turn out to be the trait that we didn’t realise we needed for this era. In chaos theory, small differences in initial conditions can yield widely diverging outcomes rendering long-term prediction of their behaviour impossible.
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Asking questions and being curious every day can fuel both personal and professional growth and propel us to success. A curious mindset and relentless questioning will lead you down a path of discovery, creativity, innovation, and growth.
Todd Kashdan
HPC has been providing people development solutions for 40 years. We partner with clients to create a high- performance culture that has a positive impact on business growth and personal development. Kevin works with clients to develop, deliver and evaluate bespoke solutions that drive performance across their business.
Kevin Hannigan
Head of Talent Consulting at HPC
kevin.hannigan@wearehpc.com
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