Boredom

• In Event: 25.024 - Synergies in Studies of Motivation and Learning: An Interactive Workshop

Abstract

In this chapter we focus on boredom – a commonly experienced and detrimental emotion in educational settings. We first examine how boredom is defined and operationalized including current approaches to differentiating specific types of boredom. We further review the extent to which boredom has been investigated and how it has been assessed in the research literature. Empirical evidence on the prevalence of boredom in students is outlined as are preliminary findings on the frequency of boredom experiences in teachers. Theoretical considerations and empirical findings are subsequently addressed concerning the causes and consequences of academic boredom as well as relevant conceptual frameworks and findings on how to most effectively cope with boredom in educational settings. Implications for the prevention and reduction of boredom in the classroom following from empirical literature are then discussed, with the chapter concluding with suggestions for potential next steps in research on academic boredom.

With respect to connections with other book chapters, we first provide in our presentation a definition of academic boredom and address the conceptual overlap between the state of boredom and the absence of situational interest as outlined in Chapter 11. We further examine how the different types of boredom as introduced in our chapter might be related to the Four-Phase Model of interest and suggest concrete avenues for continued investigation of this possible correspondence.

We refer to Chapter 18 when discussing how fostering curiosity as an intervention to avoid boredom at school while also noting potential shortcomings of this intervention approach (e.g., not taking being cognitively over- vs. under-challenged into account) and outline additional ways in which boredom may be reduced or avoided by increasing specific facets of curiosity.
Finally, we refer to Chapter 20 when addressing the consequences of academic boredom. Whereas the authors of this chapter focus mainly on potentially positive effects of boredom, framing this emotion as a signal for a change in behavior and/or the environment, our chapter emphasizes the negative consequences of boredom experiences (e.g., achievement outcomes, school absence, inadequate use of learning strategies, health problems). Our presentation then concludes by proposing a higher-order framework that accounts for both positive and negative effects (e.g., differentiating trait vs. state boredom) and suggests specific empirical research directions for merging these perspectives.

Authors

• Thomas Goetz, University of Konstanz

• Maike Krannich, Universität Konstanz

• Nathan C. Hall, McGill University