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Boredom could be more complicated than most people think.Experts already know about four types of boredom, but new research has led to the identification of a fifth type.
The researchers claim their discovery could help people who struggle to concentrate at school or work.
The researchers already knew about indifferent boredom, calibrating boredom, searching boredom and reactant boredom but have now also identified apathetic boredom
The researchers already knew about indifferent boredom, calibrating boredom, searching boredom and reactant boredom but have now also identified apathetic boredom.
They define indifferent boredom as being relaxed and withdrawn, calibrating boredom as being uncertain and easily receptive to change, and searching boredom as being restless and in active pursuit of change.
They say reactant boredom is being motivated to seek out alternatives to a situation and apathetic boredom is being helpless.
The researchers, who published their findings in the journal Motivation and Emotion, say everyone favours one of the five types of boredom.
They also believe working out which type someone is experiencing could provide clues to help deal with attention disorders, poor learning skills, failure to get on at work and other problems.
The study was conducted by teams from German universities in Munich, Ulm and Konstanz, the City University of New York and McGill University in Montreal.
WHAT ARE THE FIVE TYPES OF BOREDOM?
- Indifferent boredom - being relaxed and withdrawn
- Calibrating boredom - being uncertain and easily receptive to change
- Searching boredom - being restless and in active pursuit of change
- Reactant boredom - being motivated to seek out alternatives to a situation
- Apathetic boredom - being helpless
Study author Dr Thomas Goetz has been looking into the effects of boredom in everyday life for more than seven years.
He found different types of boredom lead to different kinds of physical and emotional reactions, from being fidgety and anxious to calm but distracted.
His team studied 143 students and teenagers over a two week period where each volunteer regularly filled in questionnaires during the day about their activities and experiences.
Most people, the researchers say, do not switch between one type of boredom and another - they tend to have one that affects them most, depending on their personality.
Apathetic boredom was reported 'relatively frequently' by 36 per cent of the sample study and appears to be the most common type.
It leads to low arousal levels and a high level of aversion to the situation in which it occurs, they reported.
The researchers believe working out which type of boredom someone is experiencing could provide clues to help deal with attention disorders, poor learning skills and failure to get on at work
Importantly, identifying which kind of boredom is affecting an individual could help if that person is not doing well at school or college, in the workplace, or with relationships.
Dr Goetz said: ‘Experiencing specific boredom types might, to some degree, be due to personality-specific dispositions.
‘The results shed new light on discussions about whether boredom has positive or negative effects on learning and achievement.
‘This question can only be adequately answered if we know what type of boredom a student experiences.’
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