![]() We believe that the environment is responsible for our aversive state (e.g., “this task is boring,” “there is nothing to do”). ![]() We’re aware of the fact that we’re having difficulty paying attention.We have difficulty paying attention to the internal information (e.g., thoughts or feelings) or external information (e.g., environmental stimuli) required for participating in satisfying activity.Their article, which brings together existing research on attention and boredom, is published in the September 2012 issue of Perspectives on Psychological Science, a journal of the Association for Psychological Science.ĭrawing from research across many areas of psychological science and neuroscience, Eastwood and colleagues define boredom as “an aversive state of wanting, but being unable, to engage in satisfying activity,” which arises from failures in one of the brain’s attention networks. Psychological scientist John Eastwood of York University (Ontario, Canada) and colleagues at the University of Guelph and the University of Waterloo wanted to understand the mental processes that underlie our feelings of boredom in order to create a precise definition of boredom that can be applied across a variety of theoretical frameworks. Even though it’s a common experience, boredom hasn’t been clearly defined within the scientific community. Boredom has even been associated with mortality, lending grim weight to the popular phrase “bored to death.”Īlthough it’s clear that boredom can be a serious problem, the scientific study of boredom remains an obscure niche of research, and boredom itself is still poorly understood. On a behavioral level, boredom has been linked with problems with impulse control, leading to overeating and binge eating, drug and alcohol abuse, and problem gambling. You want to be engaged by something-anything-when a thought, so familiar from childhood, comes to mind: “I’m bored!”Īlthough boredom is often seen as a trivial and temporary discomfort that can be alleviated by a simple change in circumstances, it can also be a chronic and pervasive stressor that can have significant consequences for health and well-being.īoredom at work may cause serious accidents when safety depends on continuous vigilance, as in medical monitoring or long-haul truck driving. You feel depleted and irritated about being stuck in this seemingly endless moment. The second hand on the wall clock moves so excruciatingly slowly that you’re sure it must be broken. You’re waiting in the reception area of your doctor’s office. ![]() Advances in Methods and Practices in Psychological Science. ![]()
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