Risk‐taking increases under boredom

• Published in: Journal of behavioral decision making Vol. 33; no. 3; pp. 257 - 269
• Main Authors: Kılıç, Ayşenur, Tilburg, Wijnand A.P., Igou, Eric R.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Chichester Wiley Periodicals Inc 01.07.2020
• Subjects: Associations; Boredom; decision making; Prone; risk–taking; self‐control
• ISSN: 0894-3257; 1099-0771
• DOI: 10.1002/bdm.2160

We examined if boredom is associated with risk‐taking. Although this association has frequently been postulated, it has rarely been tested, and the evidence has thus far been rather indirect and speculative. We conducted three studies to test this association more systematically. In Study 1, people high in boredom proneness reported greater risk‐taking across financial, ethical, recreational, and health or safety domains. In Study 2, over a series of risky decisions, risk‐taking increased in tandem with state boredom. Consistently, in Study 3, people who felt more bored were more likely to choose risky gambles. Furthermore, while dispositional self‐control predicted lower risk‐taking, state boredom nullified this association, suggesting that elevated risk‐taking might be attributed the erosion of self‐control under boredom. Our findings establish via direct empirical tests that boredom is associated with making riskier decisions.