Summary
[Novelty-seeking has long been associated with] problems like attention deficit disorder, compulsive spending and gambling, alcoholism, drug abuse and criminal behavior. Now, though, after extensively tracking novelty-seekers, researchers are seeing the upside. In the right combination with other traits, it’s a crucial predictor of well-being. “Novelty-seeking is one of the traits that keeps you healthy and happy and fosters personality growth as you age,”
Fans of this trait are calling it “neophilia”...and argue that neophilia has always been the quintessential human survival skill.
The adventurous neophiliacs are more likely to possess a “migration gene,” a DNA mutation that occurred about 50,000 years ago, as humans were dispersing from Africa around the world...The mutations are more prevalent in the most far-flung populations....[and] affect the brain’s regulation of dopamine.
People’s tendency for novelty-seeking also depends on their upbringing, on the local culture and on their stage of life. By some estimates, the urge for novelty drops by half between the ages of 20 and 60.
Neophilia's positive aspects come out when they are paired with two other traits referred to as "Persistence" and "Self-Transcendence."
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/14/science/novelty-seeking-neophilia-can-be-a-predictor-of-well-being.html