GRK 2906:  Curiosity

• Subject Area: Psychology ; Computer Science ; Neurosciences ; Zoology
• Term: since 2024
• Website: Homepage
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 502807174

Curiosity - defined as the impulse to acquire more information about specific aspects of the environment - is a core component of cognition, exhibited by humans, animals and increasingly implemented in advanced machines. Across three research areas, this RTG will address the following gaps in our understanding of this construct: (i) the factors driving differences in the extent to which curiosity is exhibited across individuals, species and development (ii) the consequences of eliciting curiosity in specific settings and (iii) how to simulate biological curiosity in neural network models of cognitive function. Our overarching theoretical goal is an integrative framework of curiosity, bringing together research on the behavioral, neuropsychological and computational mechanisms underlying curiosity. The interdisciplinary environment of the RTG is quintessential to this goal, bringing together researchers from disciplines such as psychology, behavioral biology, computer science, computational, theoretical and systems neuroscience. RTG doctoral researchers will benefit from an individualized, interdisciplinary and internationally focused qualification program. The core of the qualification program are training modules made with, by and for RTG researchers, tailored to the training needs of individual researchers. At the same time, the qualification program will ensure interdisciplinary, theoretical and methodological breadth in order to train researchers to critically assess an issue from multiple perspectives. The key objective of the qualification program is to foster an understanding and passion for science in our doctoral researchers, essential for careers both within and outside academia.

• DFG Programme: Research Training Groups
• Applicant Institution: Georg-August-Universität Göttingen
• Participating Institution: Deutsches Primatenzentrum GmbH (DPZ); Leibniz-Institut für Primatenforschung; Max-Planck-Institut für Dynamik und Selbstorganisation (MPIDS)
• Spokesperson: Professorin Dr. Nivedita Mani
• Participating Researchers: Professor Dr. Alexander Ecker; Dr. Claudia Fichtel; Professorin Dr. Julia Fischer; Professorin Julia Ostner, Ph.D.; Professorin Dr. Viola Priesemann; Professor Dr. Johannes Rakoczy; Professorin Dr. Anne Schacht; Professor Dr. Sascha Schroeder; Professor Dr. Caspar M. Schwiedrzik; Privatdozent Dr. Oliver Schülke, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Fabian Sinz; Professor Dr. Michael Wibral; Professor Dr. Florentin Wörgötter