Mental control of boredom

The goal of the present study was to assess the paradoxical impact of menta l control (Wegner, 1994) on the level of boredom towards a tedious task. Th e mixed experimental design comprised a three-level between-subjects factor , mental control (i.e., boredom suppression, boredom expression, and contro l group), and a two-level within-subjects factor, mental load (i.e., high a nd low mental load). The dependent variable was the level of boredom. Resul ts revealed that when all the participants had the opportunity to express t heir boredom at the end of the experiment, the level of boredom was signifi cantly higher for the participants that previously suppressed their boredom than for the participants of the control group. Mental load did not affect the mental control of boredom. The discussion underscores the potential co ntribution of paradoxical strategies to our understanding of boredom self-r egulation. Future research venues are suggested as well.