Combatting Academic Boredom

Dear Cydney,
I'm so bored! I have to take all these classes I don't like. I'm feeling pressure to finish my degree, but I don't even feel like trying.…I think I would be a lot happier if I just tried something different.

—Bored to Tears

Dear BTT,

Your letter takes me back. My Mom used to say, "Boring people are bored." Now, aside from knowing I didn't like to be called "boring," I wasn't sure what she meant. But after a few years (OK, maybe more than a few), I think I may finally understand her.

Basically, Mom was saying that I just wasn't trying very hard to be interested in anything. Mom was warning me of a self-fulfilling prophecy. In other words, if you think you are not interested, you disengage and eventually you are mind-numbingly bored! The question for you, BTT, is why are you no longer interested in completing your degree? Why are you avoiding becoming more involved?

One possibility for your lack of interest could be, like Mom said, that you're not giving these classes a chance to be interesting. Psychology has produced quite a few studies that demonstrate the "exposure effect"—the more that individuals are exposed to words, objects, even people, the more likely they are to develop a positive feeling about these things.

Also BTT, I get the impression from your letter that you view school as work, as opposed to play. Professor of psychology Ellen Langer, in "The Power of Mindful Learning," sums up the struggle this way: "When we think about work we often assume pressure, deadlines, the possibility of failure…we see play as the other side of the coin."

Is it possible that fear of evaluation and failure is causing school to seem unpleasant for you? Is there a way that you can readjust your perception of school and allow yourself to become more involved in your learning process? Unfortunately, fears usually form the basis for our decisions, without yielding exciting results. However, that doesn't have to be the case.

Let me share the results of one more recent study with you, BTT. Recently, middle-school-aged students were placed in two groups. One group was taught that individuals have the power to alter their intelligence; the other group was not taught the same. Those who were told that intelligence can change became more active in their learning and performed more successfully than they previously had.

The group who believed that intelligence cannot change actually demonstrated declining performance. Thus, we see the self-fulfilling prophecy: I cannot do better, so I avoid trying and prove myself correct. The alternative is: I believe I'm in control of my intelligence and learning, I'll try harder and I'll actually improve far better than anyone (myself included) even expected.

So, from Mom to me to you, BTT, the power to be active, interested and successful lies within that three-pound organ called your brain. If you decide to give it a go and expose yourself to the information around you, you may just discover something worth learning. Also, if you can find something interesting, you'll find yourself investing more resources and recognizing greater success and interest. You may even find yourself looking forward to some of those boring classes!

Originally published in The UB Post, Feb. 27, 2008