Abstract
Boredom is a prevalent emotion with potential negative consequences. Previous research has associated boredom with outcomes indicating both high and low levels of arousal and activation. In the present study we propose that the situational context is an important factor that may determine whether boredom relates to high versus low arousal/activation reactions. In a correlational (N = 443) and an experimental study (N = 120) we focused on the situational factor (perceived) task autonomy, and examined whether it explains when boredom is associated with high versus low arousal affective reactions (i.e., frustration versus depressed affect). Results of both studies indicate that when task autonomy is low, state boredom relates to more frustration than when task autonomy is high. In contrast, some support (i.e., Study 1 only) was found suggesting that when task autonomy is high, state boredom relates to more depressed affect than when task autonomy is low. These findings imply that careful attention is needed for tasks that are relatively boring. In order to reduce frustration caused by such tasks, substantial autonomy should be provided, while monitoring that this does not result in increased depressed affect.
Highlights
Boredom is a prevalent experience, among students at school (e.g., Vogel-Walcutt et al 2012) and among adults in their daily lives and among employees at work
Confirmatory factor analysis with LISREL 8.80 demonstrated that when specifying a factor structure with the task autonomy, state boredom, frustration adjectives, and depressed affect adjectives items loading on four separate factors, all item loadings were > 0.30 and significant (p < .01) and
The two dependent variables frustration and depressed affect were relatively strongly correlated (r = .53, p < .001). Such correlation is in line with two-dimensional or circumplex models of emotion (e.g., Barrett and Russell 1998), because frustration and depressed affect differ on the activation-deactivation axis, they both are unpleasant rather than pleasant emotions
Summary
Boredom is a prevalent experience, among students at school (e.g., Vogel-Walcutt et al 2012) and among adults in their daily lives and among employees at work. When the lecture is required (i.e., low autonomy) and students do not perceive it as useful for their goal attainment, and instead perceive that they are wasting time that they could have spent on more meaningful activities that contribute to goal progress, it likely induces agitation and frustration This line of reasoning aligns with stress theories and findings, such as Fox et al (2001) who found some evidence that among individuals who perceive low (but not high) autonomy, straining job demands were associated with sabotage behaviors. Unemployed individuals who feel bored and have high autonomy in deciding what to do, likely experience depressed affect because they experience little purpose and progress towards meaningful goals combined with self-blame, causing feelings of dejection and worthlessness Based on these rationales, we theorize that autonomy is an important moderator that may explain whether boredom triggers activating/high-arousal or deactivating/low-arousal. Study 2 was designed to provide a more rigorous test of the association of boredom, autonomy, and their interaction with frustration and depressed affect, by using a 2 × 2 factorial design in which both state boredom and task autonomy were experimentally manipulated
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