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Boredom: That Which Shall Not Be Named

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Boredom: That Which Shall Not Be Named Boredom: That Which Shall not Be Named By Jason Weinerman and Cari Kenner ABSTRACT: Boredom carries a significant weight: One of the critical stages of beginning a It is not often spoken within the academic environ- discussion with students is to define boredom. ment. However, by ignoring how developmental Without a clear definition, students may not be and first-year students experience boredom, able to identify when they are bored or when they instructors are avoiding a topic that most stu- may be suffering from a more serious psycho- dents will encounter. We present information on logical ailment. Once boredom has been defined, the common causes of boredom, ways to detect instructors can present some of the challenges boredom, and the outcomes of boredom within that students may encounter when they face the academic environment. We conclude with a boredom. Finally, instructors need techniques lesson plan to assist instructors in recognizing the with which to engage with students about the idea of boredom and how students can overcome idea of boredom and how students can empower By being unwilling to academic boredom. themselves to reduce the danger from “that which shall not be named.” acknowledge and discuss the Although the higher education literature encour- ages active learning, student engagement, and Boredom Defined consequences of boredom in a learner centered environment, there is sel- One of the challenges with the concept of bore- dom discussion about how to help students dom is that definitions tend to be self-referential. the academic environment, overcome academic boredom. Titles such as For example, dictionary.com (2014) defines bore- Battling Boredom: 99 Strategies to Spark Student dom as “the state of being bored; tedium; ennui.” instructors are doing their Engagement (Harris, 2011), Student Engagement Merriamwebster.com (2014) defines boredom as Techniques: A Handbook for College Faculty “the state of being weary and restless through lack students a disservice. (Barkley, 2010), and You’ve Got to Reach Them of interest.” A second difficulty with the concept to Teach Them: Hard Facts About the Soft Skills of boredom is that it tends to be viewed as a nega- of Student Engagement (Schreck, 2011) provide tive emotional condition that is something that resources that can help instructors connect with is not discussed in polite company. Individuals their students and minimize the challenge of tend to avoid identifying another as boring or boredom. However, there is not the correspond- stating that the current situation is boring as ing literature that explores the idea of academic a way of maintaining social cohesion (Toohey, boredom from the perspective of the student. 2011). Another confounding factor when looking Rather, in the academic environment, the con- at boredom is the different viewpoints relating to cept of boredom is similar to Lord Voldemort in boredom from the psychological, social/socio- J.K. Rowling’s’ Harry Potter series. In the series, logical, and educational perspectives. Lord Voldemort is a character of such evil that Within psychology, boredom is defined as he is referred to as “He who must not be named” a trait or state emotional condition. According (Rowling & GrandPré, 1998). By being unwilling to Goetz, Cronjaeger, Frenzel, Lüdtke, and Hall to acknowledge and discuss the consequences of (2010), “trait emotions are seen as habitual boredom in the academic environment, instruc- recurring emotions typically experienced by an Jason Weinerman tors are doing their students a disservice: They fail individual whereas state emotions are viewed as Anoka Ramsey Community College to help students recognize the characteristics of emotions experienced at a specific point in time” 1019 Riverview Drive boredom and do not provide them with the skills (p. 45). In relation to the concept of boredom in Little Falls, MN 56345 for extricating themselves from those times when the educational environment, instructors should [email protected] students find learning boring. The little research have a more extensive understanding about the that does exist on boredom indicates that bored state condition of boredom. However, for those Cari Kenner students are likely to experience lower grades, who are interested in more information relating Saint Cloud State University higher rates of absenteeism, and be at greater to the trait of boredom, researchers (Farmer & Centennial Hall risk for dropping out (Daschmann, Goetz, & Sundberg, 1986; Harris, 2000; Mercer-Lynn, 720 4th Ave. S. Stupinsky, 2011), which does not bode well for Hunter, & Eastwood, 2013; Sundberg, Latkin, Saint Cloud, MN 56301 persistence to degree. 18 JOURNAL of DEVELOPMENTAL EDUCATION Farmer, & Saoud, 1991; Vodanovich, 2003) pro- • Apathetic boredom: learned helpless with parameters placed on them by adults. This con- vide a good foundation. characteristics similar to depression. cept of constraints ties back in with Pekrun’s Within the academic environment, a more Their study found these stages in high school CVT in which the lack of control and limited powerful definition has been forwarded from students, but the stages of boredom are likely to be value leads to boredom. Nett, Goetz, and Daniels (2010) who call boredom found among college students, particularly those Shaw, Caldwell, and Kleiber (1996) found “’An unpleasant, transient affective state’ that is who are in their first transitional year following that the amount of work was not related to the characterized by a severe lack of interest as well high school graduation. level of boredom. Even students who claimed as difficulty concentrating on the current activ- Boredom is also related to the perception they were overworked indicated they were bored. ity” (as cited in Fisher, 1993, p. 396). One of the of a given task. In Pekrun’s (2006) control-value Young adults who suffered from lack of time key features within this definition of boredom theory (CVT), students were asked to rate their defined themselves as bored if they were doing is that the condition is a transient affective state, perception of control and their value of a task tasks not of their own choosing. This concept which means boredom is a short-term emotional within the academic environment. When stu- of being bored when subjected to a task defined condition. As boredom is an emotional state, dents indicated low levels of perceived control and by another was also found in ‘leisure’ activities. Vogel-Walcutt, Fiorella, Carper, and Schatz identified the specific task as having low value, the Students who were doing an adult defined leisure (2012) have found that boredom can result in task was identified as boring. Eastwood, Frischen, activity frequently identified themselves as bored either heightened or suppressed arousal depend- Fenske, and Smilek (2012) build upon the CVT in whereas self-generated leisure activities resulted ing upon the individual and the specific situation. adding the component of being constrained. In in less boredom (Sharp, Caldwell, Graham, & Although Nett, Goetz, and Daniels’ (2010) situations where individuals find themselves pow- Ridenour, 2006). Among youth, boredom may be definition provides a clear understanding of erless to make changes to the situation, control a persona that is adopted as a form of resistance the parameters of boredom and how boredom is further diminished, resulting in increased to the restrictions imposed by the adult world. is different from other psychological conditions, levels of boredom. Greater student engagement is seen as a Mann and Robinson (2009) offer a definition that tool for helping students overcome boredom. is more in line with a common understanding Kuh, Klinzie, Buckley, Bridges and Hayek (as held by students, “Boredom is the result of having Boredom may be a persona cited in Harper & Quay, 2009) define student nothing to do that one likes” (p. 243). that is adopted as a form of engagement: Nett, Goetz, and Daniels (2010) indicate Student engagement represents two critical that boredom is a temporary emotional condi- resistance to the restrictions features. The first is the amount of time and tion; they expand upon the concept of boredom effort students put into their studies and beyond a simple emotional state by including imposed by the adult world. other educationally purposeful activities… several components: The second component of student engage- • affective: unpleasant, aversive feelings, ment is how the institution deploys its One of the temporal perceptions associated • cognitive: altered perception of time, resources and organizes the curriculum, with boredom is that individuals in the midst of other learning opportunities, and support • physiological: reduced arousal, boredom feel that time is slowing down and they services to induce students to participate in • expressive: facial, vocal, and postural expres- are stuck in the present without any future escape activities that lead to the experiences and sions of boredom, and or relief (Eastwood et al., 2012). This condition desired outcomes such as persistence, sat- • motivational: motivation to change the activ- of being stuck in the present is the opposite of isfaction, learning, and graduation. (p. 44) ity or to leave the situation. the condition of flow. Csikszentmihalyi (1990) defines flow as an optimal experience in which One of the challenges with using the tools By embracing a more expansive view of how individuals are in a state in which they “are so identified in much of
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