A study of curiosity, divergent thinking, and test-anxiety.

A review of the literature suggested that curiosity was positively related to divergent thinking, and negatively related to test-anxiety. Subjects were male and female 9th and 10th graders (N = 67), 11th and 12th graders (N = 67), and college undergraduates (N = 69). Curiosity was measured by an 80-item self-report scale and an adjective checklist, test-anxiety by a 37-item self-report scale, and divergent thinking by two verbal paper-and-pencil test. The results showed that both measures of curiosity were positively related to divergent thinking in all three groups studied, but that test-anxiety was not significantly related to either curiosity or divergent thinking. Differences in performance by the three groups of subjects were discussed.