Reappraising boredom : an investigation of boredom beliefs, experience, coping and well-being

Abstract

Being bored is a common daily affective experience that brings varying behavioural and mental health consequences. Some see boredom as an emotion which carries unique functions; others believe it causes evil and is comparable to hell. This thesis investigates how people’s lay beliefs about boredom relate to the ways boredom is experienced and coped with, as well as their relationships with mental well-being. Across eight samples, the role of boredom beliefs was scrutinised using multiple methods, including qualitative interviews, scale development, correlational surveys, and longitudinal studies. After presenting an overview of the thesis in Chapter 1, Chapters 2 and 3 examine boredom as momentary state and as chronic experience. Chapter 2 synthesizes existing literature on boredom to propose a new theoretical framework as the Boredom Feedback Model. Chapter 3 investigates the characterizations of boredom proneness; it reports data indicating that boredom frequency, boredom intensity and perceived life boredom each represents some aspects of boredom proneness. Chapter 4 explores what lay beliefs about boredom people have. Through qualitative and survey data, three boredom beliefs were identified—whether one appreciates the functions of boredom (boredom functionality), dislikes being bored (boredom dislike), and believes that boredom is a normal experience (boredom normalcy). The Boredom Beliefs Scale was developed and validated to quantify these beliefs. In a series of correlational and longitudinal studies, Chapters 5 and 6 examine how boredom beliefs relate to boredom experience, coping and mental health. Results in both chapters shown that, at both between- and within-person levels, boredom dislike was positively associated with boredom experience (boredom frequency and intensity). In Chapter 5, boredom dislike interacted with boredom experience in predicting smartphone use. Further, in Chapter 6, disliking boredom moderated the association between boredom experience and mental well-being among adolescents and young adults, such that the negative association was stronger in high level of boredom dislike. Also, there was a positive association between boredom normalcy and mental well-being. Finally, Chapter 7 summarizes and synthesizes the key findings. It highlights the theoretical and practical implications of this thesis, as well as its limitations and directions for future research. To conclude, this thesis underscores the importance of boredom beliefs in mitigating the behavioural and mental health impacts of boredom.