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There Are 5 Types Of Boredom. Which Are You Feeling?
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Apathetic Boredom
Unpleasant, but causes low levels of arousal and a lack of positive or negative feelings–in other words, a feeling of helplessness or depression.
It’s a common kind of boredom, which is worrisome given that studies have shown that boredom, depression, and destructive behaviors are often linked.
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Reactant Boredom
The highest levels of arousal and negative emotions. It reflects significant restlessness and aggression.
A person in a reactant boredom state has persistent thoughts about specific, “more highly valued alternative situations”, a strong motivation to escape their boring situation and those responsible for it.
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Searching Boredom
A more negative feeling reflecting a sense of unpleasant restlessness and an active search for ways out of the boredom mindset. A person might think about alternative activities, hobbies, leisure, or work.
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Calibrating Boredom
A slightly unpleasant emotional state associated with receptiveness to “boredom-reducing options, ” but not necessarily an active search for them. Characterized by wandering thoughts, not knowing what to do, and a “general openness” to activities unrelated to the present situation.
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Indifferent Boredom
A person who is calm and withdrawn from their external world. Words reflecting this kind of boredom include “relaxation” and “cheerful fatigue. ”
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Boredom is not that simple to explain
We may tend to think of boredom as a response to monotonous activities. But boredom isn't this clearcut.
Research reveals that there's a significant variation in how much bo...
Boredom and modern society
Boredom is sometimes described as the plague of modern society.
- Back in 2016, a French worker sued his former employer for "bore-out." He won.
- Many people, especially those born between mid -1990s and late 2010s, scrolls aimlessly through apps and find nothing of interest.
- People are even diagnosing their pets with boredom.
The struggle to define boredom
Psychologists differ in their definition of boredom.
- In the 1960s and 1970s, boredom was defined as the feeling generated by a repetitive task. Researchers found that boredom increased alertness to the things happening around you (distractions).
- From 1986, the opposite was found. A study found that boredom caused less concentration.
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The Importance Of Boredom
It drives us to engage in activities that we find more meaningful than those at hand. Without it, we’d be perpetually excited by everything.
Research shows that people who are bored...
Focus And The Brain
When we’re consciously doing things we’re using the “executive attention network, ” the parts of the brain that control and inhibit our attention. The attention network makes it possible for us to relate directly to the world presently around us.
By contrast, when our minds wander, we activate the brain’s “default mode network, ” which is the brain “at rest”; not focused on an external, goal-oriented task. In this mode, we still tap about 95% of the energy we use when our brains are engaged in focused thinking.
Types Of Daydreaming
- Poor attention control: when people with poor attention control drift into daydreaming. These people are anxious, easily distracted, and have difficulty concentrating, even on their daydreams.
- Guilty-dysphoric: when our thoughts drift to unproductive and negative places. We berate ourselves for perceived mistakes or flaws and feel emotions like guilt, anxiety, and anger.
- Positive-constructive: when our thoughts veer toward the imaginative; it reflects our drive to explore ideas and feelings, plan, and problem-solve.
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The 'dark factor'
A love of horror movies is associated with an underlying dimension of entertainment preferences, dubbed "the dark factor".
Those with dark tastes value intensity, edginess and rebellion. Thei...
The pleasure paradox
Some derive enjoyment from negative emotional states, as when enjoying a "good cry", for instance.
A study found that people who liked sad films enjoyed a scene relative to how much sadness it elicited. The stronger the sadness, the higher the enjoyment.
Trick or treat
Halloween seems to bring out excesses in costumed children and adults.
Several studies revealed that costumed children who were anonymous — by wearing masks for instance — were more likely to take extra candies. In adults, costumed Halloween celebrators tend to have higher blood alcohol readings than people in plain clothes.