Knowledge Gap Illustrations Spark Curiosity

MODEL	FORMULA	EXP. 1	EXP. 2	PILOT EXP. 1	PILOT EXP. 2
Model 1	$P K_{n} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	1828.7	1674.6	820.8	763.0
Model 2	$P K_{\leq n} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	1966.9	1864.4	857.3	–
Model 3	$P K_{first} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	1981.8	1923.4	–	–
Model 4	$P K_{\bar{n}} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	1991.3	1919.7	–	–
Model 5	$P K_{split} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	1981.8	1919.2	–	–
Model 6	$P K_{n} \times P K_{\bar{n}} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	–	–	–	–
Model 7	$P K_{split} \times P K_{n} \times G + (1 ∣ P)$	–	–	–	–
Model 8	$P K_{n} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	1841.3	1685.5	832.7	774.3
Model 9	$P K_{\leq n} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	–	1825.8	–	–
Model 10	$P K_{first} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	1955.4	1855.1	–	–
Model 11	$P K_{\bar{n}} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	1970.3	1864.1	870.8	–
Model 12	$P K_{split} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	1959.6	1857.1	857.9	845.7
Model 13	$P K_{n} \times P K_{\bar{n}} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	–	–	–	–
Model 14	$P K_{split} \times P K_{n} \times G + (PK ∣ P)$	–	–	–	–

[i] Note. Lower BIC scores indicate better model fits. The best-fitting models with respect to BIC are marked in bold font. Models marked with “–” in a given experiment either failed to converge or resulted in a singular fit; their BIC can therefore not be reported. Independent variables are Group (G), Current-Chapter Prior Knowledge (PK_n), Cumulative Mean Prior Knowledge (PK_≤n), First Chapter Prior Knowledge (PK_first), Overall Mean Prior Knowledge ( $P K_{\bar{n}}$ ), Prior Knowledge Group (PK_split), i.e. participants grouped into low prior knowledge and high prior knowledge by performing a median split). Models 1 through 7 contain a random intercept for participants (1|P). Models 8 through 14 additionally contain random slopes for Prior Knowledge per participant (PK|P).

Plots a and d display the probability to read by prior knowledge and group. Plots b and e display the mean score difference by prior knowledge and decision to read. Plots c and f display the mean score difference by prior knowledge and group. Please note that mean score difference refers to the point difference between pretest and posttest scores per chapter. For each chapter, participants could achieve a score between 0 and 3 points.

Table 2

Number of Participants, Trials, and Average Trials per Participant by Group and Prior Knowledge.

GROUP	PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	EXPERIMENTAL			CONTROL
GROUP	PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	n(P)	n(T)	M(T/P)	n(P)	n(T)	M(T/P)
Experiment 1	0%	30	33	1.10	14	17	1.21
	33%	92	150	1.63	74	129	1.74
	67%	125	313	2.50	93	237	2.55
	100%	120	314	2.62	91	217	2.38
Experiment 2	0%	22	29	1.32	23	34	1.48
	33%	82	130	1.59	61	112	1.84
	67%	129	315	2.44	81	196	2.42
	100%	126	342	2.71	80	216	2.70

[i] Note. n(P) = number of participants; n(T) = number of trials; M(T/P) = average trials per participant. Values are reported separately for each group (Experimental, Control) across prior knowledge conditions (0%, 33%, 67%, 100%).

Table 3

Pairwise Contrasts for the Probability to Read Between Groups.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	EXPERIMENT 1				EXPERIMENT 2
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	OR	SE	z	p	OR	SE	z	p
0%	4.35	2.50	2.55	.011*	2.50	1.38	1.66	.097
33%	3.18	0.71	5.16	<.001***	8.33	2.17	8.13	<.001***
67%	1.19	0.22	0.95	.341	3.67	0.78	6.08	<.001***
100%	0.23	0.05	–6.46	<.001***	0.21	0.05	–6.60	<.001***

[i] Note. Odds Ratios (OR) reflect the contrast: Experimental / Control for each prior knowledge condition. Values are based on estimated marginal means from hierarchical logistic regression models. z-values and p-values correspond to model-based comparisons. Significance levels: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Table 4

Pairwise Contrasts Between Prior Knowledge Conditions Within Groups.

GROUP	CONTRAST	EXPERIMENT 1				EXPERIMENT 2
GROUP	CONTRAST	OR	SE	z	p	OR	SE	z	p
Experimental	0% vs 33%	0.88	0.26	–0.44	.971	0.40	0.13	–2.79	.027*
	0% vs 67%	2.08	0.85	1.80	.272	0.96	0.43	–0.10	.999
	0% vs 100%	13.38	5.28	6.57	<.001***	13.37	6.02	5.76	<.001***
	33% vs 67%	2.37	0.31	6.57	<.001***	2.37	0.36	5.76	<.001***
	33% vs 100%	15.26	3.79	10.98	<.001***	33.13	9.26	12.53	<.001***
	67% vs 100%	6.43	1.21	9.85	<.001***	13.96	2.87	12.82	<.001***
Control	0% vs 33%	0.64	0.24	–1.20	.629	1.34	0.42	0.95	.778
	0% vs 67%	0.57	0.29	–1.10	.688	1.40	0.59	0.81	.850
	0% vs 100%	0.71	0.32	–0.77	.869	1.14	0.44	0.35	.986
	33% vs 67%	0.89	0.13	–0.77	.869	1.05	0.13	0.35	.986
	33% vs 100%	1.10	0.25	0.43	.974	0.85	0.20	–0.68	.907
	67% vs 100%	1.24	0.23	1.15	.660	0.81	0.16	–1.07	.708

[i] Note. Odds Ratios (OR) reflect the contrasts between prior knowledge conditions within each group (Experimental/ Control). Values are based on estimated marginal means from hierarchical logistic regression models. z-values and p-values correspond to model-based comparisons. Significance levels: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Table 5

Pairwise Contrasts for Score Differences by the Decision to Read.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	EXPERIMENT 1				EXPERIMENT 2
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	DIFF	SE	t	p	DIFF	SE	t	p
0%	–0.54	0.20	–2.71	.007**	–0.97	0.16	–6.05	<.001***
33%	–0.64	0.08	–7.78	<.001***	–0.76	0.08	–8.92	<.001***
67%	–0.39	0.06	–6.56	<.001***	–0.41	0.06	–7.03	<.001***
100%	–0.05	0.06	–0.85	.397	–0.04	0.06	–0.68	.499

[i] Note. Values reflect estimated marginal mean differences in pretest-to-posttest scores between different decisions– reading or skipping– for each prior knowledge condition. Negative values indicate larger score gains in the “read” group. Significance levels: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Table 6

Pairwise Contrasts for Score Differences Between Groups.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	EXPERIMENT 1				EXPERIMENT 2
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	DIFF	SE	t	p	DIFF	SE	t	p
0%	0.47	0.21	2.21	.027*	0.39	0.17	2.26	<.024*
33%	0.10	0.10	1.02	.310	0.56	0.10	5.83	<.001***
67%	0.08	0.08	1.08	.281	0.27	0.07	3.64	<.001***
100%	0.06	0.08	0.71	.477	0.11	0.07	1.48	.138

[i] Note. Values reflect estimated marginal mean differences in pretest-to-posttest scores between experimental and control groups for each prior knowledge condition. Positive values indicate larger score gains in the experimental group. Significance levels: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

Table 7

Pairwise Contrasts for Reading Times Between Groups. Note. Values reflect estimated marginal mean differences in reading time (in seconds) between experimental and control groups at each prior knowledge level. Positive differences (Diff) indicate longer reading times in the experimental group. Significance levels: *p<.05, **p<.01, ***p<.001.

PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	EXPERIMENT 1				EXPERIMENT 2
PRIOR KNOWLEDGE	DIFF	SE	t	p	DIFF	SE	t	p
0%	68.80	73.90	0.93	.352	5.77	81.8	0.07	.944
33%	43.22	31.50	1.37	.171	–9.93	34.7	–0.29	.775
67%	23.00	11.50	2.00	.046*	–14.95	15.2	–0.98	.326
100%	8.15	9.61	0.85	.397	–19.31	13.3	–0.70	.484

Plots display reading time in seconds by prior knowledge and group.

Heatmaps display correlations for prior knowledge between chapters for Experiment 1 and Experiment 2.

Articles in this issue

DOI: https://doi.org/10.5334/joc.501 | Journal eISSN: 2514-4820

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Language: English

Page range: 28 - 28

Submitted on: Apr 23, 2026

Accepted on: Apr 23, 2026

Published on: May 7, 2026

Published by: Ubiquity Press

In partnership with: Paradigm Publishing Services

Publication frequency: 1 issue per year

Keywords:

Decision making,

Motivation,

Learning

© 2026 Luisa Frede, Lisa Bardach, Younes Strittmatter, Eileen Richter, Marie Mueckstein, Markus W. H. Spitzer, published by Ubiquity Press
This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Volume 9 (2026): Issue 1

Knowledge Gap Illustrations Spark Curiosity

Figures & Tables

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Table 5

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