“Boredom has been linked with undesirable
mental and physical conditions. But what exactly is this puzzling condition?”
By: James Danckert
Published: Scientific American Mind; July –
August 2013 issue;http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=chronic-boredom-may-be-sign-poor-health
Alternatively, access a free copy by copy pasting the following: http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0713-54
Alternatively, access a free copy by copy pasting the following: http://www.readcube.com/articles/10.1038/scientificamericanmind0713-54
Level of Difficulty:****
BEFORE YOU READ
·
What
is your state of mind like when you are bored out of your mind?
·
How
do you imagine boredom influences the individual?
·
What
are the causes of boredom? Some people are almost never bored, others are
always complaining about it.
·
Can
one learn to cope with boredom? How?
QUESTIONS
1.
Read
the first three paragraphs of the text. From these paragraphs it can be
concluded that:
·
The
capacity for boredom and intelligence are positively correlated.
·
The
capacity for boredom seems not to be linked to intelligence
·
The
capacity for boredom is a universal phenomenon
·
All
of the above
·
None
of the above
·
Other:
please specify
2.
What
health implication makes understanding the nature of boredom important?
3.
The
greater the……………………………..the greater the possibility of…………………………….
4.
Read
the paragraph beginning “Today”. What conclusion can we draw from it?
5.
Goldberg
and the author conducted research partly for the purpose of understanding
how…………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………..
6.
Both
the writer’s and Theobold’s research indicate that………………………………………………….
7.
Read
the information concerning the 2011 study carefully. The capacity for boredom
and depression seems to be greater in…………………………………………………………………………………….
8.
Read
Malkowsky’s research to the end and decide whether the following statements are
true or false.
·
Couch
patatoes do not suffer much distress
·
The
couch patao makes an effort to alter his circumstances
·
Agitated
boredom may be accompanied by physical signs of restlessness
·
Both
categories of people mentioned in the experiment are externally motivated.
·
Neither
category relies much on internal stimuli
9.
What
does “this” refer to in the phrase “this might be the case”?
10.
What
was the most important longterm problem the writer’s brother faced after his
accident?
11.
In
the research the writer conducted with TPI patients, the previously established
link between depression, boredom and the need for external stmuli was
confirmed / disproved
12.
The
observation that TPI patients are more reckless in their lives may indicate
that……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
13.
What
is the purpose of the cognitive bias test?
14.
What
does “This” refer to in the phrase “This hints at an intriquing possibility”?
15.
Read
the information concerning the role of the orbitofrontal cortex. How is the
information provided pertinent for TBI patients?
16.
When
Lady Dedlock said she was “bored to death”, she was unwittingly hinting at an
important fact. It is:
17.
The
experiment conducted by Colleen Merrifield
proved that…………………………………………….
18.
Read
the last paragraph of the text and select the best answer:
·
The
writer suffers from agiteted boredom
·
Boredom
is the most important component of depression
·
We
might learn to control boredom one day
·
All
of the above
·
None
of the above
·
Other:
please specify
DESCENT OF THE DOLDRUMS KEY AND TEACHER’S NOTES
This text concerns one of the most widely shared problems individuals
suffer from: boredom and as such, is facinating. As it is a serious scientific
text, it leads itself to some wonderful questions as well. The discussion of
the material should progress paralel to the questions and students should be
encouraged to share their views and experiences.
1.
2
and 3
2.
The
fact that excessive amounts of it can harm our health
3.
Leisure
time / boredom
4.
There
is a growing body of research showing the negative effects of boredom
5.
Boredom
for one person may only losely resemble another’s ennui
6.
Boredom
and depression involve distinct mechanisms
7.
Externally
stimulated people
8.
T,
F,T,F, T
9.
Lack
of immersion in the world outside our head could lead us to evaluate our
experiences as meaningless
10.
Finding
something that was stimulating
11.
Confirmed
12.
Their
threshold for stisfaction has been raised
13.
To
see how well people can recognize the similarities and differences between
objects and whether they prefer novel versus familiar objects
14.
People
who are more prone to agitated boredom also tended to have a harder time
recognizing an object’s newness; life becomes dull when we can’t distinguish
what is fresh and therefore interesting from what is old and familiar
15.
They
may experience a recurring mismatch between their expectations for an event and
its actual pay off. The use of for in this sentence is grammatically incorrect
incidentally.
16.
People
who reported more ennui are more likely to die younger and to experience
cardiac arrest
17.
Boredom
is not good for your health
18.
None
of the above
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