Can boredom ever be good? Part 2
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What is the difference between the five types of boredom and how do they affect creativity?
This is an ABC podcast.
Last time on All in the Mind, we heard about the different shades of boredom that people can experience in a dull moment. Boredom is considered a broadly negative emotion, but it seems it can sometimes be beneficial, especially when it allows us to daydream. And in the right amount, boredom might also motivate us to think more creatively. Here's a quick recap from last time.
We found that those people who were more bored came up with more answers, more creative answers, and were better at problem solving tasks.
There are five different types of boredom and they differ in their level of arousal and in their level whether they are experienced as positive or negative.
And I think we're losing the capacity to be bored. And the problem with that is that we're losing the benefits of boredom.
I think you can actively change the types of boredom. But the first important thing is that you realize that you're bored and that you realize what type of boredom you are currently experiencing.
Maybe you've experienced some beneficial boredom during this period of self-isolation. But depending on your circumstances and depending on your personality type, that might actually be quite difficult. So today on All in the Mind, do different people experience boredom differently or more frequently? And can every personality type experience the benefits of boredom? ABC Science Reporter Carl Smith joins me again. Welcome, Carl.
Hey Sunna. Yeah, so last time I mentioned that I'd had some positive experiences with boredom during this long stretch of isolation, and I could sometimes land on an experience that felt a bit like daydreaming, or maybe what the Dutch call Nixon. But you haven't had that kind of positive experience, have you?
No, not at all. Boredom for me has been a real downer, if anything.
So today we're going to take a closer look at the traits that might help us experience more of the benefits of boredom. First though, it might seem like a simple question, but do people experience boredom differently? Here's Dr. Sandy Mann, psychologist at the University of Central Lancashire and author of the book, The Science of Boredom: Why Boredom is Good.
Well the most important personality trait is called boredom pronus, which is a bit obvious, but there is a boredom pronus scale and there is a boredom pronus personality. So obviously the higher you score on that the more prone you are to boredom.
The boredom proneness scale asks you to rate how much you agree with statements like, time always seems to be passing slowly, or I find it easy to entertain myself, or, in any situation, I can usually find something to do or see to keep me interested. By tallying up your score, you can rate how prone to boredom you are. And according to Professor Thomas Goetz, psychologist and boredom researcher at the University of Vienna, some small studies have found a connection between boredom proneness and several personality traits.
And there are big differences between people. For example, extroverts are much more prone to boredom than introverts, and we found, for example, that younger people are more prone to boredom than older people. And an interesting finding is that men are more prone to boredom than female, but we still don't know why.
Professor Gutz has classified five different types of boredom you might feel in any given moment, ranging from quite negative to slightly positive feelings.
How does boredom proneness relate to personality traits like intro‑extroversion and age?
But he says any boredom is always an interplay between your boredom proneness, your personality, your environment, how you're feeling that day, and probably many other factors.
Yes, definitely. It's always a fit between environment and person. So for example, extroverts typically are more easily bored than introverts, but this strongly depends on the environment. When extroverts are in an environment which they experience as boring and they cannot have an impact on the environment, they will have high levels of boredom. But if extroverts can change the environment, they will definitely do it.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
What is the difference between the five types of boredom and how do they affect creativity?
0:02–3:42
2
How does boredom proneness relate to personality traits like intro‑extroversion and age?
3:42–7:15
3
Which personality traits (learning orientation, need for cognition, openness, locus of control) help people turn boredom into creativity?
7:15–11:08
4
What experimental tasks (bean‑sorting, bean‑art, pooper‑scooper design) reveal the link between boredom and creative ideas?
11:08–15:07
5
Why can the same boring situation feel positive for some people but negative for others?
15:07–18:01
6
How can individuals deliberately embrace ‘proper’ boredom without turning to distraction?
18:01–20:52
7
What practical tips can help people in lockdown or remote work use boredom to find meaning and challenge?
20:52–24:44
8
Should workplaces try to induce boredom for creativity, and what are the risks?
24:44–29:03