On the relation between boredom and social behavior: A registered report

Müller-Boysen, Thekla ; Pirla, Sergio (Universidad de Zaragoza) ; Pfattheicher, Stefan

Resumen: Boredom plays an essential role in everyday life and is a powerful motivator. This registered report investigated the interpersonal consequences of boredom. We recruited participants online (N = 3568) and ran one experiment manipulating boredom with three variations of behavioral options as dependent variables: 1) prosocial and non-social, 2) antisocial and non-social, and 3) prosocial, antisocial, and non-social. First, we tested whether boredom increases the likelihood of individuals engaging in any type of behavior, including both social and non-social alternatives. We found no significant main effect of boredom on behavior. Second, we tested whether boredom increases the likelihood of individuals engaging in prosocial or antisocial behavior. No clear evidence emerged for a total effect of boredom on prosocial or antisocial behavior. Moderation analyses revealed no significant effect of the prosocial personality trait Honestly-Humility, and the antisocial personality trait D. In addition, mediation analyses showed that boredom reduces individuals' sense of agency, which in turn is associated with increased prosocial and antisocial behavior; boredom also reduces a sense of meaning, which in turn relates to increased prosocial behavior when only this social option is presented. Overall, this study examined the motivational aspect of boredom with regard to social behavior and the role of personality traits as moderators and lack of agency and meaning as mediators.

Idioma: Inglés

DOI: 10.1016/j.jesp.2025.104804

Año: 2025

Publicado en: JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 121 (2025), 104804 [13 pp.]
ISSN: 0022-1031

Tipo y forma: Artículo (Versión definitiva)

Área (Departamento): Área Organización de Empresas (Dpto. Direcc.Organiza.Empresas)