People actually prefer pain to boredom, at least that’s what a new study says.
As part of a study published in Science on Thursday, participants were asked to sit alone with their thoughts for 6 to 15 minutes. For some, the experience was so uncomfortable that even electric shocks were a welcome diversion.
Timothy Wilson, professor of psychology at University of Virginia and the lead author of the study, was amazed at how difficult it was for people to just sit and think. “We have this big brain full of pleasant memories, and we’re able to tell ourselves stories and make up fantasies. But despite that, we kept finding that people didn’t like it much and found it hard,” he told the Washington Post.
He and his team tried to ease some of the discomfort by allowing participants to plan a topic to mentally explore before the thinking sessions began. It was a no go. Participants still found it uncomfortable to be alone in a room without phones, social media outlets, or any other external activities to entertain them.
When the researchers transferred the experiment to the participants’ homes, it yielded the same results.
“We found that about a third admitted that they had ‘cheated’ at home by engaging in some activity, such as listening to music or using a cell phone, or leaving their chair,” Wilson said. “And they didn’t enjoy this experience any more at home than at the lab.”
Recognizing that these mandated thought-sessions caused participants discomfort, Wilson wondered if participants would welcome even a painful distraction. He gave participants a small device which causes mild electric shocks. Wilson was sure that no one would voluntarily shock themselves, but the participants proved him wrong. 12 out of 18 men and 6 out of 24 women chose to administer the shocks, and one man even shocked himself 190 times. (His data was later removed from the study.)
To make sure the participants weren’t just using the shock therapy out of curiosity, the researchers gave participants shocks beforehand. They also asked participants how much they would pay to avoid another shock, and most said they’d be willing to pay a dollar or so. Yet, when sequestered with their thoughts for 15 minutes, the shocks proved a lesser evil than thinking or boredom.
Why is it so uncomfortable to be alone with your thoughts?
Jonathan Smallwood, a psychology professor at University of York, noted in the Washington Post that our being constantly surrounded by modern devices and social media outlets makes being alone a strange experience.
However, Wilson points out that the process is circular. “We wouldn’t crave these things (modern technology like social media) if we weren’t in need of distractions. But having so many available keeps us from learning how to disengage.”
