{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,7,7]],"date-time":"2026-07-07T12:14:20Z","timestamp":1783426460217,"version":"3.54.6"},"reference-count":90,"publisher":"Wiley","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779148800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0\/"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1779148800000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"http:\/\/doi.wiley.com\/10.1002\/tdm_license_1.1"}],"content-domain":{"domain":["onlinelibrary.wiley.com"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Developmental Science"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,7]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>ABSTRACT<\/jats:title>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:label\/>\n                    <jats:p>Early learning takes place within complex, multimodal environments where curiosity plays a critical role in guiding exploratory behaviors and supporting cognitive development. While trait curiosity shapes children's early learning experiences, state curiosity is context\u2010dependent fostering early learning, in\u2010part, through information seeking behaviors. Here, we explore whether state\u2010induced curiosity can influence exploratory behaviors and facilitate word\u2010learning within a multimodal search task that mirrors real\u2010world learning environments. Children (2.5\u2010 to 4\u2010year\u2010olds) will be introduced to novel objects and labels via a storybook. After exposure to each novel object, participants will locate the target object (i.e., a sticker depicting the novel object), hidden within one of ten boxes uniformly distributed across a real\u2010world space. Unbeknownst to participants, the target will only be hidden within a single hemispace. In the \u201cHigh\u2010Curiosity\u201d condition, the storybook should elicit greater curiosity, whereas the \u201cLow\u2010Curiosity\u201d condition will present novel words in a context that should invoke lower levels of curiosity. Following the search task, participants will complete a forced\u2010choice word learning task. Findings will provide insights into whether and how curiosity facilitates word learning in rich, multimodal contexts and how this relationship can be impacted by children's explorative strategies, including their sensitivity to environmental statistics.<\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>\n                  <jats:sec>\n                    <jats:title>Summary<\/jats:title>\n                    <jats:p>\n                      <jats:list list-type=\"bullet\">\n                        <jats:list-item>\n                          <jats:p>Curiosity drives early development, but the extent to which it facilitates learning within a multimodal environment remains underexplored.<\/jats:p>\n                        <\/jats:list-item>\n                        <jats:list-item>\n                          <jats:p>The study examines how high versus low induced curiosity states influence toddlers' exploratory behavior, including search efficiency and adaptation to spatial probability cues.<\/jats:p>\n                        <\/jats:list-item>\n                        <jats:list-item>\n                          <jats:p>The study assesses whether higher state\u2010induced curiosity leads to stronger retention and recognition of novel word\u2010object mappings compared to the lower curiosity condition.<\/jats:p>\n                        <\/jats:list-item>\n                        <jats:list-item>\n                          <jats:p>The study examines how curiosity\u2010driven search strategies relate to novel word learning and whether learning is moderated by how children choose to search for information.<\/jats:p>\n                        <\/jats:list-item>\n                      <\/jats:list>\n                    <\/jats:p>\n                  <\/jats:sec>","DOI":"10.1111\/desc.70226","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]],"date-time":"2026-05-19T11:25:17Z","timestamp":1779189917000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1002\/crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":0,"title":["Navigating Knowledge: Effects of State Curiosity on Children's Word Learning and Information Seeking"],"prefix":"10.1111","volume":"29","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-1525-1748","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Anna","family":"Caunt","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology University of Plymouth  Plymouth UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"given":"Shaun","family":"Dordoy","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology University of Plymouth  Plymouth UK"},{"name":"Brain Research &amp; Imaging Centre University of Plymouth  Plymouth UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9532-7935","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Rana","family":"Abu\u2010Zhaya","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Division of Psychology and Language Sciences University College London  London UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-7335-4083","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alastair D.","family":"Smith","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"School of Psychology University of Plymouth  Plymouth UK"},{"name":"Brain Research &amp; Imaging Centre University of Plymouth  Plymouth UK"}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"311","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,5,19]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_2_8_2_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1002\/ICD.2466"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_3_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pone.0240519"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_4_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.31234\/osf.io\/9swaf"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_5_1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cognition.2024.105976"},{"key":"e_1_2_8_6_1","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Altmann E. 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