Curiosity gap

Topic

The curiosity gap is a psychological concept and copywriting technique based on George Loewenstein's information gap theory, which posits that curiosity is triggered when there is a discrepancy between what a person knows and what they want to know. This cognitive dissonance creates an uncomfortable feeling of deprivation, motivating individuals to seek out the missing information to resolve the gap. The phenomenon is widely exploited in digital media, marketing, and clickbait headlines to drive user engagement and click-through rates.