Igou_2016_boredom.pdf (284.82 kB)
Can boredom help? Increased prosocial intentions in response to boredom
journal contribution
posted on 2018-03-21, 09:11 authored by Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg, Eric Raymond IgouEric Raymond IgouBoredom is typically regarded a nuisance. Past research on boredom depicts this common emotion as a correlate of many detrimental psychological and social factors, including addiction, depression, discrimination, and aggression. We present a more nuanced perspective on boredom. Specifically, we propose and test that state boredom serves an important self-regulatory function with the potential to foster positive interpersonal consequences: It signals a lack of purpose in activity and fosters a search for meaningful engagement. We examined whether boredom can subsequently cause prosocial intentions if the corresponding prosocial behavior is seen as purposeful. As predicted, boredom, which is characterized by a search for meaning (pilot study), promoted prosocial intentions (Experiment 1), in particular when the corresponding behavior was seen as highly meaningful (Experiment 2). Our novel findings suggest that boredom can have desirable consequences and recasts this emotion as not merely good or bad but rather as personally and socially functional.
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Self and Identity;16 (1), pp. 82-96Publisher
Taylor and FrancisNote
peer-reviewedOther Funding information
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This is an Author's Manuscript of an article whose final and definitive form, the Version of Record, has been published in Self and Identity 2017 copyright Taylor & Francis available online at: https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2016.1218925Language
EnglishExternal identifier
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