Todd Barrett Kashdan

Curiosity is increasingly recognized as consequential for work outcomes including achievement and creativity. Unlike related constructs such as growth mindset and openness, curiosity involves active deviation from familiar paths, inviting workers to slow down, ask additional questions, and entertain multiple possibilities when speed and closure are typically prized. This review positions curiosity as a productive inefficiency, which reflects a force that prolongs decision-making and consumes resources in the short term while enabling vitality, agility, and potential breakthrough solutions over the long term. We review evidence on multidimensional models of curiosity, examine costs and benefits, explore the emerging literature on leader curiosity and curiosity's upward influence, and address assessment advances. We conclude with practical recommendations alongside a future research agenda emphasizing temporal dynamics and interventions. Throughout, we argue that managing curiosity effectively requires treating it as a strategic tool to be budgeted rather than a universal good to be maximized.

Sport has often been recognized as a microcosm of broader society. Such acknowledgement demonstrates the potential of sport to shape, and be shaped by, individuals and communities. Indeed, across its many socioecological contexts (e.g., youth, recreational, developmental, educational, organizational, elite), scholars and practitioners from a range of disciplines have shared ways in which sport can contribute to, or undermine, health and well-being. To bridge the chasm between knowledge within sport (e.g., sport psychology, sociology, philosophy) and broader flourishing scholarship, we present a dual conceptual model of sport and flourishing to help align collective efforts and to centralize attention for researchers, practitioners, decision-makers, and sport professionals. First, we discuss the empirical and conceptual challenges that are apparent within sport and why this has limited progress concerning its relations to human flourishing. We also discuss broader contentions about flourishing and how sport could help address these challenges. Second, we discuss the elements of the model pertaining to flourishing within sport (e.g., sport as a sphere for flourishing: comprising embeddedness, purview and scope of well-being, quality of the sport environment) and pertaining to sport for flourishing (e.g., sport as a conduit for flourishing: promoting individual flourishing, communal and relational flourishing, and flourishing of humanity). Third, we conclude with various implications and ‘calls to action’ for methodological (e.g., qualitative and quantitative work), applied (e.g., developing guidelines and interventions for promoting flourishing in sport), and research (e.g., Global Flourishing in Sport Study) advancement to realize a more unified sport and flourishing community.

Pressure in sport comes from a range of perceived factors including uncontrollability, motivation to succeed, and social evaluation. Psychological flexibility is a concept that has been suggested to help performers navigate challenging situations (such as competition pressure) and maintain effective goal-pursuit. In this study, we investigated sport coaches’ experiences during elite-level competitions to deepen the understanding of coach performance under pressure. Ten Australian sport coaches (5 men, 5 women) with an average 22.3 years of experience at Olympic Games, Paralympic Games and World Championships across eight sports (athletics [2], cycling, diving, field hockey [2], netball, rowing, swimming, and water polo) participated in semi-structured interviews. Through a process of reflexive thematic analysis, two main themes were generated: (1) coach mental preparation to perform, and (2) coach mental performance in action. These themes underscored the significance of cognitive, emotional, and behavioural factors in coaching performance at the highest level and emphasised the benefits of articulating specific observable coaching behaviours. The findings are discussed, along with recommendations for more research centred around direct observation of coaching in action.

Theoretically, purpose serves as a basic dimension of healthy psychological functioning and an important protective factor from psychopathology. Theory alone, however, is insufficient to answer critical questions about human behavior and functioning; we require empirical evidence that explores the parameters of purpose with respect to measurement, prediction, and modification. Here, we provide empirically supported insights about how purpose can operate as a beneficial outcome (e.g., marker of well-being), a predictor or mechanism that accounts for benefits that a person derives (such as from an intervention), or a moderator that offers insight into when benefits arise. Advancing the study of purpose requires careful consideration of how purpose is conceptualized, manipulated, and measured across the lifespan. Our aim is to help scientists understand, specify, and conduct high-quality studies of purpose in life. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).

The multitude of definitions, models, and measures of positive mental health has hindered academic precision and therefore the ongoing scientific evolution of this important area. This umbrella review aimed to synthesize the theoretical landscape of positive mental health, by reviewing measures that were designed to capture overarching, multi-dimensional concepts of positive and adaptive states of mental health (i.e., wellbeing, quality of life, and resilience/coping), and interrogating their underlying dimensions (e.g., vitality, autonomy) and design features (e.g., response scales, item valence). Our search identified 155 measures of positive mental health with a total of 410 constituent dimensions. Using thematic analysis, we consolidated these 410 original dimensions into a set of 21 themes. These themes were transformed into a concept map to illustrate their inter-relationship with the overarching concepts of positive mental health as identified in this review. Our results point to a lack of consensus on the underlying dimensions and measurement approaches for investigating positive mental health, with singular measures failing to capture its breadth, resulting in an unwieldy situation for ongoing scientific inquiry.

The unbridled positivity toward curiosity and creativity may be excessive. Both aid species survival through exploration and advancement. These beneficial effects are well documented. What remains is to understand their optimal levels and contexts for maximal achievement, health, and well-being. Every beneficial element to individuals and groups carries the potential for harm – curiosity and creativity included.

Research has shown that curiosity plays a crucial role in human performance and well-being. Based on multi-dimensional models of curiosity, we examined potential underlying mechanisms for this relationship. Extending prior research, we expected state and trait variants of curiosity to predict more challenge and less threat appraisals for novel tasks (i.e., joyous exploration dimension), stronger dissatisfaction when denied opportunities to do something interesting (i.e., deprivation sensitivity dimension), and persist longer under stress states (i.e., stress tolerance). We asked 123 participants to prepare and deliver a speech titled "Why are you a good friend?" After preparation, participants were informed that they were randomly selected not to perform the task. Throughout the experiment, we recorded heart rate reactivity as a physiological indicator of task engagement. We found that individuals curious about the upcoming task felt more challenged, less threatened, and presented longer physiological engagement than less curious individuals. Curious individuals expressed more disappointment about the missed opportunity to deliver the speech. In summary, this study revealed theoretically derived mechanisms that partially account for associations between curiosity and positive life outcomes while also indicating adverse effects.