New Study Uncovers Curiosity Personalities Based On Wikipedia Browsing Habits

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Curiosity might be universal, but the way we explore information is anything but. A recent study from the University of Pennsylvania offers new insights into how people from different cultures and educational backgrounds browse Wikipedia.

The research, published in Science Advances, analyzed the browsing behavior of 482,760 Wikipedia users across 50 countries, identifying three distinct styles of curiosity: the hunter, the busybody, and the dancer. These styles highlight how individuals navigate the world’s largest online encyclopedia, in turn reflecting broader cultural differences in the way people seek information. 

Co-author Dani Bassett, a researcher in curiosity and learning, explained that the team wanted to test whether earlier findings based on just 149 participants in controlled settings applied to a larger, more diverse audience. To do this, the researchers partnered with the Wikimedia Foundation and reviewed two months of anonymized browsing data from nearly half a million users who accessed Wikipedia in at least 14 languages via the mobile app. 

The study confirmed the original two curiosity types—and identified a third.

Hunters, as the name suggests, are goal-oriented, seeking specific answers and following a linear path from one article to the next.

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Busybodies, in contrast, act like “social butterflies,” according to Bassett, jumping between unrelated topics and driven by an appetite for novelty. 

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Then there are the dancers—those who make creative, non-linear connections between ideas, seemingly at random but often arriving at surprising insights.

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Bassett emphasizes that understanding these different curiosity styles is more than academic. Browsing behaviors varied by cultural context, with users in countries boasting higher levels of education and gender equality tending to explore a wider range of topics.

Meanwhile, people in nations with greater inequality exhibited more focused and purpose-driven searches. This observation suggests that factors like education and access to information shape not only what we learn but also how we learn.

Tiziano Piccardi, a researcher from Stanford University in California who studies online information ecosystems, notes the practical benefits of the study. 

“It’s super important to understand more about how people actually use the content online and how they consume knowledge,” explains Piccardi. “You can translate what you learn to improve Wikipedia.”

Bassett adds that these insights can also enhance collaboration. “When we are working with one another in teams, we can be more aware of the fact that we ask questions differently and we investigate knowledge spaces differently, and embrace that diversity,” says the researcher.

These curiosity styles can even offer valuable guidance for designing online platforms that better engage users from different backgrounds.

Whether you’re hunting for specific facts, busy gathering random bits of knowledge, or dancing through ideas with abandon, your style reflects more than just personal preference—it’s shaped by the world you live in.

[via New Atlas, Nature, Neuroscience News, The Conversation, images via various sources]