Boring People: Stereotype Characteristics, Interpersonal Attributions, and Social Reactions

Wijnand A.P. van Tilburg, Eric R. Igou, Mehr Panjwani

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Abstract

Unfortunately, some people are perceived as boring. Despite the potential relevance that these perceptions might have in everyday life, the underlying psychological processes and consequences of perceiving a person as “boring” have been largely unexplored. We examined the stereotypical features of boring others by having people generate (Study 1) and then rate (Study 2) these. We focused on occupations (e.g., data analytics, taxation, and accounting), hobbies (e.g., sleeping, religion, and watching TV), and personal characteristics (e.g., lacking humor and opinions, being negative) that people ascribed to stereotypically boring others. Experiments then showed that those who were ascribed boring characteristics were seen as lacking interpersonal warmth and competence (Study 3), were socially avoided (Study 4), and enduring their company required compensation (Study 5). These results suggest that being stereotyped as a bore may come with substantially negative interpersonal consequences.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1329-1343
Number of pages15
JournalPersonality and Social Psychology Bulletin
Volume49
Issue number9
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Sep 2023

Keywords

  • boredom
  • competence
  • person perception
  • stereotype
  • warmth

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