Boredom Experience and Associated Behaviors: A Lifelong Research by Dr. Augustin de la Peña

Preface
	Augustin’s Boredom
Contents
Abbreviations
About the Editors
Part I: Boredom Experience and Associated Behaviors from Multiple Perspectives
	Chapter 1: Introduction and Overview
		Paradoxes of Progress: The Double-Edged Sword of Increases in Knowledge/Experience
		The Ubiquity of Boredom Experience in Everyday Parlance
		Boredom’s Unacknowledged Agency by the Custodians of the Culture
		Boredom’s Putative Inconsequentiality by the West’s Custodians of Culture as Indexical of the West’s Seduction by an Uncritically Examined Metaphysics and Epistemology
		“Progress” as the Assumed Outcome of the Gradual Accrual of Knowledge/Experience
		Inconsistencies Inherent in Naïve/Direct Realism’s Conceptualization of “Stress”
			Errant Conceptualizations of Stress and Stress Management
			In Contemporary Stress Management Theory, as well as in the Formal Records of Modern Western Culture Broadly Considered, Whither the Experience of Boredom?
		Major Perspectives of the Developmental Psychophysiologic Approach to Reality
		Outline
	Chapter 2: Western Literature and Philosophy
		Boredom Experience as Taboo Topic in Western Culture
		Boredom from the Perspective of Literary and Cultural History
			Etymological Considerations
			An Archaeology of the Partial Written Record of Boredom Experience
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 3: Psychiatry and Psychology
		Caveats About Knowledge Claims Emanating from Psychology and Psychiatry
		The Phenomenology of Boredom/Interest
		Differentiation of Interest and Boredom from Related Constructs
			The Relation Between Interest and Enjoyment/Pleasingness
			The Relation Between Interest, Value, and Importance
		Psychoanalytic Perspectives
		A Psychological Perspective of the Persistence of Interest
		Early Experimental Research on Boredom: The Human Factors Perspectives
			Sensory Deprivation Studies
			Early Theoretical Work and Empirical Research on Attentional Approaches to Boredom
			Perspectives from Educational Psychology
			Contributions of Motivational and Personality Psychology
			Boredom-Psychopathology Interrelations
			Interrelation with Drug Abuse and Juvenile Delinquency
			Boredom-Gender-Race-Depression Interrelations
			Vocational Psychology Perspectives
			Developmental Psychology Perspectives
			Age-Boredom Interrelations
			Psychophysiological Perspectives
			Facial Expressions of Interest/Boredom
			Naturalistic Studies
			Questionnaire/Survey Studies
			Measurement Issues and Efforts
			Classification Schemes
			Recent Contributions to the Definition and Measurement of Boredom Experience
			Recent Conceptual and Empirical Work Suggesting a Renaissance of Interest in Boredom
			Boredom as a Promoter of Cognitive Creativity and an Aid in Problem Solving
			Recent Theoretical Conceptions of the Positive Functions of Boredom
			Neuronal Underpinnings of Boredom
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 4: Sociology and Economics
		The Sociological Approach and Perspective
			Sociological Perspectives of Boredom
			Eminent Sociologists on the Role of Social Structures in the Experience of Boredom
				Karl Marx
				Emile Durkheim
				Max Weber
				Georg Simmel
				Charles Cooley
				Lewis Mumford
				Richard Schmitt
				Orin Klapp
			The Question of the Social Costs of Individualism and Capitalism
			Well-Known Economists on Boredom
				John Maynard Keynes and Roy Harrod
				Tibor Scitovsky
			Boredom from the Viewpoints of Social/Culture Critics and Criticism
				Morris Berman
				George Steiner
				Anton Zijderveld
				Phillip Slater
				Todd Gitlin
		Boredom, Gender, and Feminism
		Boredom in the Schools
		Workplace Boredom
		Boredom in the Home
		Boredom and Drug/Alcohol Use-Abuse
		Boredom in the Military
		John Gray’s Critique of Capitalism and the West’s Assumption of Economic Progress
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 5: Anthropology and Biology
		Anthropological Perspectives of Boredom/Interest
		Cross-Cultural Differences in the Experience of Boredom/Interest
		The Role of Boredom/Interest in Culture Change
		The Anthropology and Psychology of Games
			The Evolution of Games
		Paradoxes of Progress in the Arts and Sciences: The View of Gunther Stent
		Other Conceptions of the Role of Interest/Boredom in Culture Change
		Biological Perspectives of Boredom/Interest
			Exploratory Behavior
			Orienting and Habituation Responses
			The Phylogeny of Boredom Experience and Associated Behaviors
			The Phylogeny and Ontogeny of Play
			Individual Differences in Temperament and Exploratory Approach Behaviors
			Biological Substrates of Play, Experience-Seeking Behavior, and the Orienting Response
		Association with Physically Expressed Disease Processes and Violent Behavior(s)
		Chapter Summary
Part II: Boredom Experience and Behaviors from the Perspective of Two Paradigms
	Chapter 6: Premise of the Western Commonsense View of Reality (Naïve/Direct Realism)
		The Cult of Western Culture
		Central Premises of the Received Western Commonsense View of Reality Paradigm
			Primary Ontological Assumptions of the Western Commonsense View of Reality
			The Western Commonsense View of Time and Causality
		Overview of Premises of the Western Commonsense View of Reality
			Reality as Directly and Objectively Perceived
			Reductionism
			Premises Regarding Dynamics of Change/Stability
			A Partial List of the Assumptions of the Western Commonsense View of Reality
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 7: Premises of the Developmental Psychophysiological Approach to Reality
		Recapitulation and Amplification of Dualism and Postmodernism
			Naïve/Direct Dualism: A “Separate Mind” Objectively Viewing an Objective World
			The Myth of Objectivity: From an Objective to a Socially Constructed World
			From Individual Reason to Communal Rhetoric
			The Assumptive Myth of Language as Truthful Representation of the World
			Reduction of Mind to Matter
			Western Critiques of the Postmodernist Paradigm
		Conceptual Background and Definitions of Key Terms and Concepts
			Key Ontological/Metaphysical Definitions and Premises
		Major Premises of the Developmental Psychophysiologic Approach to Reality
		Chapter Summary
			The Manufacture of Drama and Stimulation as a Primary Anodyne of Boredom
			Toward a Definition and Conceptualization of Boredom
Part III: Western Modernity Re-Interpreted Within the New Perspective of Boredom
	Chapter 8: The Power of Boredom/Interest-Entertainment in Shaping Modernity, I
		Business and the Entertainment Industry
		Sports
		The Video Games Industry
		Tourism
		Media Trends
			The Growing Sensationalism and Violence of TV Fare
			TV Coverage of War
			Control of TV/Media by a Smaller Coterie of the Financial Elite
		Religion and Spirituality
			The Bored Christ
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 9: The Power of Boredom/Interest-Entertainment in Shaping Modernity, II
		Education and the School
		Social/Political Movements
			Women’s, Gays’, and Minority Rights
			In the Selection and Electability of Political Candidates and Politicians
		War, Violence, and Terrorism
			The Need For/Love of War and Violence Among Some Individuals and Societies
			The Romantic Myth of War as Primarily Providing the Experience of Excitement
			The Increasing Entertainment Component of War
			The Historical Emergence of War/Conflict as a Means of Mitigating Boredom
			Popular Press Articles on Boredom’s Putative Role in Individual and Small-Group Crime
		Individual and Societal Creativity
			Mozart’s and Einstein’s Boredom
			Celebrity Boredom and Creativity
			TV and Newspaper Journalists
			Actors and Actresses
			Athletes
			Coaches
			Generals, Military Men, and Military Journalists
			Politicians, Statesmen, and “Royalty”
			Businessmen
			Rock/Pop Music Stars
			Comedians
			TV Evangelists
			Physicians
			Musicians and Dancers
			Scientists
			Writers
			Styles of Creativity
		Gluttony and Obesity
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 10: Implications for the Future, I
		General Implications and Predictions
		Specific Predictions of the DPAR for Trends in Evolution and Human Behavior
			Increasing War, Violence, and Terrorism: On the Cusp of Dystopia/WW3?
			Increasing Incidence of Behavioral, Psychological, and Cognitive Disorder
			Increasing Incidence of Somatically Expressed Disorders
			Increasing Incidence of Sleep Disorders
			Creativity in the Arts and Sciences
		Education and the School of the Future
			The Current Morass in the Institutions and Practices of “Education”
			The Core Elementary School Curriculum
			The Core Middle School Curriculum
			University Undergraduate and Graduate Education
			The Centrality of Cognitive Developmental Psychology in the Curriculum of the Future
			The Core College Undergraduate Curriculum
		Psychology
			Predictions of Psychology’s Future and Changes to Its Core Curricula if It Is to Survive
			Contemporary Cognitive Psychology Offerings in the School of the Future
			The Unmasking of Naïve/Direct Realism in the School of the Future
		Medicine
			Contemporary Western Medicine at the Crossroads
			Additional Strengths and Limitations of Contemporary Medicine
			Complementary Use of Mind-Body Psychotechnology Assessments and Treatments
			Era III Medicine
			The New Paradigm of Cellular Communication as Ushering in the New Medicine
			Normative and Pathologic Boredom Included in the Future of Psychiatric Practice
			Implications for Carcinogenesis and Disease Broadly Considered
		Chapter Summary
	Chapter 11: Implications for the Future, II
		Assessment and Treatment of Sleep and Eating Disorders
			The Role of Boredom in the Etiology and Modulation of Sleep Disorders
			The Role of Boredom in the Development of Obesity and Eating Disorders
		Industrial and Transportation Safety
		Business, Capitalism, Advertising, and the Media
			The Advertising Industry
		Women’s and Minority Rights, Spirituality, Animal Rights, and Ecology
			Women’s and Minority Rights
			Spirituality
			The Past and Future Use of Entheogens
			Animal Rights
			Ecology
			The Present and Future of Social Media
		The Midwifing of Entertainment Psychology
		Chapter Summary
Epilogue
Appendix A: An Archeology of Quotes About Boredom and Interest
Appendix B: Literary/Artistic Works Having Boredom/Ennui as a Major Theme
	Verbatim Allusions to Boredom in Novels
	Allusions to Boredom in Popular Culture
Appendix C: Quotes from Newspaper and Magazine Articles About Boredom Experiences and Associated Behaviors
	Newspaper Articles
	Additional Newspaper/Magazine Articles About Boredom
Appendix D: A Short Listing of Books on Boredom Written in Languages Other than English
Appendix E: Toward a Working Definition of Boredom (Including Operational Definitions)
	Csíkszentmihályi’s Definition
	Eastwood et al.’s Definition
	Toward a Working Definition of “Boredom”
	Toward an Operational Definition of “Boredom”
	Toward Adoption of Standardized Methods of Boredom Induction in Studies of Western Human Adults of Normal-Range Intelligence on Standardized Tests
Appendix F: Validated Questionnaires, Scales, and Surveys for Assessment of Boredom Experience and Associated Behaviors
	The Boredom Proneness Scale (BPS)
	The Boredom Susceptibility Scale (BSS)
	The Boredom Coping Scale and the Intrinsic Enjoyment Scale
	The Boredom Scale of the Imaginal Processes Inventory
	Lee’s Job Boredom Scale (LJBS)
	Grubb’s Job Boredom Scale (GJBS)
	Leckart’s Boredom Survey, Need-for-Stimulation Scale, and Stimulation Source Profile
	Thrill-Seeking Behavior/Personality
	Sexual Boredom Scale (SBS)
	Leisure Boredom Scale (LBS)
	Free Time Boredom Scale (FTBS)
	Multidimensional State Boredom Scale (MSBS)
	The State Boredom Measure (SBM)
	The Boredom Experience Scale (BES)
	Dutch Boredom Scale (DUBS)
	Boredom Coping Scale (Academic) (BCS-A)
	Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ)-Boredom Scale
	Academic Boredom Scale (ABS-10)
	Precursors to Boredom Scales (PBS)
	The Measurement of Boredom by Psychometric Scales: A Review of the Literature
Appendix G: Contemporary Researchers-Theorists on Boredom, Interest, and Entertainment
	Michael Apter
	Richard Bargdill
	Paul Otto Brunstad
	Alan Caruba
	Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi
	James Danckert
	Barbara Dalle-Pezze and Carlo Salzani
	Elena C. Daschmann
	Augustin de la Peña
	John Eastwood
	Andreas Elpidorou
	Richard Farmer
	Mariusz Finkielsztein and Izabela Wagner-Saffray
	Thomas Goetz
	Elizabeth S. Goodstein
	Jean Hamilton
	Ian Irvine
	Sam Keen
	Bruce Leckart
	Carlo Maggini
	Sandi Mann
	Lee Anna Maynard
	Bruce O’Neill
	Daniel Paliwoda
	Michael Raposa
	Eric Ringmar
	Josefa Ros Velasco
	Paul J. Silvia
	Patricia Meyer Spacks
	Norman Sundberg
	Lars Svendsen
	Peter Toohey
	Virginia Tze
	Wijnand van Tilburg
	Stephen Vodanovich
	Peter Vorderer
	Francoise Wemelsfelder
	Colin Wilson
	Richard Winter
Appendix H: John Ringland’s Interpretation of the Author’s Theses
	Why All the Drama? How Do We Attain Peace?
References
Index