A Failure to Launch: Regulatory Modes and Boredom Proneness

Trait Boredom as a Lack of Agency: A Theoretical Model and a New Assessment Tool

Trait boredom plays a significant role in well-being. However, this construct suffers from conceptual ambiguity and measurement problems. The aim of this study was to propose a comprehensive theory and a strong assessment tool to address these limitations. We defined trait boredom as the frequent experience of state boredom resulting from a chronic lack of agency. We developed a six-item self-report scale of the tendency to often experience boredom. Results confirmed a uni-dimensional scale with strong psychometric properties, including adequate internal consistency (ω = .84-.93), interindividual stability (69.04% of variance accounted by a trait factor), and acceptable model fit (CFI = .977-.998, TLI = .962-.997, RMSEA = .025-.090, SRMR = .014-.029). Results confirmed the validity of the scale by showing its associations with related measures. Our findings provide clarity on trait boredom and a strong, new measure to be used in future work.

Disentangling boredom from depression using the phenomenology and content of involuntary autobiographical memories

Recurrent involuntary autobiographical memories (IAMs) are memories retrieved unintentionally and repetitively. We examined whether the phenomenology and content of recurrent IAMs could differentiate boredom and depression, both of which are characterized by affective dysregulation and spontaneous thought. Participants (n = 2484) described their most frequent IAM and rated its phenomenological properties (e.g., valence). Structural topic modeling, a method of unsupervised machine learning, identified coherent content within the described memories. Boredom proneness was positively correlated with depressive symptoms, and both boredom proneness and depressive symptoms were correlated with more negative recurrent IAMs. Boredom proneness predicted less vivid recurrent IAMs, whereas depressive symptoms predicted more vivid, negative, and emotionally intense ones. Memory content also diverged: topics such as relationship conflicts were positively predicted by depressive symptoms, but negatively predicted by boredom proneness. Phenomenology and content in recurrent IAMs can effectively disambiguate boredom proneness from depressive symptoms in a large sample of undergraduate students from a racially diverse university.

Exploring EEG resting state as a function of boredom proneness in pre-adolescents and adolescents

Boredom is a prominent experience commonly reported in school settings and associated with poor academic achievement. Little is known, however, about the age-related trajectory of boredom. Here we examined self-reported ratings of boredom in a cross-sectional sample of 8 to 15-year olds (n = 185) as a function of resting state EEG. Results indicated that reports of boredom in school rose as a function of age. Resting state EEG showed a decrease in theta power with age perhaps reflective of increased control. While no effects were evident in beta and alpha bands, we did observe an interaction between boredom and age for frontal asymmetry such that for those higher in boredom, the asymmetry increased with age. Finally, for theta to beta ratios there were main effects of age (i.e., a decrease in theta/beta ratio with age) and boredom such that those higher in boredom had higher theta/beta ratios over frontal and central brain areas. The results are discussed in the context of prior work on school-related boredom and provide several important avenues for further research.

Associations Between Trait Boredom and Frequency of Cannabis, Alcohol, and Tobacco Use in College Students

Objective

Boredom is a common emotion associated with substance use in college students - a group already at risk for substance misuse. The purpose of this study is to understand how two types of trait boredom (susceptibility and proneness) in college students are associated with frequency of cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco use.

Method

Data were collected from an online survey completed by a sample of undergraduate students (N = 414, Mage = 19.55, 84.5% female; 64.3% White) enrolled at a large public university in the northwest. Multivariate logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between trait boredom and frequency of cannabis, alcohol, and tobacco use after controlling for age, sex, and race.

Results

Boredom susceptibility was a significant predictor of annual, monthly, and weekly cannabis and alcohol use, but only annual and monthly tobacco use. Boredom proneness was only a significant predictor for monthly alcohol use.

Conclusions

Findings were generally consistent across types of substances and frequency of use for boredom susceptibility, indicating students higher in susceptibility, rather than proneness, are a subgroup to target prevention interventions to alleviate boredom and subsequent maladaptive coping mechanisms.

In search of boredom: beyond a functional account

Boredom has been characterized as a crisis of meaning, a failure of attention, and a call to action. Yet as a self-regulatory signal writ-large, we are still left with the question of what makes any given boredom episode meaningless, disengaging, or a prompt to act. We propose that boredom is an affective signal that we have deviated from an optimal ('Goldilocks') zone of cognitive engagement. Such deviations may be due to a perceived lack of meaning, arise as a consequence of struggles we are experiencing in attending to a task, or be interpreted as a blunt call to find something different to engage with. Thus, the key to understanding boredom lies in its role in keeping us cognitively engaged.

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Quality Education of the Medical Young Generation

(1) Generating the need to impose social distancing to reduce the spread of the virus, the COVID-19 pandemic altered the ways in which the teaching process normally happens. The aim of our study was to determine the impact of online teaching on medical students during this period. (2) Our study included 2059 medical, dental and pharmacy students from the University of Medicine and Pharmacy "Grigore T. Popa", Iasi, Romania. We used a modified metacognition questionnaire after translation into Romanian and validation. Our questionnaire included 38 items, and it was divided into four parts. Academic results and preferences regarding the on-site or online courses, information regarding practical training, self-awareness in terms of one's feelings such as anger, boredom and anxiety and also substance use linked to online teaching, and contextualization of the relationship with colleagues, teachers, friends and family were among the most important points evaluated. A comparison was made between preclinical and clinical students. A five-item Linkert-like scale was used for rating the answers in the last three parts that evaluated the impact of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic on the educational process. (3) Preclinical medical students, compared to preclinical dental students, obtained statistically significant improvements in their evaluation results, with fewer failed exams (p < 0.001) and with similar results being obtained by comparing dental with pharmacy students. All students obtained statistically significant improvements in their academic results during the online evaluation. A statistically significant increase in anxiety and depression with a p-value of <0.001 was registered among our students. (4) The majority found it difficult to cope with this intense period. Both teachers and students found it difficult to adjust on such short notice to the challenges posed by the new concept of online teaching and learning.

A longitudinal approach to understanding boredom during pandemics: The predictive roles of trauma and emotion dysregulation

Research during the COVID-19 pandemic and prior outbreaks suggest that boredom is linked to poor compliance with critical lifesaving social distancing and quarantine guidelines, as well as to numerous mental health difficulties. As such, continued understanding on what contributes to boredom is imperative. Extending beyond the roles of constraint, monotony, and trait dispositions (e.g., individual differences in boredom propensity), and informed by prior theories on the emotional contributors of boredom, the current longitudinal study examined the predictive role of "pandemic trauma" on people's boredom, with a focus on how emotion dysregulation mediates this relationship. Community participants (N = 345) completed questionnaires three times across an average of 3 1/2 weeks, rating their pandemic trauma, emotion dysregulation, and boredom over the past week each time. Pandemic trauma was assessed with items querying exposure to coronavirus, as well as the financial, resource-related, and interpersonal pandemic stressors that participants experienced. Emotion dysregulation was assessed with the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale. Boredom was assessed with the short-form Multidimensional State Boredom Scale. The results of a theory-informed mediation model showed that participants' pandemic trauma at Time 1 positively and modestly predicted their boredom at Time 3 and that this relationship was partially and moderately mediated by participants' lack of emotional clarity and difficulties with engaging in goal-directed behaviors at Time 2. When people experience pandemic-related trauma, they subsequently struggle to understand their feelings and engage in goal-oriented actions, and, in turn, feel more bored. Theoretical and clinical implications as related to the emotional underpinnings of boredom are discussed.

Examining the Longitudinal Associations between Adjustment Disorder Symptoms and Boredom during COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a myriad of stressors, underscoring the relevance of adjustment disorder during these extraordinary times. Boredom—as a feeling and as a dispositional characteristic—is an equally pertinent experience during the pandemic that has been cross-sectionally linked to various mental health difficulties. The current longitudinal study expanded on this work, examining the associations between adjustment disorder symptoms and boredom (both as a feeling and as a trait) over time during the COVID-19 pandemic. Community participants completed questionnaires three times, rating their trait boredom at Time 1 and their feelings of boredom and adjustment disorder symptoms (preoccupation with a pandemic stressor and failure to adapt) over the past week at Times 1–3. Latent growth curve analyses found that an increase in feelings of boredom was significantly associated with increased preoccupation with a pandemic stressor and increased difficulties with adapting over time. Additionally, trait boredom significantly predicted changes in preoccupation and the failure to adapt, such that participants high in trait boredom increasingly struggled with these symptoms over time. Our results suggest that increased feelings of boredom and a trait disposition towards boredom can be detrimental to people’s ability to adjust over time to the stressors associated with the pandemic. Boredom, as an aversive state and as a chronic difficulty, may be important to address in treatment approaches for adjustment disorder symptoms during COVID-19.

The Struggle to Entertain Yourself: Consequences of the Internal Stimulation Factor of Boredom Proneness during Pandemic Lockdown

Boredom is a ubiquitous human experience that most people try to avoid feeling. People who are prone to boredom experience negative consequences. This study examined the impact of individual differences in the ability to entertain the self (the internal stimulation factor) on boredom experiences during the COVID-19 lockdown in the United States. The internal and external stimulation factors predicted greater boredom frequency, boredom duration, and boredom intensity, each of which reflected a different aspect of emotional experience. The relationship among these factors was complex. A serial mediation analysis indicated the internal stimulation factor predicted the frequency of boredom, which in turn predicted the duration of boredom, which predicted boredom intensity. This pattern of relationships is potentially unique to boredom among emotional experiences. These findings provide insight into how boredom functions during a period in which daily activities and coping resources that would normally be available became severely limited.

Getting trapped in a dead end? Trait self-control and boredom are linked to goal adjustment

Disengaging from unattainable goals and reengaging in alternative goals is essential for effective goal pursuit; yet, surprisingly little is known about associated personality factors. Here, we focused on individual differences in self-control (domain-general self-control, if–then planning) and boredom (boredom proneness, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies). Concerning goal adjustment in everyday life (Study 1; N = 323 crowdworkers), if–then planning was associated with worse disengagement and better reengagement. While boredom proneness was associated with poorer reengagement, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies were associated with better reengagement. When goal striving was thwarted during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2; N = 97 students), similar associations emerged along with links to anxiety and depression. However, disengagement was no longer associated with if–then planning but instead with better self-control and higher boredom proneness. These results show differential relationships of goal disengagement and reengagement with self-control and boredom, paving the way to a better understanding of who struggles or shines when effective goal adjustment is required.

A single item measure of self-control – validation and location in a nomological network of self-control, boredom, and if-then planning