Boredom and Cognitive Engagement: A Functional Theory of Boredom

Boredom: practical consequences and a theory.

A Philosophy of Boredom

The phenomenon of boredom

Boredom remains a poorly understood phenomenon despite its evident association with dysfunctional behavior and mental health problems. However, little research has been devoted to the topic, and the bulk of studies have almost exclusively been quantitative in design. For this reason, a qualitative, interpretive phenomenological study was carried out, during which ten participants were asked for...

In Place of Boredom

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 informationseeking, 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, i...