Pandemic Boredom: Little Evidence That Lockdown-Related Boredom Affects Risky Public Health Behaviors Across 116 Countries

Erin C. Westgate; Nicholas R. Buttrick; Yijun Lin; Gaelle El Helou; Maximilian Agostini; Jocelyn J. Belanger; Ben Guetzkow; Jannis Kreienkamp; Georgios Abakoumkin; Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom; Vjollca Ahmedi; Handan Akkas; Carlos A. Almenara; Mohsin Atta; Sabahat Cigdem Bagci; Sima Basel; Edona Berisha Kida; Allan B. I. Bernardo; Phatthanakit Chobthamkit; Hoon-Seok Choi; Mioara Cristea; Sara Csaba; Kaja Damnjanovic; Ivan Danyliuk; Arobindu Dash; Daniela Di Santo; Karen M. Douglas; Violeta Enea; Daiane Gracieli Faller; Gavan Fitzsimons; Alexandra Gheorghiu; Angel Gomez; Ali Hamaidia; Qing Han; Mai Helmy; Joevarian Hudiyana; Bertus F. Jeronimus; Ding-Yu Jiang; Veljko Jovanovic; Zeljka Kamenov; Anna Kende; Shian-Ling Keng; Tra Thi Thanh Kieu; Yasin Koc; Kamila Kovyazina; Inna Kozytska; Joshua Krause; Arie W. Kruglanski; Anton Kurapov; Maja Kutlaca; Nora Anna Lantos; Edward P. Lemay; Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana; Winnifred R. Louis; Adrian Lueders; Marta Maj; Najma Iqbal Malik; Anton Martinez; Kira O. McCabe; Jasmina Mehulic; Mirra Noor Milla; Idris Mohammed; Erica Molinario; Manuel Moyano; Hayat Muhammad; Silvana Mula; Hamdi Muluk; Solomiia Myroniuk; Reza Najafi; Claudia F. Nisa; Boglarka Nyul; Paul A. O'Keefe; Jose Javier Olivas Osuna; Evgeny N. Osin; Joonha Park; Gennaro Pica; Antonio Pierro; Jonas Rees; Anne Margit Reitsema; Elena Resta; Marika Rullo; Michelle K. Ryan; Adil Samekin; Pekka Santtila; Edyta Sasin; Birga M. Schumpe; Heyla A. Selim; Michael Vicente Stanton; Wolfgang Stroebe; Robbie M. Sutton; Eleftheria Tseliou; Akira Utsugi; Jolien Anne van Breen; Caspar J. Van Lissa; Kees Van Veen; Michelle R. vanDellen; Alexandra Vazquez; Robin Wollast; Victoria Wai-lan Yeung; Somayeh Zand; Iris Lav Zezelj; Bang Zheng; Andreas Zick; Claudia Zuniga; N. Pontus Leander

doi:10.1037/emo0001118

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Pandemic Boredom: Little Evidence That Lockdown-Related Boredom Affects Risky Public Health Behaviors Across 116 Countries

Journal article

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Pandemic Boredom: Little Evidence That Lockdown-Related Boredom Affects Risky Public Health Behaviors Across 116 Countries

Erin C. Westgate, Nicholas R. Buttrick, Yijun Lin, Gaelle El Helou, Maximilian Agostini, Jocelyn J. Belanger, Ben Guetzkow, Jannis Kreienkamp, Georgios Abakoumkin, Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom, …

Emotion (Washington, D.C.)

13/03/2023

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0001118

PMID: 36913277

Abstract

Psychology

Psychology, Experimental

Social Sciences

Some public officials have expressed concern that policies mandating collective public health behaviors (e.g., national/regional "lockdown ") may result in behavioral fatigue that ultimately renders such policies ineffective. Boredom, specifically, has been singled out as one potential risk factor for noncompliance. We examined whether there was empirical evidence to support this concern during the COVID-19 pandemic in a large cross-national sample of 63,336 community respondents from 116 countries. Although boredom was higher in countries with more COVID-19 cases and in countries that instituted more stringent lockdowns, such boredom did not predict longitudinal within-person decreases in social distancing behavior (or vice versa; n = 8,031) in early spring and summer of 2020. Overall, we found little evidence that changes in boredom predict individual public health behaviors (handwashing, staying home, self-quarantining, and avoiding crowds) over time, or that such behaviors had any reliable longitudinal effects on boredom itself. In summary, contrary to concerns, we found little evidence that boredom posed a public health risk during lockdown and quarantine.

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Title: Pandemic Boredom: Little Evidence That Lockdown-Related Boredom Affects Risky Public Health Behaviors Across 116 Countries
Creators - without role: Erin C. Westgate - Univ Florida, Dept Psychol, Gainesville, FL USA
Nicholas R. Buttrick - University of Virginia
Yijun Lin - Univ Florida, Dept Psychol, Gainesville, FL USA
Gaelle El Helou - Univ Florida, Dept Psychol, Gainesville, FL USA
Maximilian Agostini - University of Groningen
Jocelyn J. Belanger - NYU, Dept Psychol, Abu Dhabi, U Arab Emirates
Ben Guetzkow - University of Groningen
Jannis Kreienkamp - University of Groningen
Georgios Abakoumkin - University of Thessaly
Jamilah Hanum Abdul Khaiyom - Int Islamic Univ Malaysia, Dept Psychol, Gombak, Malaysia
Vjollca Ahmedi - Pristine Univ, Dept Pedag, Princeton, NJ USA
Handan Akkas - Ankara
Carlos A. Almenara - Univ Peruana Ciencias Aplicadas, Fac Hlth Sci, Santiago De Surco, Peru
Mohsin Atta - University of Sargodha
Sabahat Cigdem Bagci - Sabanci Univ, Dept Psychol, Tuzia, Turkiye
Sima Basel - NYU, Dept Social Sci, Abu Dhabi, U Arab Emirates
Edona Berisha Kida - Pristine Univ, Fac Educ, Princeton, NJ USA
Allan B. I. Bernardo - De La Salle University
Phatthanakit Chobthamkit - Thammasat University
Hoon-Seok Choi - Sungkyunkwan University
Mioara Cristea - Heriot-Watt University Malaysia
Sara Csaba - Eötvös Loránd University
Kaja Damnjanovic - University of Belgrade
Ivan Danyliuk - Taras Shevchenko Natl Univ Kyiv, Dept Psychol, Kiev, Ukraine
Arobindu Dash - Leuphana University of Lüneburg
Daniela Di Santo - Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dept Social & Dev Psychol, Rome, Italy
Karen M. Douglas - University of Kent
Violeta Enea - Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Daiane Gracieli Faller - Level
Gavan Fitzsimons - Duke University
Alexandra Gheorghiu - Alexandru Ioan Cuza University
Angel Gomez - Univ Nacl Educ Distancia, Social & Org Psychol, Madrid, Spain
Ali Hamaidia - Setif 2 Univ, Psychol Res Unit Human Resources Dev, Setif, Algeria
Qing Han - University of Bristol
Mai Helmy - Menoufia University
Joevarian Hudiyana - University of Indonesia
Bertus F. Jeronimus - University of Groningen
Ding-Yu Jiang - Natl Chung Cheng Univ, Dept Psychol, Chiayi, Taiwan
Veljko Jovanovic - University of Novi Sad
Zeljka Kamenov - University of Zagreb
Anna Kende - Eötvös Loránd University
Shian-Ling Keng - University Hospital of Umeå
Tra Thi Thanh Kieu - HCMC Univ Educ, Dept Psychol, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam
Yasin Koc - University of Groningen
Kamila Kovyazina
Inna Kozytska - Taras Shevchenko Natl Univ Kyiv, Dept Psychol, Kiev, Ukraine
Joshua Krause - University of Groningen
Arie W. Kruglanski - Univ Maryland, Dept Psychol, College Pk, MD USA
Anton Kurapov - Taras Shevchenko Natl Univ Kyiv, Dept Psychol, Kiev, Ukraine
Maja Kutlaca - Univ Durham, Dept Psychol, Durham, England
Nora Anna Lantos - Eötvös Loránd University
Edward P. Lemay - Univ Maryland, Dept Psychol, College Pk, MD USA
Cokorda Bagus Jaya Lesmana - Udayana University
Winnifred R. Louis - University of Queensland
Adrian Lueders - University of Clermont Auvergne
Marta Maj - Jagiellonian University
Najma Iqbal Malik - University of Sargodha
Anton Martinez - University of Sheffield
Kira O. McCabe - Vanderbilt University
Jasmina Mehulic - University of Zagreb
Mirra Noor Milla - University of Indonesia
Idris Mohammed - Usmanu Danfodiyo University
Erica Molinario - Univ Maryland, Dept Psychol, College Pk, MD USA
Manuel Moyano - University of Córdoba
Hayat Muhammad - University of Peshawar
Silvana Mula - Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento Proc Sviluppo & Socializzaz, Rome, Italy
Hamdi Muluk - University of Indonesia
Solomiia Myroniuk - University of Groningen
Reza Najafi - Islamic Azad University, Tehran
Claudia F. Nisa - NYU, Dept Psychol, Abu Dhabi, U Arab Emirates
Boglarka Nyul - Eötvös Loránd University
Paul A. O'Keefe - University Hospital of Umeå
Jose Javier Olivas Osuna - Natl Distance Educ Univ UNED, Dept Polit Sci & Adm, Madrid, Spain
Evgeny N. Osin - Supreme Council Of Health
Joonha Park - Supreme Council Of Health
Gennaro Pica - Università di Camerino
Antonio Pierro - Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dept Social & Dev Psychol, Rome, Italy
Jonas Rees - Univ Bielefeld, Res Inst Social Cohes, Bielefeld, Germany
Anne Margit Reitsema - University of Groningen
Elena Resta - Univ Roma La Sapienza, Dipartimento Proc Sviluppo & Socializzaz, Rome, Italy
Marika Rullo - University of Siena
Michelle K. Ryan - University of Exeter
Adil Samekin - Int Islamic Acad Uzbekistan, Dept Psychol Relig & Pedag, Tashkent, Uzbekistan
Pekka Santtila - New York Univ Shanghai, Dept Psychol, Shanghai, Peoples R China
Edyta Sasin - NYU, Dept Psychol, Abu Dhabi, U Arab Emirates
Birga M. Schumpe - University of Amsterdam
Heyla A. Selim - King Saud University
Michael Vicente Stanton - Calif State Univ East Bay, Hlth Sci, Hayward, CA USA
Wolfgang Stroebe - University of Groningen
Robbie M. Sutton - University of Kent
Eleftheria Tseliou - University of Thessaly
Akira Utsugi - Nagoya University
Jolien Anne van Breen - Leiden University
Caspar J. Van Lissa - Univ Utrecht, Dept Methodol & Stat, Utrecht, Netherlands
Kees Van Veen - University of Groningen
Michelle R. vanDellen - University of Georgia
Alexandra Vazquez - Univ Nacl Educ Distancia, Social & Org Psychol, Madrid, Spain
Robin Wollast - University of Clermont Auvergne
Victoria Wai-lan Yeung - Lingnan University
Somayeh Zand - Islamic Azad University, Tehran
Iris Lav Zezelj - University of Belgrade
Bang Zheng - Supreme Council Of Health
Andreas Zick - Univ Bielefeld, Inst Interdisciplinary Res Conflict & Violence, Bielefeld, Germany
Claudia Zuniga - University of Chile
N. Pontus Leander - University of Groningen
Publication Details: Emotion (Washington, D.C.)
Publisher: Amer Psychological Assoc
Number of pages: 16
Identifiers: 9949421208331
Academic Unit: King Saud University
Language: English
Resource Type: Journal article