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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed1979

Some reflections on boredom.

Boredom is a complex mental phenomenon, incorporating both affective and cognitive components, which cannot be understood within the confines of conflict theory alone. The paucity of fantasy in the bored person may reflect a developmental ego defect as well as, or instead of, the commonly-cited impulse-defense conflicts. The need for externally-supplied stimulation characteristic of persons with a field-dependent cognitive style, and/or characterological passivity may be among the significant predisposing factors for the development of boredom, and phase-specific factors may encourage its occurrence at particular periods of life. Boredom in the analyst, too, is multiply determined; the analytic situation itself contains features that contribute to it.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1976

Boredom and arousal: comparison of tasks differing in visual complexity.

This experiment was designed to examine the relationship of boredom to arousal. 32 male subjects participated, with 16 subjects performing a low-visual-complexity task and the remainder performing a task high in visual complexity. Both physiological and subjective measures were obtained. Responses to subjective questionnaires showed significant increases in boredom for both groups. Physiological measures indicated a mixed pattern of change. These results suggest a complex response pattern for the construct of boredom which cannot be described as clearly showing either increasing or decreasing arousal.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1977

The clinical value of boredom. A procedure for reducing inappropriate sexual interests.

A combination of aversive therapy and orgasmic reconditioning failed to produce the expected changes in sexual activities and arousal patterns. A procedure that involved verbalizing deviant fantasies while engaged in continual masturbation for nine sessions each of 1 1/2 hours duration, led to marked changes in sexual interests in an appropriate direction.

Adult↗
PubMed1978

[The psychological behavior of patients in danger of infection under conditions of isolation].

36 patients with agranulocytosis among them 29 cancer patients were treated in a Life Island (LI) during totally 990 days and were studied for their psychological reactions. Another group of 9 patients among them 6 leukemia patients were treated in reverse isolation (RI) during 578 days. The psychological reactions of these patients were equally studied and were compared with those of the first group. Main reactions to the isolation in the LI were signs of deprivation, specially movement deprivation, as well as aggressive and regressive behaviour. The patients in RI showed on the other hand sensations of loneliness and boredom. To enter and to leave the LI was more important for the patients than the beginning and the end of RI. The isolation was never terminated for psychological reasons. The following factors are important for coping with the isolation; human bindings to doctors, nurses and relations, activities, music, religion as well as adequate information and an attitude of the patient himself which allows him to support the fact of the illness.

Adult↗
PubMed1977

The so-called boring patient.

This paper explores the affect of boredom with specific reference to its arousal in psychotherapists within psychotherapeutic sessions. Using Fenichel's classical psychoanalytic formulation regarding ego-defensive operations as a starting point, it explores the contribution of the more recently understood concept of narcissism, in particular the fluctuating states of narcissistic satiety and depletion within the therapist and their impact on countertransference.

Adult↗
PubMed1976

Sexual excitement.

Sexual excitement depends on a scenario the person to be aroused has been writing since childhood. The story is an adventure, an autobiography disguised as fiction, in which the hero/heroine hides crucial intrapsychic conflicts, mysteries, screen memories of actual traumatic events and the resolution of these elements into a happy ending, best celebrated by orgasm. The function of the fantasy is to take these painful experiences and convert them to pleasure-triumph. In order to sharpen excitement-the vibration between the fear of original traumas repeating and the hope of a pleasurable conclusion this time-one introduces into the story elements of risk (approximations of the trauma) meant to prevent boredom and safety factors (sub-limnal signals to the storyteller that the risk are not truly dangerous). Sexual fantasy can be studied by means of a person's daydreams (including those chosen in magazines, books, plays, television, movies, and outright pornography), masturbatory behavior, object choice, foreplay, techniques of intercourse, or postcoital behavior.

Fantasy↗
PubMed1975

Some effects of ACTH 4-10 on performance during a serial reaction task.

Eighteen subjects worked continuously for half an hour in a self-paced reaction task. Half of the subjects were injected with ACTH 4-10 (30 mg/s.c.) and the other half with a placebo. The subjects injected with ACTH 4-10 showed a larger improvement in reaction time during the experimental session than the placebo group. However, this effect disappeared in a short retest, which was given half an hour after the experimental session. These results suggest that ACTH 4-10 has no effect on skill acquisition, but counteracts the build-up of reactive inhibition during the experimental session; that is, the peptide suppresses the decrease in motivation, which usually occurs during continuous performance tasks. This notion is confirmed by an analysis of the frequency distributions of the reaction times. Treatment effects were only found for the long reaction times. Long reaction times tend to occur with increasing frequency as a function of time-on-task and are an indication for the level of motivation of the subject. It was concluded that ACTH 4-10 counteracts the usual decay in performance as a function of time-on-task due to increasing boredom and mental fatigue.

Adrenocorticotropic Hormone↗
PubMed1978

Female self-report and autonomic responses to sexually pleasurable and sexually aversive readings.

This study was designed to investigate possible differential autonomic responses to sexually pleasurable and sexually aversive readings. Reading conditions were counterbalanced so that an equal number of subjects received both orders of the two readings. Female subjects' ratings, skin conductance (SC), finger pulse (FP), and heart rate (HR), in response to these readings were compared. The sexually pleasurable as compared to the sexually aversive passage was rated as more sexually stimulating, less anxiety and guilt provoking, and less disgusting, but as equally well portrayed and interesting (extent of boredom). While essentially equal SC increases were noted in response to both readings, HR deceleration and vasodilation were more characteristic of the response to the sexually pleasurable passage. These findings were compared within the context of preexperimental setting conditions and were interpreted in terms of Lacey's intake-rejection hypothesis. These findings are consistent with the idea that pleasurable sexual readings are associated with interest, attention, and heart rate deceleration, whereas aversive material may be related to rejection of the material and to heart rate acceleration.

Arousal↗
PubMed1977

Rhythmic habit patterns (stereotypies).

Rhythmic movements such as head-rolling, head-banging and body-rocking are seen in normal children in early life, but much more commonly in the mentally handicapped. Emotional disturbance and boredom tend to increase the movements. Various theories have been advanced to account for these stereotyped patterns. They appear to be intentional and may satisfy some inner need or allay frustations, but it is concluded that their true significance is unknown.

Affective Symptoms↗
PubMed1976

The consultation-demonstration interview.

In recent years the consultation-demonstration interview, in which a family is interviewed before a workshop, has become increasingly prevalent. While this method of presenting the therapist's style of interviewing can be an exciting and valuable learning experience, it can also lead to a sense of boredom and disappointment. In some instances, the experience can be traumatic, especially for the family and the guest therapist. Common pitfalls in the organization and planning of the interview are explored, and a number of specific recommendations are made for attempting to maximize the potential in this interview process. Written to both the planner and the leader of the workshop in family therapy, this paper is based on the author's personal experience.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗
PubMed1978

The interpretation of posture through an alternative methodology to role play.

The purpose of this experiment was to develop a methodology to investigate the postural expression of different emotions and attitudes using a technique which avoided the artificiality implicit in the use of a role play design. Subjects were asked to categorize tape-recorded extracts as either funny, sad, interesting or boring and to rate them in order of intensity. The posture displayed when listening to the recordings were then analysed according to these ratings, the whole interview being recorded on videotape without the subject's knowledge. Results showed distinctive postures for all four categories, such as dropping the head for sadness and leaning the head on one hand for boredom, thus providing empirical support for the utility of this methodology as a way of obtaining observations of non-verbal cues under controlled conditions without inducing any artificial self-consciousness in the subjects.

Cues↗
PubMed1979

A first order approximation of satiation time: (IRT)2/Rt.

Habituation, satiation, adaptation, and boredom are a few of the words used to label the behavioral consequences of a fundamental operation: repeated and protracted presentation of a stimulus. The cumulative measure of the response associated with that stimulus is expected to display an inflection at some time Ti after which the slope approaches zero. Ti can be estimated by dividing the square of the interresponse time (IRT)2 by the duration of the response associated with reinforcement (Rt), where Rt is expressed in the nearest whole temporal unit of interresponse time. Calculated TiS for habituation to the same sexual, aggressive, or social stimuli are compatible with general observation.

Habituation, Psychophysiologic↗
PubMed1979

The impact of Vietnam service on heroin-addicted veterans.

Age-matched samples of Vietnam veterans and veterans who did not serve in Vietnam were surveyed at the time that they applied for treatment of heroin addiction. Vietnam veterans were more likely to have begun using heroin during their military service, and they were more likely to say that their service experiences had affected their use of drugs, usually citing relief of fear and tensions of war. Veterans who had not been in Vietnam were somewhat more likely to have begun using drugs after service, and generally indicated that their military experiences had not affected their drug use. When they did cite an effect of service, the factors usually indicated were boredom and a lack of meaningful activity. Attitudes toward narcotic use were negative in both groups, but significantly less so among Vietnam veterans. However, these attitudes did not relate to patterns of current or past drug use. Groups did not differ in the extent of or reasons for current illicit drug use, but non-Vietnam veterans reported more alcohol use. The Vietnam war was mentioned by one Vietnam veteran and by no non-Vietnam veterans as a reason for continuing narcotic use. Few other differences were found. Notably, typical treatment course over a 5-year follow-up period was similar in the two study groups.

Adult↗