Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Types of boredom: An experience sampling approach

  • Original Paper
  • Published:
Motivation and Emotion Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

The present study investigated different types of boredom as proposed in a four-categorical conceptual model by Goetz and Frenzel (2006; doi:10.1026/0049-8637.38.4.149). In this model, four types of boredom are differentiated based on degrees of valence and arousal: indifferent, calibrating, searching, and reactant boredom. In two studies (Study 1: university students, N = 63, mean age 24.08 years, 66 % female; Study 2: high school students, grade 11, N = 80, mean age 17.05 years, 58 % female), real-time data were obtained via the experience-sampling method (personal digital assistants, randomized signals). Boredom experiences (N = 1,103/1,432 in Studies 1/2) were analyzed with respect to the dimensions of valence and arousal using multilevel latent profile analyses. Supporting the internal validity of the proposed boredom types, our results are in line with the assumed four types of boredom but suggest an additional, fifth type, referred to as “apathetic boredom.” The present findings further support the external validity of the five boredom types in showing differential relations between the boredom types and other affective states as well as frequency of situational occurrence (achievement contexts vs. non-achievement contexts). Methodological implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5

Similar content being viewed by others

Notes

  1. As boredom is not a prototypical or basic emotional experience (e.g., Ekman 1984; Rosch 1978; Shaver et al. 1987), it has alternatively been classified in terms of constructs such as affect or mood.

  2. With respect to Hypotheses 2 and 3, a total of 120 pairwise comparisons were calculated [for each construct 10 comparisons between the 5 classes × 6 constructs (well-being, satisfaction, enjoyment, anger, anxiety, dichotomous variable achievement vs. non-achievement situation) × 2 samples (university vs. high school student sample)]. Of the 120 comparisons, 18 were not significant in the university student sample and 22 were not significant in the high school student sample [in the case of significance: all ps < .017 for the university student sample; with one exception (p = .037) all ps < .019 for the high-school student sample].

  3. Correlations (calculated across all assessments) between the affective state measures and the situation variable (coded as follows: 0 = non-achievement situation, 1 = achievement situation) were as follows for Studies 1/2: −.30/−.32 (ps < .001) for well-being; −.28/−.14 (ps < .001) for satisfaction; −.28/−.31 (ps < .001) for enjoyment; .14/.06 (p = .011/.056) for anger; .16/.08 (p = .006/.026) for anxiety.

References

  • Amos, A., Wiltshire, S., Haw, S., & McNeill, A. (2006). Ambivalence and uncertainty: Experiences of and attitudes towards addiction and smoking cessation in the mid-to-late teens. Health Education Research, 21(2), 181–191. doi:10.1093/her/cyh054.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Anshel, M. H. (1991). A survey of elite athletes on the perceived causes of using banned drugs in sport. Journal of Sport Behavior, 14(4), 283–310.

    Google Scholar 

  • Armstrong, S. L., Gleitman, L. R., & Gleitman, H. (1983). What some concepts might not be. Cognition, 13(3), 263–308. doi:10.1016/0010-0277(83)90012-4.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Baird, B., Smallwood, J., Mrazek, M. D., Kam, J. W. Y., Franklin, M. S., & Schooler, J. W. (2012). Inspired by distraction: Mind wandering facilitates creative incubation. Psychological Science, 23(10), 1117–1122. doi:10.1177/0956797612446024.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Bearden, L. J., Spencer, W. A., & Moracco, J. C. (1989). A study of high school dropouts. School Counselor, 37(2), 113–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Berlyne, D. E. (1960). Conflict, arousal, and curiosity. New York, NY: McGraw-Hill Book Company. doi:10.1037/11164-000.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Clark, S. L., & Muthén, B. O. (2009). Relating latent class analysis results to variables not included in the analysis. Available from http://www.statmodel.com/download/relatinglca.pdf.

  • Clore, G. L. (1994). Why emotions require cognition. In P. Ekman & R. J. Davidson (Eds.), The nature of emotion (pp. 181–191). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Clore, G. L., & Ortony, A. (1991). What more is there to emotion concepts than prototypes? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(1), 48–50. doi:10.1037/0022-3514.60.1.48.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Csikszentmihalyi, M., & Larson, R. (1987). Validity and reliability of the experience-sampling method. Journal of Nervous and Mental Disease, 175(9), 526–536. doi:10.1097/00005053-198709000-00004.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Dahlen, E. R., Martin, R. C., Ragan, K., & Kuhlman, M. M. (2004). Boredom proneness in anger and aggression: Effects of impulsiveness and sensation seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 1615–1627.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Daschmann, E. C., Goetz, T., & Stupnisky, R. H. (2011). Testing the predictors of boredom at school. Development and validation of the Precursors to Boredom Scales. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 81, 421–440. doi:10.1348/000709910X526038.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ekman, P. (1984). Expression and the nature of emotion. In K. S. Scherer & P. Ekman (Eds.), Approaches to emotion (pp. 319–343). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fahlman, S. A., Mercer-Lynn, K. B., Flora, D. B., & Eastwood, J. D. (2013). Development and validation of the multidimensional state boredom scale. Assessment, 20(1), 68–85.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Farmer, R., & Sundberg, N. D. (1986). Boredom proneness: The development and correlates of a new scale. Journal of Personality Assessment, 50(1), 4–17. doi:10.1207/s15327752jpa5001_2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Fenichel, O. O. (1934). Zur Psychologie der Langeweile. Imago (Leipzig), 20270-281.

  • Fenichel, O. (1951). On the psychology of boredom. In D. Rapaport (Ed.), Organization and pathology of thought: Selected sources (pp. 349–361). New York, NY: Columbia University Press. doi:10.1037/10584-018.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Fisher, C. D. (1993). Boredom at work: A neglected concept. Human Relations, 46(3), 395–417. doi:10.1177/001872679304600305.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., & Frenzel, A. C. (2006). Phänomenologie schulischer Langeweile [Phenomenology of boredom at school]. Zeitschrift für Entwicklungspsychologie und Pädagogische Psychologie, 38(4), 149–153. doi:10.1026/0049-8637.38.4.149.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Bieg, M., Lüdtke, O., Pekrun, R., & Hall, N. C. (2013). Do girls really experience more anxiety in mathematics? Psychological Science, 24(10), 2079–2087. doi:10.1177/0956797613486989.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., & Pekrun, R. (2007a). Regulation von Langeweile im Unterricht. Was Schülerinnen und Schüler bei der “Windstille der Seele” (nicht) tun [Regulation of boredom in class. What students do (not) when experiencing the, windless calm of the soul’]. Unterrichtswissenschaft, 35(4), 312–333.

    Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Pekrun, R., & Hall, N. C. (2006). The domain specificity of academic emotional experiences. Journal of Experimental Education, 75(1), 5–29. doi:10.3200/JEXE.75.1.5-29.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Pekrun, R., Hall, N. C., & Lüdtke, O. (2007b). Between- and within-domain relations of students’ academic emotions. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99(4), 715–733. doi:10.1037/0022-0663.99.4.715.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Goetz, T., Frenzel, A. C., Stoeger, H., & Hall, N. C. (2010). Antecedents of everyday positive emotions: An experience sampling analysis. Motivation and Emotion, 34(1), 49–62. doi:10.1007/s11031-009-9152-2.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grubb, E. A. (1975). Assembly line boredom and individual differences in recreation participation. Journal of Leisure Research, 7, 256–269.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, M. B. (2000). Correlates and characteristics of boredom proneness and boredom. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30(3), 576–598. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2000.tb02497.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrison, A. (1984). Creativity, class, and boredom: Cognitive models for intelligent activities. Journal of Education, Boston, 166(2), 150–169.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hebb, D. O. (1955). Drives and the C. N. S. (conceptual nervous system). Psychological Review, 62(4), 243–254. doi:10.1037/h0041823.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Hektner, J. M., Schmidt, J. A., & Csikszentmihalyi, M. (2007). Experience sampling method: Measuring the quality of everyday life. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications, Inc.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hill, A. B., & Perkins, R. E. (1985). Towards a model of boredom. British Journal of Psychology, 76, 235–240.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson-Laird, P. N., & Oatley, K. (1989). The language of emotions: An analysis of a semantic field. Cognition and Emotion, 3(2), 81–123. doi:10.1080/02699938908408075.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Johnstone, T., & Scherer, K. R. (2000). Vocal communication of emotion. In M. Lewis & J. M. Haviland-Jones (Eds.), Handbook of emotions (2nd ed., pp. 220–235). New York: Guilford Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Klapp, O. (1986). Overload and boredom. New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kleinginna, P. R., & Kleinginna, A. M. (1981). A categorized list of emotion definitions, with suggestions for a consensual definition. Motivation and Emotion, 5, 345–379.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Larsen, J. T., & McGraw, P. (2011). Further evidence for mixed emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 100(6), 1095–1110. doi:10.1037/a0021846.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Larson, R. W., & Richards, M. H. (1991). Boredom in the middle school years: Blaming schools versus blaming students. American Journal of Education, 99(4), 418–443. doi:10.1086/443992.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, T. W. (1986). Toward the development and validation of a measure of job boredom. Manhattan College Journal of Business, 15, 22–28.

    Google Scholar 

  • London, H., Schubert, D. S., & Washburn, D. (1972). Increase of autonomic arousal by boredom. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 80(1), 29–36. doi:10.1037/h0033311.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Mikulas, W. L., & Vodanovich, S. J. (1993). The essence of boredom. The Psychological Record, 43(1), 3–12.

    Google Scholar 

  • Miller, W. R., & Seligman, M. E. (1975). Depression and learned helplessness in man. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 84(3), 228–238. doi:10.1037/h0076720.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. O. (2001). Latent variable mixture modeling. In G. A. Marcoulides & R. E. Schumacker (Eds.), New developments and techniques in structural equation modeling (pp. 1–33). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.

    Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, B. O., & Muthén, L. K. (2000). Integrating person-centered and variable-centered analysis: Growth mixture modeling with latent trajectory classes. Alcoholism: Clinical and Experimental Research, 24(6), 882–891. doi:10.1111/j.1530-0277.2000.tb02070.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Muthén, L. K., & Muthén, B. O. (2007). Mplus user’s guide (5th ed.). Los Angeles, CA: Muthén & Muthén.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nett, U. E., Goetz, T., & Daniels, L. M. (2010). What to do when feeling bored? Students’ strategies for coping with boredom. Learning and Individual Differences, 20(6), 626–638. doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2010.09.004.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nett, U. E., Goetz, T., & Hall, N. C. (2011). Coping with boredom in school: An experience sampling perspective. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 36(1), 49–59. doi:10.1016/j.cedpsych.2010.10.003.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Newberry, A. L., & Duncan, R. D. (2001). Roles of boredom and life goals in juvenile delinquency. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 31(3), 527–541. doi:10.1111/j.1559-1816.2001.tb02054.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K. L., Asparouhov, T., & Muthén, B. O. (2007a). Deciding on the number of classes in latent class analysis and growth mixture modeling: A Monte Carlo simulation study. Structural Equation Modeling, 14(4), 535–569.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nylund, K., Nishina, A., Bellmore, A., & Graham, S. (2007b). Subtypes, severity, and structural stability of peer victimization: What does latent class analysis say? Child Development, 78(6), 1706–1722.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Ortony, A., Clore, G. L., & Foss, M. A. (1987). The referential structure of the affective lexicon. Cognitive Science: A Multidisciplinary Journal, 11(3), 341–364.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Papaioannou, A., Marsh, H. W., & Theodorakis, Y. (2004). A multilevel approach to motivational climate in physical education and sport settings: An individual or a group level construct? Journal of Sport & Exercise Psychology, 26(1), 90–118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2009). Achievement goals and achievement emotions: Testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101(1), 115–135. doi:10.1037/a0013383.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., & Frese, M. (1992). Emotions in work and achievement. In C. L. Cooper & I. T. Robertson (Eds.), International review of industrial and organizational psychology (Vol. 7, pp. 153–200). Chichester: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Daniels, L. M., Stupnisky, R. H., & Perry, R. P. (2010). Boredom in achievement settings: Exploring control-value antecedents and performance outcomes of a neglected emotion. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(3), 531–549. doi:10.1037/a0019243.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pekrun, R., Goetz, T., Titz, W., & Perry, R. P. (2002). Academic emotions in students’ self-regulated learning and achievement: A program of qualitative and quantitative research. Educational Psychologist, 37(2), 91–106. doi:10.1207/S15326985EP3702_4.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Perkins, R. E., & Hill, A. B. (1985). Cognitive and affective aspects of boredom. British Journal of Psychology, 76(2), 221–234.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Phillips, A. (1993). On kissing, tickling, and being bored: Psychoanalytic essays on the unexamined life. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Reisenzein, R. (1994). Pleasure-arousal theory and the intensity of emotions. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 67, 525–539.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, M. D., & Barrett, L. F. (2010). Belief and feeling in self-reports of emotion: Evidence for semantic infusion based on self-esteem. Self and Identity, 9, 87–111. doi:10.1080/15298860902728274.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, M. D., & Clore, G. L. (2002). Belief and feeling: Evidence for an accessibility model of emotional self-report. Psychological Bulletin, 128(6), 934–960. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.128.6.934.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Rosch, E. (1978). Principles of categorization. In E. Rosch & B. B. Lloyd (Eds.), Cognition and categorization (pp. 27–48). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Roseman, I. J., Antoniou, A., & Jose, P. E. (1996). Appraisal determinants of emotions: Constructing a more accurate and comprehensive theory. Cognition and Emotion, 10(3), 241–277. doi:10.1080/026999396380240.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rupp, D. E., & Vodanovich, S. J. (1997). The role of boredom proneness in self-reported anger and aggression. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 12(4), 925–936.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russel, J. A. (1991). In defense of a prototype approach to emotion concepts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(1), 37–47.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Russell, J. A. (1980). A circumplex model of affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 39(6), 1161–1178. doi:10.1037/h0077714.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, K. R. (1984). On the nature and function of emotion: A component process approach. In K. R. Scherer & P. Ekman (Eds.), Approaches to emotion (pp. 293–317). Hillsdale: Lawrence Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • Scherer, K. R. (2000). Emotions as episodes of subsystems synchronization driven by nonlinear appraisal processes. In M. D. Lewis & I. Granic (Eds.), Emotion, development, and self-organization (pp. 70–99). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Schwarz, G. (1978). Estimating the dimension of a model. The Annals of Statistics, 6(2), 461–464. doi:10.1214/aos/1176344136.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seib, H. M., & Vodanovich, S. J. (1998). Boredom proneness and psychosocial development. The Journal of Psychology, 132, 642–652.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Shaver, P., Schwartz, J., Kirson, D., & O’Connor, C. (1987). Emotion knowledge: Further exploration of a prototype approach. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52(6), 1061–1086.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sio, U. N., & Ormerod, T. C. (2009). Does incubation enhance problem solving? A meta-analytic review. Psychological Bulletin, 135, 94–120.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Smith, R. P. (1981). Boredom: A review. Human Factors, 23(3), 329–340.

    PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sommer, B. (1985). What’s different about truants? A comparison study of eighth-graders. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 14(5), 411–422. doi:10.1007/BF02138836.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sommers, J., & Vodanovich, S. J. (2000). Boredom proneness: Its relationship to psychological- and physical-health symptoms. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(1), 149–155. doi:10.1002/(SICI)1097-4679(200001)56:1<149:AID-JCLP14>3.0.CO;2-Y.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Spacks, P. M. (1995). Boredom: The literary history of a state of mind. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thackray, R. I. (1981). The stress of boredom and monotony: A consideration of the evidence. Psychosomatic Medicine, 43(2), 165–176.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Titz, W. (2001). Emotionen von Studierenden in Lernsituationen. Explorative Analysen und Entwicklung von Selbstberichtskalen [Students’ emotions in learning situations]. Münster: Waxmann.

  • Van Tilburg, W. A. P., & Igou, E. R. (2012). On boredom: Lack of challenge and meaning as distinct boredom experiences. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 181–194.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vodanovich, S. J. (2003a). On the possible benefits of boredom: A neglected area in personality research. Psychology and Education: An Interdisciplinary Journal, 40(3–4), 28–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Vodanovich, S. J. (2003b). Psychometric measures of boredom: A review of the literature. Journal of Psychology: Interdisciplinary and Applied, 137(6), 569–595. doi:10.1080/00223980309600636.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallbott, H. G. (1998). Bodily expression of emotion. European Journal of Social Psychology, 28, 879–896.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wang, C. P., Brown, C. H., & Bandeen-Roche, K. (2005). Residual diagnostics for growth mixture models: Examining the impact of preventive intervention on multiple trajectories of aggressive behavior. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 100(3), 1054–1076. doi:10.1198/016214505000000501.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson, D., & Tellegen, A. (1985). Toward a consensual structure of mood. Psychological Bulletin, 98(2), 219–235. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.98.2.219.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Wilson-Mendenhall, C., Barrett, L. F., & Barsalou, L. W. (2013). Neural evidence that human emotions share core affective properties. Psychological Science, 24, 947–956. doi:10.1177/0956797612464242.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeidner, M. (1998). Test anxiety: The state of the art. New York, NY: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Zeidner, M. (2007). Test anxiety: Conceptions, findings, conclusions. In P. A. Schutz & R. Pekrun (Eds.), Emotion in education (pp. 165–184). San Diego: Academic Press.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Empirical Educational Research, University of Konstanz and Thurgau University of Teacher Education, Universitaetsstr. 10, 78457, Konstanz, Germany

    Thomas Goetz

  2. Department of Psychology, University of Munich, Munich, Germany

    Anne C. Frenzel & Reinhard Pekrun

  3. Department of Educational and Counselling Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Nathan C. Hall

  4. Institute of Psychology and Education, University of Ulm, Ulm, Germany

    Ulrike E. Nett

  5. Division of Education, Queens College, City University of New York, New York, NY, USA

    Anastasiya A. Lipnevich

Authors
  1. Thomas Goetz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Anne C. Frenzel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Nathan C. Hall
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Ulrike E. Nett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Reinhard Pekrun
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Anastasiya A. Lipnevich
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Thomas Goetz.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Goetz, T., Frenzel, A.C., Hall, N.C. et al. Types of boredom: An experience sampling approach. Motiv Emot 38, 401–419 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-013-9385-y

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-013-9385-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation