Boredom Increases Impulsiveness

Moynihan, Andrew B.; Igou, Eric R.; Tilburg, Wijnand A.P. van

doi:10.1027/1864-9335/a000317

Cited by 65 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 75 publications

(243 reference statements)

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“…Consistent with the literature on existential escape (Moynihan et al, 2015;, the effect of disbelief in free will on conformity through meaninglessness was significantly stronger at greater self-awareness (Moynihan et al, 2015(Moynihan et al, , 2017b. Disbelief in free will promoted conformity via perceived meaninglessness in both studies.…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

“…In accordance with the literature (e.g., Kesebir & Pyszczynski, 2012;Moynihan, Igou, & Van Tilburg, 2017b;Moynihan et al, 2015;Wisman, 2006;, we predicted that perceptions of meaninglessness following disbelief in free will would be associated with increased conformity, at higher levels of dispositional self-awareness. We did this in three studies using experimental and correlational designs.…”

Section: The Present Researchsupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Perceptions of meaninglessness are sourced in the symbolic self (Carver, 1975;Duval & Wicklund, 1972;Gollwitzer & Wicklund, 1985;Silvia & Duval, 2001;Silvia & Phillips, 2013) and enhanced under conditions of greater self-awareness (Sedikides & Skowronski, 2003;Taubman Ben-Ari & Noy, 2010). We predicted that the proposed indirect effect of disbelief in free will on conformity would be stronger at higher levels of self-awareness (e.g., a conditional indirect effect), in line with previous existential escape literature (Moynihan et al, 2015(Moynihan et al, , 2017b. Accordingly, we included a measure of self-awareness for our proposed model in Study 3b.…”

Section: Study 3a and 3bsupporting

confidence: 82%

“…Next, four scales measuring belief in free will, perceived meaninglessness, trait levels of self-awareness, and conformity were presented in random order. This three-item subscale measures the type of self-awareness used in self-regulation when people deal with adverse self-awareness associated with meaning threats (Moynihan et al, 2017b;. Items on the subscale were also reversed-scored to measure disbelief in free will (M = 2.77, SD = 0.95; a = .79).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Self-awareness was measured using a trait version of the private self-awareness subscale from the situational self-awareness scale (e.g., "Usually, I am conscious about my inner feelings"; 1 = strongly disagree, 7 = strongly agree; M = 5.43, SD = 1.22; a = .79, Govern & Marsch, 2001). This three-item subscale measures the type of self-awareness used in self-regulation when people deal with adverse self-awareness associated with meaning threats (Moynihan et al, 2017b;. Finally, we measured conformity using the 10item conformity scale from Study 2a (M = 3.41, SD = 0.81; a = .74; Mehrabian & Stefl, 1995).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Lost in the crowd: Conformity as escape following disbelief in free will

Moynihan

Igou

Tilburg

2018

Euro J Social Psych

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Belief in free will is founded on the idea that people are responsible for their behavior. People who believe in free will derive meaning in life from these beliefs. Conformity refers to succumbing to external pressures and imitating others’ behaviors. Sometimes, conformity involves a loss of self‐awareness, which reduces perceived meaninglessness. We tested if disbelief in free will increases perceived meaninglessness and if people subsequently become more conformist to address this negative existential perception. We conducted three studies to test this hypothesis. In Study 1, experimentally induced disbelief in free will resulted in perceived meaninglessness. In Study 2, perceived meaninglessness correlated with conformity. Finally, in Study 3, perceived meaninglessness mediated the relationship between disbelief in free will and conformity, especially under high self‐awareness. We conclude that perceptions about meaning play a central role in the relationship between disbelief in free will and conformity.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: The Present Researchsupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Study 3a and 3bsupporting

confidence: 82%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Lost in the crowd: Conformity as escape following disbelief in free will

Moynihan

Igou

Tilburg

2018

Euro J Social Psych

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Risk‐taking increases under boredom

Kılıç

Tilburg

Igou

2019

Behavioral Decision Making

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We examined if boredom is associated with risk‐taking. Although this association has frequently been postulated, it has rarely been tested, and the evidence has thus far been rather indirect and speculative. We conducted three studies to test this association more systematically. In Study 1, people high in boredom proneness reported greater risk‐taking across financial, ethical, recreational, and health or safety domains. In Study 2, over a series of risky decisions, risk‐taking increased in tandem with state boredom. Consistently, in Study 3, people who felt more bored were more likely to choose risky gambles. Furthermore, while dispositional self‐control predicted lower risk‐taking, state boredom nullified this association, suggesting that elevated risk‐taking might be attributed the erosion of self‐control under boredom. Our findings establish via direct empirical tests that boredom is associated with making riskier decisions.

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Life is either a daring adventure, or it is boring: The impact of COVID‐19 on immoral and nonmoral risk taking behaviors

2023

Behavioral Decision Making

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Findings from correlational research suggest that people more likely to take risk during COVID‐19. However, little is known about the causal role of the coronavirus threat in the emergence of risk taking behaviors. Here, we conducted three diverse studies involving questionnaire‐based responses and actual measures of risk‐taking behavior across nonmoral and immoral domains. In support of our theoretical perspective, Experiment 1 revealed that participants who were exposed to the COVID‐19 threat were more prone to take risks than those in the control condition. Experiment 2 aimed to replicate the findings of Experiment 1 using a behavioral measure to capture participants' interest in risk taking. The results showed that the salience of COVID‐19 can increase individuals' willingness to take risks in a nonmoral domain, namely, bungee jumping. Experiment 3 provided a behavioral confirmation of the relationship uncovered in an immoral domain (i.e., bribery). Across three experiments, we found that boredom state mediated the effect of the pandemic influence on risk taking. Together, our research rounds out the picture of contributors to risk taking and underscores the cumulative destructive effect of COVID‐19. We discuss implications for research on COVID‐19 and risk taking, as well as practical significance for society at large.

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Boredom Increases Impulsiveness

Cited by 65 publications

References 75 publications

Lost in the crowd: Conformity as escape following disbelief in free will

Lost in the crowd: Conformity as escape following disbelief in free will

Risk‐taking increases under boredom

Life is either a daring adventure, or it is boring: The impact of COVID‐19 on immoral and nonmoral risk taking behaviors

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