The article examines the impact of nine counterfactual modifications to the Polish elector-al system on the results of the Sejm elections held on October 15, 2023. Scenarios analyzed include various methods of demographic seat adjustments, redistribution of overseas votes, changes to proportionality methods (D’Hondt vs. Sainte-Laguë), and changing the number of electoral districts. The issue of how deeper changes to the system may affect the strategic behavior of parties and voters is also analyzed. Results indicate that while each modification slightly alters seat distribution among parties, most changes do not significantly affect the overall balance of power in the Sejm.

Time and again, changes to the electoral system have been driven by the vested interests of political players primarily interested in maximizing their gains, measured by the number of seats filled in parliament. History knows many cases in which such reforms were counterpro-ductive and destabilized the functioning of the political system. This raises the question of whether it is possible to reform the electoral system in a way that not only does not result in a chaotic shift in the balance of power on the political scene but, above all, serves to improve the functioning of democratic institutions. This article discusses the implications for the party system of the 1993 reform of New Zealand’s electoral law for the House of Representatives, involving a departure after 138 years from a plurality system to a mixed-member proportion-al system (MMP). The New Zealand case demonstrates that even a revolutionary change in the electoral system does not necessarily lead to a profound and disorderly remodeling of the party system, with the side effect of disrupting the functioning of the whole political system.

Curiosity drives us to seek new information. Few studies have challenged the view that it is intrinsically a positive trait. We developed a new scale measuring idle curiosity, i.e. the Social Excessive & Excessive Knowledge-hunting (SEEK) scale. The scale was developed within the Item Response Theory paradigm using two participant samples (N₁ = 159, N₂ = 338) and was then correlated with other constructs for validation purposes (i.e., fear of missing out and co-vert curiosity). The SEEK scale demonstrated satisfactory psychometric properties but showed extraordinarily strong correlations with fear of missing out (FoMOs) and covert social curiosity (5DCR). Deeper analyses revealed that all three traits had intercorrelations of r = .59-.69, and items from the three scales loaded onto virtually one factor. Moreover, questionnaires used as validation criteria showed nearly identical correlational patterns for all three traits. We propose the existence of a latent meta-trait underlying these three constructs. Since frameworks of cu-riosity studies and fear of missing out on studies were previously disparate and even antitheti-cal, we discuss the implications of our findings for previous and future research in these areas.