Curiosity design pattern

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Problem summary

We crave more when teased with a small bit of interesting information

Example

▲ Groupon.com plays on users curiosity to complete sign up by hinting the end result in the background.

Usage

Use to drive people toward action
Use to convert users into leads

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Solution

Reveal enough to arouse interest. Consider when, and what, can you hold back and reveal just enough to arouse interest so you can supply a way to take the next step.
Do something unexpected. People will stick around long enough to figure out what is going on.
Drip-feed information. Set up multiple posts that encourage engagement, such as joining an email list for a first look at a new product.
Allow exploration. We get pleasure from recognizing and seeking out new knowledge and information, and the subsequent joy of learning and growing.

Rationale

Reveal just a tiny bit to arouse interest and create a knwledge gap. As humans, we are driven to seek the information missing to closes the knowledge gap. Tease users with a fragment of the whole picture and let them take action to reveal more. You can delay filling in the missing pieces for quite a long time, but be aware of the point where you start introducing too much discomfort.

Sources

Academic research on Curiosity has undergone 2 waves of intense activity. The first in the 1960s focused mainly on curiosity’s psychological underpinnings – a drive-based approach producing an unpleasant sensation (usually labeled arousal). The second in the 1970s and 1980s tried to measure curiosity across varius dimensions without producing a reliable and valid curiosity scale, but honing in on a useful definition.

¹ Loewenstein, G. (1994). The psychology of curiosity: A review and reinterpretation. Psychological Bulletin, 116(1), 75–98

² Jirout, J. J. (2020). Supporting Early Scientific Thinking Through Curiosity. Frontiers in psychology.

³ The Curiosity Effect at Learning Loop