A Psychophysiological Investigation of Boredom Profiles Differing in Meaning,Stimulation and Subsequent Activity Choices

Abstract

This study investigated the psychophysiological markers of distinct boredom profiles, defined along the meaning and stimulation dimensions of the Meaning and Attention Components (MAC) model. Psychophysiological markers were also assessed during regulatory activity choices following boredom to investigate their actual regulatory potential. The study (N = 60, M _age = 21.4, SD = 3.38, male = 35%) employed a mixed-factorial design, with meaning as a between-subjects factor and stimulation level as a within-subjects factor in a boring task. Electrodermal activity (EDA), as well as alpha and theta EEG frequencies, were recorded both during the task and during the subsequent activity choices (i.e., switching or adapting the boring task). Results revealed that assigning meaning to a boring task had a significant, positive effect on people’s ability to focus attention during the boring task (frontal EEG alpha and theta). Tonic physiological arousal predicted whether people persisted in doing a boring task or switched their activity. We observed that task switching had a restorative effect on attention. These findings indicate that psychophysiological markers meaningfully relate to the different boredom profiles, as indicated in the MAC model and support its utility in predicting activities following boredom episodes, thereby highlighting the roles of task meaningfulness and stimulation level in boredom’s psychophysiological correlates.