Boredom, Information-Seeking and Exploration

Any adaptive organism faces the choice between taking actions with known benefits (exploitation), and sampling new actions to check for other, more valuable opportunities available (exploration). The latter involves information- seeking, a drive so fundamental to learning and long-term reward that it can reasonably be considered, through evolution or development, to have acquired its own value, independent of immediate reward. Similarly, behaviors that fail to yield information may have come to be associated with aversive experiences such as boredom, demotivation, and task disengagement. In accord with these suppositions, we propose that boredom reflects an adaptive signal for managing the exploration-exploitation tradeoff, in the service of optimizing information acquisition and long-term reward. We tested participants in three experiments, manipulating the information content in their immediate task environment, and showed that increased perceptions of boredom arise in environments in which there is little useful information, and that higher boredom correlates with higher exploration. These findings are the first step toward a model formalizing the relationship between exploration, exploitation and boredom

Sweet spot in music—Is predictability preferred among persons with psychotic-like experiences or autistic traits?

People prefer music with an intermediate level of predictability; not so predictable as to be boring, yet not so unpredictable that it ceases to be music. This sweet spot for predictability varies due to differences in the perception of predictability. The symptoms of both psychosis and Autism Spectrum Disorder have been attributed to overestimation of uncertainty, which predicts a preference for predictable stimuli and environments. In a pre-registered study, we tested this prediction by investigating whether psychotic and autistic traits were associated with a higher preference for predictability in music. Participants from the general population were presented with twenty-nine pre-composed music excerpts, scored on their complexity by musical experts. A participant’s preferred level of predictability corresponded to the peak of the inverted U-shaped curve between music complexity and liking (i.e., a Wundt curve). We found that the sweet spot for predictability did indeed vary between individuals. Contrary to predictions, we did not find support for these variations being associated with autistic and psychotic traits. The findings are discussed in the context of the Wundt curve and the use of naturalistic stimuli. We also provide recommendations for further exploration

Boredom and creativity: possible influence of boredom on creative potential

Fenomenu dosade u novije vrijeme znanost počinje pridavati sve veću pažnju. Dok je u prošlosti obično povezivana s raznim negativnim ishodima (poput smanjene produktivnosti, izostajanja iz škole ili s posla, anksioznošću, depresijom, sklonošću rizičnom ponašanju i sl.), recentnija se psihološka istraživanja usmjeravaju na proučavanje dosade kao afektivnog stanja (situacijska dosada). Takav „obrat“ otvara potpuno drugačiju perspektivu – dosada se počinje dovoditi u vezu s regulacijom pojedinčevih ciljeva, procjene situacije, povećanom željom za prosocijalnim djelovanjem, kao i s boljim učinkom na testovima kreativnog potencijala. Cilj ovog empirijskog istraživanja, u kojem su sudjelovali studenti Filozofskog fakulteta u Zagrebu, bio je istražiti moguće utjecaje dosade na kreativni potencijal, odnosno na divergentnu produkciju. Sudionici kontrolne i eksperimentalne skupine riješili su zadatak alternativnih upotreba u dva navrata – u prvoj fazi istraživanja bez ikakve manipulacije, a u drugoj fazi uz eksperimentalnu manipulaciju dosade izazvane video-materijalom. Osim zadatka alternativnih upotreba, sudionici obje skupine ispunjavali su i test sklonosti dosadi (Boredom Proneness Scale – BPS). Iako eksperimentalne hipoteze ovoga istraživanja nisu potvrđene, trend rezultata sugerira povezanost između situacijske dosade i kreativnog potencijala, što upućuje na potrebu za dodatnim istraživanjima.The phenomenon of boredom is gaining a lot of traction. While historically, boredom has been connected with various negative outcomes (such as lowered productivity, absenteeism, anxiety, depression, risky behaviors and others), recent research focuses on boredom as an affective state, that is, on situational boredom. Such “reversal” opens a completely different perspective – with boredom starting to show up in relation with self-regulation, increased desires for prosocial activity, as well as with increased effectiveness on tests of creative potential. The goal of this empirical research, conducted on a sample of students at the Faculty of humanities and social sciences students in Zagreb, was to explore possible influences boredom may have on creativity, that is on divergent production. The participants in both the control and experimental group were given the alternative uses task in two phases – the first phase was equally structured for both groups and contained no manipulation, while the participants in the experimental group watched a boring video in the second phase. Besides the alternative uses task, participants also filled the Boredom proneness scale (BPS). Although the experimental hypotheses have not been confirmed, the nature of the results suggests the connection between situational boredom and creative potential may require further research

The scientific study of passive thinking: Methods of mind wandering research

The science of mind wandering has rapidly expanded over the past 20 years. During this boom, mind wandering researchers have relied on self-report methods, where participants rate whether their minds were wandering. This is not an historical quirk. Rather, we argue that self-report is indispensable for researchers who study passive phenomena like mind wandering. We consider purportedly “objective” methods that measure mind wandering with eye tracking and machine learning. These measures are validated in terms of how well they predict self-reports, which means that purportedly objective measures of mind wandering retain a subjective core. Mind wandering science cannot break from the cycle of self-report. Skeptics about self-report might conclude that mind wandering science has methodological foundations of sand. We take a rather more optimistic view. We present empirical and philosophical reasons to be confident in self-reports about mind wandering. Empirically, these self-reports are remarkably consistent in their contents and behavioral and neural correlates. Philosophically, self-reports are consistent with our best theories about the function of mind wandering. We argue that this triangulation gives us reason to trust both theory and method

Boredom and Cognitive Engagement: A Functional Theory of Boredom

The functional theory of boredom maintains that boredom ought to be defined in terms of its role in our mental and behavioral economy. Although the functional theory has recently received considerable attention, presentations of this theory have not specified with sufficient precision either its commitments or its consequences for the ontology of boredom. This essay offers an in-depth examination of the functional theory. It explains what boredom is according to the functional view; it shows how the functional theory can account for the known characteristics of boredom; and it articulates the theory’s basic commitments, virtues, and limitations. Ultimately, by furthering our understanding of the functional theory of boredom, the essay contributes to a better theoretical grounding of boredom

The motivational mechanisms driving the antidepressant effect of ketamine

Ketamine is a rapidly-acting antidepressant and has shown to be effective in depressed individuals who have previously failed to benefit from other available treatments. An important question is how ketamine works. Addressing this might help inform more targeted and efficient treatments in the future. The aim of this thesis was to examine the neural, cognitive, and computational mechanisms underpinning the antidepressant response to ketamine in treatment-resistant depression. The work has specifically focused on motivational processing, since ketamine is particularly effective in alleviating symptoms of anhedonia, which are thought to be related to impaired reward-related function. Following a general introduction (Chapter 1), the first experimental chapter (Chapter 2) focuses on identifying suitable reward and punishment tasks for repeated testing in a clinical trial. Test retest properties of various tasks are explored in healthy individuals, assessed by both traditional measures of task performance (e.g., accuracy) and computational parameters. Chapter 3 outlines a pilot simultaneous EEGfMRI study in healthy individuals probing the neural dynamics of the motivation to exert cognitive effort, an important but understudied process in depression. The third study (Chapter 4) uses resting-state fMRI to examine how ketamine modulates fronto-striatal circuitry, which is known to drive motivational behaviour, in depressed and healthy individuals. The final experimental chapter (Chapter 5) examines which cognitive and computational measures of motivational processing (using tasks identified in Chapter 2) change following a single dose of ketamine compared to placebo in depression, using a crossover design. Based on preliminary findings, it is tentatively proposed that ketamine might affect reward processing by enhancing fronto-striatal circuitry functional connectivity, as well as by increasing exploratory behaviours, and possibly punishment learning rates. The general discussion (Chapter 6) discusses these findings in relation to contemporary models of anhedonia and antidepressant action, considering both the limitations of the work presented and possible future directions

Noia e uso dei social media in adolescenza: il ruolo delle relazioni familiari e con il gruppo dei pari al tempo del Covid-19

In questo studio che ha coinvolto 721 ragazzi di età compresa tra i 13 e i 19 anni, si indaga l'influenza della noia e della qualità delle relazioni familiari e con il gruppo dei pari sull'uso dei social media, nel periodo post pandemia da Covid-19.In this study involving 721 children between the ages of 13 and 19, the influence of boredom and family and peer group relationships on the use of social media is investigated, during the post-pandemic period

Dinámicas de los procesos proactivos y reactivos en el cambio de tarea

Un supuesto común ha sido que el control ejecutivo frontal se requiere principalmente para la detección del objetivo (Posner y Petersen en Ann Rev Neurosci13: 25–42, 1990). Alternativamente, el control cognitivo también se ha relacionado con la actualización anticipada de la información del conjunto de tareas, un punto de vista que destaca los procesos de control proactivo. Las redes corticales frontoportietales contribuyen tanto al control proactivo como a la detección de estímulos reactivos, aunque su dinámica de activación aún está en gran parte inexplorada. Para examinar esto, analizamos las activaciones de magnetoencefalografía (MEG) obtenidas para las señales anticipatorias y para los estimulos objetivo en un análogo de identificación de tareas de la prueba de clasificación de tarjetas de Wisconsin. Nuestros resultados revelaron activaciones MEG rápidas, transitorias y en gran parte específicas a los cambios en regiones frontoparietales y cingulo-operculares en la anticipación de las tarjetas de destino, que incluyen (1) señales MEG precoces (100–200 ms) en regiones visuales, temporoparietales y cortezas prefrontales del hemisferio derecho (surco de calcarina, precuneus, giro frontal inferior, ínsula anterior y giro supramarginal); y (2)señales MEG posteriores en la ínsula anterior derecha y posterior (200–300 ms) y la unión temporo-parietal izquierda (300–500 ms). En todos los casos, se observó una mayor intensidad de la señal MEG en las señales de cambio en relación con las condiciones de repetición. Además, los costes de reinicio de comportamiento y las puntuaciones de la prueba de memoria de trabajo (dígitos hacia adelante) correlacionaron con las activaciones MEG anticipatorias en los nodos claves de la red frontoparietal..

Decipher the Effect of Gamification in Harnessing Boredom and Improving Performance

My thesis investigates the effectiveness of gamification in harnessing boredom and improving performance in a repetitive work process. In video games, “loot” rewards are unpredictable, intermittent gains used to motivate players to repeat boring actions. In a 2 X 2 experiment, I examine how loot rewards in point form may impact 1) disengagement, which is an immediate outcome of boredom, and 2) performance in settings where the points have and do not have cash value, respectively. More specifically, I manipulate the level of point reward unpredictability (fixed versus loot) and whether point rewards have cash value (absent versus present). In the setting where the cash value of point rewards is absent, I hypothesize that loot point rewards have countervailing effects on disengagement. On the one hand, the reinforcement theory of motivation and neuroscience findings on the relationship between dopamine and unpredictable rewards suggest that loot point rewards can reduce disengagement by enhancing individuals’ perception of the attractiveness of the repetitive work task. On the other hand, conventional motivation theories (e.g., agency theory and equity theory) predict that loot point rewards may increase disengagement by triggering fairness concerns. My findings support the above expectations. As a result of the countervailing effects, I fail to find a significant difference in either disengagement or performance between the fixed and loot point reward conditions. When cash value of point rewards is present, consistent with my hypothesis, the positive effect of loot point rewards on perceived task attractiveness is attenuated. However, different from my expectation, cash value does not exacerbate the negative effect of loot point rewards on fairness perception. Despite a lack of significant difference in disengagement between the fixed and loot point rewards conditions, interestingly, there is evidence that performance is higher when loot point rewards are provided, possibly via other motivational mechanisms I do not capture in my study (e.g., loss aversion). By disentangling the motivational effect of loot point rewards, I contribute to reconciling the seemingly contradicting insights from conventional motivation theories and neuroscience research. Further, to the best of my knowledge, my thesis is among the first to directly measure disengagement in a scalable work process in a laboratory experiment setting. Lastly, findings from my thesis add to the growing management accounting research on using novel rewards (e.g., gift cards, thank-you notes, charity donation on behalf of employees) to motivate employees. Overall, my thesis informs managers about the possibility of incorporating gamification rewards into repetitive work processes to influence employees’ emotional experience and performance at work

Coronavirus disease (Covid-19): psychoeducational variables involved in the health emergency

This monograph has allowed us to present a psychoeducational view of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. We confirm here that research in education contributes its own evidence and specific models for identifying this problem