Development of the Self-curiosity Attitude-interest Scale

Even though introspection, reflection, and mentalization are important processes in clinical practice, no self-report measure has been developed to address the psychological construct of self-curiosity. This paper addresses this disparity, and provides a new self-report measure on this topic and data on its nomological network. Curiosity about self was initially conceptualized as the desire that people have to explore and understand themselves and their psychological functioning beyond what they already know about themselves. The manuscript presents data from three independent samples used to build the SelfCuriosity Attitude-Interest (SCAI) scale. Data show that the SCAI comprises two dimensions: attitude toward self-curiosity (cognitive propensity toward exploring one’s own inner world) and interest in increasing knowledge of self (emotional/motivational pull to understand oneself better). An independent sample shows good internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and evidence of construct validity of the SCAI. This paper discusses the utility of the SCAI in clinical practice and research.