Many of us are trying to be interesting, but boring people are everywhere.
The paper looked at what makes people appear boring and how this affects our perception of them. Researchers asked over 500 people in five different studies to rank the most stereotypically boring characteristics.
The team, led by University of Essex psychology researcher Wijnand Van Tilburg, writes in their paper that some people are perceived as boring.
We looked at the stereotypical features of boring others by having people rate them. The results suggest that being stereotyped as a bore may have negative consequences.
In the first two studies, the team asked participants to rank boring features and then write down their list.
Data analysis, accounting, tax/insurance, cleaning, and banking were the five most boring jobs, while the most boring hobbies were sleeping, observing animals, and doing math.
People nominated attributes like having no interests, no sense of humor, being unopinionated, or a bit of a complainer when asked about the characteristics of stereotypical bores.
The team writes that the more typical features of stereotypical boringness described a person, the more they were perceived as boring.
The social consequences of stereotypical boringness affect the perception of warmth and competence.
While it is fun to think up the most boring people, those that see themselves in the above trait might be in for a rough time in social situations.
In the next two studies the team undertook, when people were presented with descriptions of imaginary people according to the boring characteristics found in the first study.
When asked how much they would need to be compensated for spending time with a stereotypical bore, participants nominated significant sums of money.
Van Tilburg said that people may not take time to speak to those with boring jobs and hobbies, instead choosing to avoid them.
They don't get a chance to prove people wrong and break negative stereotypes.
This is a relatively small study, and the majority of participants lived in the United States, so it is likely that around the world different jobs, hobbies, and characteristics are boring.
This study is one of the first to look at the boring people stereotype, and it is important to break it down.
The team questions why boring people were also seen as incompetent by the study participants, despite these attributes being unrelated.
I would have thought that accountants were boring, but effective and the perfect person to do a good job on your tax return.
The truth is people like bankers and accountants are highly capable and have power in society, so we should not stereotype them as boring.
The research has been published.
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