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  • RESEARCH HIGHLIGHT

Humans opt to brave electric shock to satisfy their curiosity

Study participants accept a risk of a sharp jolt as the price of learning unimportant information.
Hands of magician doing tricks with a deck of cards.

People who watched a card trick risked physical discomfort to find out how the trick was done. Credit: Getty

Human curiosity, even about trivial matters, can be so strong that people are willing to risk uncomfortable electric shocks in order to satisfy their inquisitiveness.

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Nature 580, 169 (2020)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00963-z

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