Can feelings of boredom that are emerging from "pandemic fatigue" constitute a public health threat?

Boredom refers to a loss of focus, a loss of meaning, or both.  But as Dr. Erin Westgate says in the article, "If something is meaningless and you can't pay attention, you're like double bored", and this in turn makes boredom "doubly bad".

In this article, written by Sujata Gupta, Dr. Erin Westgate and other experts discuss the consequences of boredom on following social distancing measures and guidelines, as well as offer some tips to help those experiencing boredom follow rules and stay safe. Click here to check it out!

It's a pleasure for us to be featured in this article on BBC news, in which Dr. Erin Westgate, alongside other experts, discusses boredom, its consequences, and ways to deal with it during COVID.

"Boredom is our brain telling us it’s time to do something different", says James Danckert, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at the University of Waterloo. But does that something need to be bad? 

At a time of pandemic during which, according to Dr. Westgate, people are universally experiencing a loss of control, how do we fix boredom? How do we find the right, and good, alternative?

Check out the article written by Sara Harrison!

We are thrilled to announce that the lab will be participating virtually in next week's 2021 annual conference of the Society for Personality and Social Psychology. A couple of posters will be presented by lab members and affiliates:

Thursday, 3-4 pm:

1. Does nostalgia cause an opposition to social norms/ policies? This study by Abhay Alaukik, Matt Baldwin, and Joris Lammers, shows that it does, and that nostalgic people are more prone to opposing public health policies, such as indoor smoking bans. Here's the poster presented by Abhay Alaukik for more information!

2. Do people direct benevolent and hostile sexism differently towards Black and White women? What about cisgender and transgender women? Our results demonstrate higher levels of benevolent sexism towards Black women compared to White women, but no significant differences between the two groups in hostile sexism. ​Here's the poster presented by Jessica Campbell, in collaboration with Kate Ratliff, on this topic!

Friday, 3:30-4:30 pm:

3. Do we need a revised measure of perceived vulnerability to disease? The study presented as a poster by Marjorie Prokosch, in collaboration with Michael Hoerger and Damian Murray, shows that we do need an expanded measure that also captures affective forecasting and sense of control over infection. Here's the poster with additional information and findings!

4. Do emotionally intelligent people experience better overall health? In this poster, visiting scholar Gaelle El Helou, presents findings from a study conducted on Lebanese university students in collaboration with Dr. Myriam El Khoury Malhame at the Lebanese American University. This work supports this idea, and suggests that perceived stress explains the link. But is it the same for American students? That's what Study 2 will be about! 

Saturday. 3:30-4:30 pm:

5. What are the roles of emotions and arousal in bedtime procrastination? And if they're involved, do they cause ​it? In this poster, presented by graduate student Yijun Lin, we find that negative affect and high arousal are associated with bedtime procrastination in both Chinese and American populations. 

6. Are hostile and benevolent sexism related to negative attitudes and less warmth towards Tiger King's main female character Carole Baskin? This study suggests that they are,  and illustrates the relationship between sexism and the media. The poster is presented by Samantha Douglas, in collaboration with Jessica Campbell, Colin Smith, and Kate Ratliff.