Kids who are more curious have better math and reading skills in kindergarten, finds a study in Pediatric Research. Researchers examined data on about 6,200 kindergarteners from a U.S. nationally representative longitudinal study that included measures of math and reading achievement, as well as parents’ assessments of the children’s curiosity and effortful control. Overall, children who were more curious showed greater math and reading achievement. The effect was not moderated by level of effortful control or by gender, but it was stronger for children from families of lower socioeconomic status. The researchers suggest that fostering curiosity may be an effective approach to reducing the achievement gap between children of lower and higher socioeconomic status. (Monitor on Psychology)

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