A series of five studies recently tested whether gratitude could prevent boredom. The results supported these expectations, demonstrating that gratitude might effectively reduce and prevent boredom by enhancing the feeling that life is meaningful. The research was published in Motivation and Emotion.
Boredom is defined as “the aversive experience of wanting but being unable to engage in satisfying activity.” It is a negative emotion associated with a perceived lack of stimulation, interest, or engagement in one’s environment or activities. Boredom often accompanies feelings of restlessness, dissatisfaction, and a desire for change or novelty. It can arise from repetitive tasks, a lack of challenge, or a mismatch between an individual’s interests and their current situation.
Boredom is often intertwined with feelings of meaninglessness and is associated with various adverse psychological outcomes, such as depression, anxiety, or stress. Gratitude, which is the appreciation of what is valuable and meaningful in life, can potentially mitigate feelings of boredom by shifting focus from what is lacking to what is present and positive.
Similarly, boredom is inversely related to the meaning in life. When individuals perceive their activities and existence as meaningful, they are less likely to experience boredom. A sense of meaning in life provides a sense of purpose and direction, which can counteract the feelings of emptiness and disinterest that characterize boredom.
Study author Muireann K. O’Dea and her colleagues wanted to explore the relationship between boredom and gratitude in more detail. They hypothesized that people who feel stronger gratitude will feel less boredom. Their second expectation was that gratitude will lead to finding more meaning in life and seeing life as more meaningful will lead to less boredom.
They conducted a series of five studies involving MTurk workers. In Study 1, they examined the relationship between gratitude and boredom. Eighty-one participants completed assessments of gratitude (the Gratitude Resentment and Appreciation Test-Revised Short form) and boredom (the Boredom Proneness Scale and the Harthouse Boredom Proclivity Scale). In Study 2a, 120 participants completed a different gratitude assessment (the Gratitude Questionnaire), the same boredom measure, and an assessment of meaning in life (the Meaning in Life Questionnaire). Study 2b included 230 participants who completed the gratitude assessment from Study 1, the other two assessments from Study 2a, and an assessment of positive and negative emotions (the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule).
Study 3 involved 200 MTurk workers and tested whether gratitude is associated with being less bored at the moment. It included the previously used assessments, but added three questions asking how bored the participant is at the moment. Study 4 examined the links between the current feeling of gratitude and how bored the person feels at the moment (244 MTurk workers).
The results showed a very strong negative association between gratitude and boredom. Individuals feeling more gratitude tended to feel much less bored (Study 1). Individuals feeling more gratitude also tended to experience more meaning in life. Statistical analysis suggested that gratitude might increase the experience of meaning in life, which, in turn, reduces boredom (Study 2a). This link between gratitude, meaning in life, and boredom remained even after controlling for the positive and negative emotions one feels (Study 2b).
How bored a person currently is was strongly associated with his or her general feelings of boredom. The same relationship with meaning in life and gratitude found earlier also applied to the state of boredom (Study 3). Study 4 showed that the current feelings of gratitude are in a similar relationship with meaning in life and current boredom.
“Gratitude is a resource that can reduce boredom by increasing our perceptions of meaning in life, either situationally or globally. The research advances the burgeoning evidence indicating that sources of meaning can buffer against boredom,” the study authors concluded.
The study sheds light on the nature of the link between boredom and gratitude. However, it should be noted that the design of the study does not allow any cause-and-effect inferences to be derived from the results. Additionally, all studies were performed on MTurk workers. Results on groups more representative of the general population might not be the same.
The paper, “Preventing Boredom with Gratitude: The Key Role of Meaning in Life,” was authored by Muireann K. O’Dea, Eric R. Igou, and Wijnand A. P. van Tilburg.
