Getting Trapped in a Dead End? Trait Self-Control and Boredom Are Linked to Goal Adjustment

Abstract

Disengaging from unattainable goals and reengaging in alternative goals is essential for effective goal pursuit; yet, surprisingly little is known about associated personality factors. Here, we focused on individual differences in self-control (domain-general self-control, if-then planning) and boredom (boredom proneness, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies). Concerning goal adjustment in everyday life (Study 1; N = 323 crowdworkers), if-then planning was associated with worse disengagement and better reengagement. While boredom proneness was associated with poorer reengagement, boredom avoidance and escape tendencies were associated with better reengagement. When goal striving was thwarted during the COVID-19 pandemic (Study 2; N = 97 students), similar associations emerged along with links to anxiety and depression. However, disengagement was no longer associated with if-then planning but instead with better self-control and higher boredom proneness. These results show differential relationships of goal disengagement and reengagement with self-control and boredom, paving the way to a better understanding of who struggles or shines when effective goal adjustment is required.

Boredom Proneness Predicts Self-Assessed Decision Errors in Sports but Is Unrelated to Risk Taking in General

“…These findings speak against a link between boredom proneness and general risk taking among athletes and exercisers. However, they are consistent with recent experimental research outside the sports setting, proposing that boredom proneness does not increase risk taking per se but instead leads to poorer decision making [ 25 ] which can lead to riskier behavior but can also lead to failures to act at all [ 26 , 28 ]. In line with this assumption, boredom-prone athletes (across samples) stated that others would also rate their style as being risky.…”

“…As a consequence, boredom proneness captures how often and how intensely people are bored and whether they perceive their life as boring in general [ 17 ] but is agnostic to whether an individual experiences the need to change something about the current situation [ 46 ]. Consequently, boredom proneness strongly overlaps with other constructs such as self-control [ 9 , 28 , 38 ], which might explain why it is often associated with risk taking. Developing measures of trait boredom that better incorporate core elements of the definition of boredom will likely show a more nuanced picture of the relationship between boredom, risk taking, and decision making in sports and exercise.…”

“…This indicates that boredom proneness might render people less effective in basing their choices on the reward structure of the task at hand [ 25 ], therefore making self-regulatory decision failures more likely in boredom-prone individuals [ 26 ]. Indeed, boredom proneness is consistently linked with poor self-control [ 9 , 18 , 27 ] and has not only been associated with risk behavior but also with more general self-regulatory failures to launch [ 26 ] and disengage [ 28 ]. Therefore, we propose that boredom proneness predicts self-regulatory decision failures in sports, some of which should pertain to increased risk taking (e.g., attempting a dangerous move in one’s sport) whereas others should not (e.g., acting too passive in a critical situation in one’s sport).…”

Boredom proneness predicts self-assessed decision errors in sports but is unrelated to risk taking in general

“…This indicates that boredom proneness might render people less effective in basing their choices on the reward structure of the task at hand 25 , therefore making self-regulatory decision failures more likely in boredom-prone individuals 26 . Indeed, boredom proneness is consistently linked with poor self-control 9,18,27 26 and disengage 28 . Therefore, we propose that boredom proneness predicts selfregulatory decision failures in sports, some of which should pertain to increased risk taking (e.g., attempting a dangerous move in one's sport) whereas others should not (e.g., acting too passive in a critical situation in one's sport).…”

“…As a consequence, boredom proneness captures how often and how intensely people are bored and whether they perceive their life as boring in general 17 but is agnostic to whether an individual experiences the need to change something about the current situation 45 . Consequently, boredom proneness strongly overlaps with other constructs like self-control 9,28,37 , which might explain why it is often associated with risk taking. Developing measures of trait boredom that better incorporate core elements of the definition of boredom will likely show a more nuanced picture of the relationship between boredom, risk taking, an decision making in sports and exercise.…”