Functional connectivity mediates the relationship between self-efficacy and curiosity.

Curiosity is an important driving force for human development. This study employed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data (n = 400) and a cross-validation-based predictive framework based on the functional connectivity between and within the default mode network (DMN), fronto-parietal task control network (FPN), and salience network (SN) to explore the relationship between these and curiosity. We found that the curiosity network consisting of functional connections in DMN, FPN, and SN can successfully predict curiosity, and the functional connections within the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and between its nodes and the angular gyrus (AG) made a greater contribution to prediction power. More important, although curiosity has long been considered the main intrinsic motivation of learning and self-efficacy (individual's confidence in his or her own ability) is the primary factor affecting learning motivation, few studies have explored the relationship between the two. Therefore, we speculated that the relationship between the curiosity brain network and curiosity might also be related to self-efficacy. In this study, the strength of the curiosity network was calculated as a mediation variable to explore the relationship between self-efficacy and curiosity. The results revealed that the strength of the curiosity brain network mediates the association between self-efficacy and curiosity score. Our findings suggest that self-efficacy plays an important role in shaping individuals' trait curiosity and extends understanding of the neural mechanism of curiosity.