The Anatomy of Boredom
The Anatomy of Boredom will be published by Oxford University Press in June of 2025.
Summary
The Anatomy of Boredom offers a comprehensive examination of boredom—a ubiquitous, important, yet often misunderstood dimension of human existence. It explores boredom’s elaborate history, provides a systematic presentation of the diverse literature on the subject, examines boredom’s social grounds and consequences, and considers its future implications—all in the service of advancing a novel theoretical model of the workings of boredom that illuminates both boredom’s complex nature and its diverse psychological, behavioral, and social effects. Specifically, the book argues for a functional theory of boredom, one that understands and individuates boredom in terms of its role in our mental, behavioral, and social existence. Boredom, the book posits, is the painful realization of suboptimal cognitive engagement, and as such, a powerful mechanism for regulating cognition and behavior. The functional articulation of boredom offers several important advantages over alternative theories of boredom: it provides a parsimonious and productive synthesis of existing research; it connects the present of boredom to its past; and finally, it permits us to extend our knowledge of boredom and to apply it to relatively unexplored domains, such as boredom’s relationship to the good life, self-regulation and self-control, poverty and capitalism, advancements in AI, animal emotions, and even aesthetics and art appreciation. The study of boredom is thus revealed to be more than just an analysis of a complex and important affective experience; it is also shown to be a perspicacious investigation into the complexities of human (and even non-human) existence.
AI-generated podcast on the book
I’ve used Google’s NotebookLM to create a podcast that summarizes the book. This is obviously not a substitute for the book but it gives a fairly accurate summary of the main themes and arguments. If you are curious about the book and you don’t mind AI voices, check it out.
Some things to note:
Despite my best efforts, AI still overemphasizes the creative potential of boredom. This is interesting—especially given that the book is cautious not to glorify the experience of boredom—and an indication of the fact that popular conversations on boredom have promulgated the idea that boredom is a creative force.
The titles of the chapters are not always accurately announced.
Sample chapter
If you are interested in learning more about the book and ideas contained within, you can read Chapter 5, “Boredom as Cognitive Allostasis.”
Chapter Summaries
The introductory chapter draws upon a wealth of resources—conceptual, scientific, historical, and literary—to offer a brief yet incisive characterization of boredom. Emerging from this presentation is the definition of boredom as the painful realization of the absence of satisfactory cognitive engagement. The introduction elucidates, in an accessible manner, the significant role that boredom plays in our roles, underscoring the importance of coming to terms with boredom’s complex and fascinating nature. In doing so, it both contextualizes the phenomenon of boredom and prepares readers for the ensuing chapters.
Introduction
1 The Meaning of “Boredom”
The chapter introduces the functional theory of boredom and argues that boredom should be considered a potent, functional kind. Boredom is functional because its essence lies in what it does: it occupies a specific role in our mental, behavioral, and social economy by contributing to the regulation of cognitive engagement. It is a kind because all instances of boredom are unified by this shared function. And it is potent because categorizing boredom in terms of its function advances our aims as knowers. The chapter not only defines the meaning of “boredom,” but also demonstrates the functional unity in both the phenomenon and concept of boredom. All instances of boredom, it argues, painfully impress upon us the lack of a satisfactory cognitive connection to the world.
2 The Birth of Boredom
Modernity is often granted a dual distinction: it is claimed to be an era of unprecedented social, political, and economic conditions, and the birthplace of contemporary boredom. While the former claim may hold merit, this chapter challenges the latter. It demonstrates that boredom has a rich history and that arguments asserting boredom's origins in modernity fall short of their conclusion. Pre-modern and modern boredom are not wholly distinct experiences. Instead, the functional model of boredom provides a theoretical framework that unifies these distinct historical manifestations of boredom under a single functional kind. As long as both serve the same function (that of monitoring and regulating one’s cognitive engagement with the world), they are both experiences of boredom. The chapter hence lays bare the historical utility of the functional view. It not only bridges historical divides but also deepens our understanding of boredom as a persistent human experience.
3 Varieties of Boredom
Boredom is complicated. It can be understood as a temporary affective experience (state boredom), as a trait-like construct (boredom proneness), or as a radical transformation of one’s existence (profound boredom). This chapter explores boredom’s multifaceted nature and argues that different varieties of boredom are indeed interconnected—they are all versions or manifestations of state boredom and share the same function. In addition, the chapter critically examines empirical findings on boredom’s physiological correlates and challenges the notion that such findings reveal a deep and irrevocable heterogeneity in the experience of boredom. Whatever physiological diversity in the experience of boredom is uncovered, it is entirely consistent with the functional view.
4 The Character of Boredom
Boredom is a complex affective experience, and a proper articulation of its character demands a clear and nuanced description of its various components. This chapter articulates boredom’s experiential, cognitive, volitional, expressive, and physiological (including neurological) components and correlates. It demonstrates how they jointly facilitate the regulation of satisfactory cognitive engagement. In doing so, the chapter provides a detailed account of the functional model of boredom and highlights the model’s theoretical benefits. The functional model integrates numerous and diverse findings on the character of boredom; it offers a compelling explanation for how the onset of boredom can lead to interest- or meaning-enhancing processes, novelty-seeking behavior, and actions aimed at the amelioration of perceived opportunity costs; and it helps to distinguish boredom from frustration and apathy.
5 Boredom as Cognitive Allostasis
The chapter further advances our understanding of the functional character of boredom by conceptualizing it as a mechanism for regulating cognitive allostasis. According to this view, cognitive engagement is a key variable that an organism strives to maintain within an acceptable range of values. Boredom involves both feedback and predictive processes that aim to monitor, anticipate, and regulate an organism’s cognitive engagement. The proposed articulation of boredom is shown to be theoretically productive: it offers an explanation of the various features of boredom (its affective character, and the presence of attentional difficulties, negative appraisals, and a crisis of agency), and provides an innovative framework for relating state boredom to boredom proneness.
6 Boredom and the Good Life
Boredom matters—not only because it affects our proximate behavior and psychological states, but also because it can transform our lives. This chapter explores both the harms and benefits of boredom. On the one hand, boredom proneness—a propensity to experience boredom often and in a wide range of situations—stands as a major obstacle to our pursuit of the good life. It marks a deep struggle to find satisfactory cognitive engagement and, even though its presence doesn’t make the achievement of the good life impossible, it certainly makes it hard. On the other hand, as a transient psychological state, boredom isn’t always harmful. Under the right circumstances, state boredom can lead us into situations that are more conducive to our goals. Boredom can also reveal important insights about ourselves and our circumstances, and even foster personal growth and a search for meaning.
7 The Sociology of Boredom
Boredom, the chapter shows, is incontrovertibly social. It can radically affect our social and moral conduct, communicate and enforce social norms and expectations, relate to and be shaped by one’s social identity, and often be the result of the presence of the governing social, political, and material structures. Boredom is social but not to the exclusion of the fact that it is also a psychological phenomenon. Any satisfactory account of the phenomenon of boredom ought to respect its social-personal duality. The functional model of boredom is shown to do precisely that. It offers a framework for understanding the various interconnections between our social, political, and material conditions and our experience of boredom.
8 The Injustice of Boredom
Social identity and, in particular, one’s socioeconomic status (SES), emerges as a determinant both of the frequency and the experience of boredom. On the one hand, low-SES individuals are more likely to experience boredom more frequently and more aversively. On the other hand, SES also affects how individuals respond to boredom: those who are of low SES face both material and psychological obstacles that hinder their ability to respond to boredom constructively. Hence, the chapter demonstrates that there are compelling theoretical reasons that link boredom to poverty. Boredom is not solely an issue for the affluent or those with an abundance of leisure time. It is also a significant and pressing affective condition that afflicts individuals who face conditions of material scarcity, exploitation, or marginalization.
9 Animal Boredom
The chapter articulates what animal boredom is, what it does, and when it arises. Through its use of the functional model of boredom, it demonstrates that animal boredom is both a real and serious concern for animal welfare. Boredom’s presence indicates not only a felt emotional discomfort or pain, but also the frustration of important animal needs. Animal boredom can be assessed in various ways, but it primarily manifests as a general motivation to engage cognitively with a wide array of stimuli. Our theories of animal welfare should take boredom seriously and seek ways to minimize its presence and to counter its effects.
