Bored and better: Interpersonal boredom results in people feeling not only superior to the boring individual, but also to others

Four experiments tested the hypothesis that meeting someone new who is boring would result in people feeling superior to the boring individual, which would then result in people viewing themselves as better than others and increased confidence. Respondents reported greater feelings of superiority, meaninglessness, and difficulty paying attention when they wrote about meeting a new, boring individual than a new or manipulative individual. Feeling superior, but not meaninglessness and attention, mediated the effect of interpersonal boredom on viewing oneself as better than others, but not on confidence. These finding did not occur when people wrote about a boring task or a disliked, manipulative individual. The experiments elucidate how interpersonal boredom, albeit a negative experience, can enhance people’s sense of self.

This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Self and Identity on 2022-08-16, available online: https://www.tandfonline.com/10.1080/15298868.2022.2111341.

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Work Title Bored and better: Interpersonal boredom results in people feeling not only superior to the boring individual, but also to others
Access
Open Access
Creators
  1. Jonathan Gallegos
  2. Karen Gasper
  3. Nathaniel E.C. Schermerhorn
Keyword
  1. Interpersonal boredom
  2. Superiority
  3. Self-enhancement
  4. Meaninglessness
License CC BY-NC 4.0 (Attribution-NonCommercial)
Work Type Article
Publisher
  1. Self and Identity
Publication Date August 16, 2022
Publisher Identifier (DOI)
  1. https://doi.org/10.1080/15298868.2022.2111341
Deposited December 06, 2023

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Version 1
published

  • Created
  • Added Manuscript_Interpersonal_Boredom_and_Superiority_Final_Author_Copy-1.docx
  • Added Creator Jonathan Gallegos
  • Added Creator Karen Gasper
  • Added Creator Nathaniel E.C. Schermerhorn
  • Published
  • Updated Keyword, Publication Date Show Changes
    Keyword
    • Interpersonal boredom, Superiority, Self-enhancement, Meaninglessness
    Publication Date
    • 2023-07-21
    • 2022-08-16
  • Updated