We propose a framework for understanding epistemic curiosity as a metacognitive feeling state that is related to the individual's Region of Proximal Learning (RPL), an adaptive mental space where we feel we are on the verge of knowing or understanding. First, we review several historical views, contrasting the RPL perspective with alternative views of curiosity. Second, we detail the processes, conditions, and outcomes within the RPL framework which are proposed to be related to curiosity. Finally, we review several lines of evidence relevant to the relation between RPL and curiosity. These include (1) differences in the conditions under which experts and novices mind wander, (2) experiments investigating people’s choices of whether to study materials for which they have high versus low feelings of knowing, (3) results related to people's engagement with corrections to errors made with high confidence, and (4) curiosity, attention, and learning data related to the tip-of-the-tongue state.

我们提出了一个框架，用于将认知好奇心理解为一种与个人的近端学习区域（RPL）相关的元认知感觉状态，这是一个我们感觉自己处于了解或理解边缘的适应性心理空间。首先，我们回顾几种历史观点，将 RPL 观点与好奇心的其他观点进行对比。其次，我们详细介绍了 RPL 框架内与好奇心相关的过程、条件和结果。最后，我们回顾了与 RPL 和好奇心之间关系相关的几条证据。其中包括（1）专家和新手思维走神的条件差异，（2）实验调查人们是否选择学习他们对知识有高或低感觉的材料，（3）与人们参与纠正相关的结果高度自信地犯下的错误，以及（4）与舌尖状态相关的好奇心、注意力和学习数据。