The Infant and Toddler Curiosity Questionnaire: A Validated Caregiver‐Report Measure of Curiosity in Children From 5 to 24 Months

• DOI: 10.1111/infa.70001
• Publication Date: 2025-01-24T06:00:02Z
• Authors: Elena C. Altmann; Marina Bazhydai; Didar Karadağ; Gert Westermann
• Keywords: Curiosity; Toddler; Validity

ABSTRACT Humans are curious. Especially children known for their drive to explore and learn, which is crucial developing in navigating through our complex world. Naturally, some may be more curious than others, leading differences how they structure own learning experiences, subsequently impacting developmental trajectories. However, there a gap the research field reliable measure of such early development. Across three studies, we present development assessment Infant Toddler Curiosity Questionnaire (ITCQ), first caregiver report fill this gap. Items cover observable exploration behaviors 5‐ 24‐month‐olds capture general tendencies desire actively immediate surroundings evaluated on 7‐point Likert‐scale. Exploratory factor analyses structural equation modeling sample N = 370 UK caregivers led final selection 23 items provided evidence that scale allows computation an overall curiosity score, with emergent subscales ( Sensory, Investigative , Interactive ) explaining additional variance data. Furthermore, had good test‐retest reliability after 7–14 days 67) related child's temperament 75; positively surgency effortful control, negatively negative affect) offering its validity as trait measure. Together, these results support scale's validity, showcasing ITCQ powerful tool research.