Dimensionality of interpersonal curiosity

Interpersonal curiosity (IPC) is the desire for new information about people. Fifty-one IPC items were administered to 321 participants (248 women, 73 men), along with other measures of curiosity and personality. Three factors were identified from which five-item subscales were developed that had good internal consistency: Curiosity about Emotions, Spying and Prying, and Snooping. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated the three-factor model had acceptable fit. The IPC scales correlated positively with other curiosity measures and interest in gossip, providing evidence of convergent validity. Divergent validity was demonstrated in finding the other curiosity scales correlated more highly with each other than with IPC; parallel results were found for the gossip measures.