Journal of Boredom Studies

No. 3 (2025)
Articles

State Boredom and Sexual Arousal in Men: No Evidence for Effects on Genital and Subjective Measures

PDF HTML
  • Megan Brown,
  • Gerulf Rieger,
  • Wijnand Van Tilburg
Megan Brown
University of Essex
Gerulf Rieger
University of Essex
Wijnand Van Tilburg
University of Essex

Published 2025-06-11

Keywords

  • boredom,
  • arousal,
  • genital arousal,
  • emotion,
  • sex

How to Cite

Brown, M., Rieger, G., & Van Tilburg, W. (2025). State Boredom and Sexual Arousal in Men: No Evidence for Effects on Genital and Subjective Measures. Journal of Boredom Studies, (3). Retrieved from https://boredomsociety.com/jbs/index.php/journal/article/view/41

Copyright (c) 2025 Megan Brown, Gerulf Rieger, Wijnand Van Tilburg

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

Abstract

Past research alleges boredom to trigger markers of sexual arousal, including sexual sensation seeking, promiscuity, and pornography consumption among men. Yet, this past work relied on self-report and did not directly investigate sexual arousal. We experimentally tested if state boredom increases male genital arousal (via penile string gauges) alongside self-reported arousal. Participants identified as exclusively heterosexual or mostly heterosexual men. They watched boredom-inducing or comparatively neutral control videos, followed by footage displaying either men or women masturbating. Bayesian tests show that despite a successful experimental induction of state boredom, participants did not display different levels of genital or subjective arousal towards preferred or less preferred targets in the boredom condition than neutral condition. Rather, results provided moderately strong evidence for the null-hypothesis. These findings suggest that previously-reported links between trait boredom and sexual sensation seeking, promiscuity, and pornography do not translate to an impact on sexual arousal at state level.

PDF HTML

References

  1. Arnett, J. (1990). Contraceptive Use, Sensation Seeking, and Adolescent Egocentrism. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 19, 171–180. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01538720
  2. Bench, S. W., and Lench, H. C. (2019). Boredom as a Seeking State: Boredom Prompts the Pursuit of Novel (Even Negative) Experiences. Emotion, 19, 242–254. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000433
  3. Bergen, E., Ahto, A., Schulz, A., Imhoff, R., Antfolk, J., Schuhmann, P., Alanko, K., Santtila, P., and Jern, P. (2015). Adult-adult and adult-child/Adolescent Online Sexual Interactions: An Exploratory Self-report Study on the Role of Situational Factors. The Journal of Sex Research, 52, 1006–1016. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2014.914462
  4. Bőthe, B., Tóth-Király, I., Potenza, M. N., Orosz, G., and Demetrovics, Z. (2020). High-frequency Pornography Use May Not Always Be Problematic. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 17, 793–811. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2020.01.007
  5. Carvalho, J., Pereira, R., Barreto, D., and Nobre, P. J. (2017). The Effects of Positive Versus Negative Mood States on Attentional Processes During Exposure to Erotica. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 2495–2504. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0875-3
  6. Chan, C. S., Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Igou, E. R., Poon, C. Y., Tam, K. Y., Wong, V. U., and Cheung, S. K. (2018). Situational Meaninglessness and State Boredom: Cross-sectional and Experience-sampling Findings. Motivation and Emotion, 42, 555–565. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-018-9693-3
  7. Chaney, M. P., and Blalock, A. C. (2006). Boredom Proneness, Social Connectedness, and Sexual Addiction Among Men Who Have Sex with Male Internet Users. Journal of Addictions & Offender Counseling, 26, 111–122. https://doi.org/10.1002/j.2161-1874.2006.tb00012.x
  8. Chaney, M. P., and Chang, C. Y. (2005). A Trio of Turmoil for Internet Sexually Addicted Men Who Have Sex with Men: Boredom Proneness, Social Connectedness, and Dissociation. Sexual Addiction & Compulsivity, 12, 3–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/10720160590933671
  9. Chin, A., Markey, A., Bhargava, S., Kassam, K. S., and Loewenstein, G. (2017). Bored in the USA: Experience Sampling and Boredom in Everyday Life. Emotion, 17, 359–368. https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000232
  10. Chivers, M. L. (2017). The Specificity of Women’s Sexual Response and Its Relationship with Sexual Orientations: A Review and Ten Hypotheses. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 46, 1161–1179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-016-0897-x
  11. Coleman, E., Rahm-Knigge, R. L., Danielson, S., Nielsen, K. H., Gleason, N., Jennings, T., and Miner, M. H. (2023). The Relationship Between Boredom Proneness, Attachment Styles and Compulsive Sexual Behavior. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 49(2), 172–188. https://doi.org/10.1080/0092623X.2022.2086511
  12. Dahlen, E. R., Martin, R. C., Ragan, K., and Kuhlman, M. M. (2004). Boredom ^roneness in Anger and Aggression: Effects of Impulsiveness and Sensation Seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 37, 1615–1627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.02.016
  13. Danckert, J. (2019). Boredom: Managing the Delicate Balance Between Exploration and Exploitation. In J. Ros Velasco (Ed.), Boredom Is in Your Mind (pp. 37–53). Springer.
  14. Danckert, J., Hammerschmidt, T., Marty-Dugas, J., and Smilek, D. (2018b). Boredom: Under-aroused and Restless. Consciousness and Cognition, 61, 24–37. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2018.03.014
  15. Danckert, J., Mugon, J., Struk, A., and Eastwood, J. (2018a). Boredom: What Is It Good For? In H. Lench (Ed.), The Function of Emotions (pp. 93–119). Springer.
  16. De Jong, D. C. (2009). The Role of Attention in Sexual Arousal: Implications for Treatment of Sexual Dysfunction. Journal of Sex Research, 46, 237–248. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490902747230
  17. de Oliveira, L., Carvalho, J., and Nobre, P. (2021). A Systematic Review on Sexual Boredom. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 18, 565–581. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsxm.2020.12.019
  18. Eastwood, J. D., Frischen, A., Fenske, M. J., and Smilek, D. (2012). The Unengaged Mind. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 7, 482–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691612456044
  19. Elpidorou, A. (2014). The Bright Side of Boredom. Frontiers in Psychology, 5, 1245. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2014.01245
  20. Farkas, G. M., Sine, L. F., and Evans, I. M. (1979). The Effects of Distraction, Performance Demand, Stimulus Explicitness and Personality on Objective and Subjective Measures of Male Sexual Arousal. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 17, 25–32. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(79)90047-0
  21. Gana, K., Trouillet, R., Martin, B., and Toffart, L. (2001). The Relationship Between Boredom Proneness and Solitary Sexual Behaviors in Adults. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 29, 385–389. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2001.29.4.385
  22. George, W. H., and Norris, J. (1991). Alcohol, Disinhibition, Sexual Arousal, and Deviant Sexual Behavior. Alcohol Health and Research World, 15, 133.
  23. Goldberg, Y. K., Eastwood, J. D., LaGuardia, J., and Danckert, J. (2011). Boredom: An Emotional Experience Distinct from Apathy, Anhedonia, or Depression. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 30, 647–666. https://doi.org/10.1521/jscp.2011.30.6.647
  24. Gruia, D. C., Holmes, L., Raines, J., Slettevold, E., Watts-Overall, T. M., and Rieger, G. (2022). Stability and Change in Sexual Orientation and Genital Arousal Over Time. The Journal of Sex Research, 60, 294–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499.2022.2060927
  25. Hoijtink, H., Mulder, J., van Lissa, C., and Gu, X. (2019). A Tutorial on Testing Hypotheses Using the Bayes Factor. Psychological Methods, 24, 539–556. https://doi.org/10.1037/met0000201
  26. Hunter, J. A., Abraham, E. H., Hunter, A. G., Goldberg, L. C., and Eastwood, J. D. (2016). Personality and Boredom Proneness in the Prediction of Creativity and Curiosity. Thinking Skills and Creativity, 22. https://doi.org/48-57. S1871187116300773
  27. Hunter, J, A., and Eastwood, J. D. (2018). Does State Boredom Cause Failures of Attention? Examining the Relations Between Trait Boredom, State Boredom, and Sustained Attention. Experimental Brain Research, 236, 2483–2492. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00221-016-4749-7
  28. Isacescu, J., Struk, A. A., and Danckert, J. (2017). Cognitive and Affective Predictors of Boredom Proneness. Cognition and Emotion, 31, 1741–1748. https://doi.org/10.1080/02699931.2016.1259995
  29. Janssen, E. (2011). Sexual Arousal in Men: A Review and Conceptual Analysis. Hormones and Behavior, 59, 708–716. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.yhbeh.2011.03.004
  30. Janssen, E. (2012). Psychophysiological Measurement of Sexual Arousal. In M. W. Wiederman and B. E. Whitley Jr. (Eds.), Handbook for Conducting Research on Human Sexuality (pp. 146–179). Psychology Press.
  31. Janssen, E., Vissenberg, M., Visser, S., and Everaerd, W. (1997). An in vivo Comparison of Two Circumferential Penile Strain Gauges: The Introduction of a New Calibration Method. Psychophysiology, 34, 717–720. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-8986.1997.tb02147.x
  32. Janssen, E., Vorst, H., Finn, P., and Bancroft, J. (2002). The Sexual Inhibition (SIS) and Sexual Excitation (SES) Scales: II. Predicting Psychophysiological Response Patterns. Journal of Sex Research, 39, 127–132. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224490209552131
  33. Janssen, E., McBride, K. R., Yarber, W., Hill, B. J., and Butler, S. M. (2007). Factors that Influence Sexual Arousal in Men: A Focus Group Study. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 37, 252–265. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10508-007-9245-5
  34. JASP Team. (2024). JASP (Version 0.19.0) [Computer software].
  35. Jewkes, R., Sikweyiya, Y., Morrell, R., and Dunkle, K. (2010). Why, When and How Men Rape: Understanding Rape Perpetration in South Africa. South African Crime Quarterly, 34. https://doi.org/10.17159/2413-3108/2010/v0i34a874
  36. Julien, E., and Over, R. (1988). Male Sexual Arousal Across Five Modes of Erotic Stimulation. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 17, 131–143. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01542663
  37. Kinsey A. C., Martin C. E., and Pomeroy W. B. (1948). Kinsey Scale. WB Saunders.
  38. Kiliç, A., Van Tilburg, W. A. P., and Igou, E. R. (2019). Risk‐taking Increases under Boredom. Journal of Behavioral Decision Making, 33, 257–269. https://doi.org/10.1002/bdm.2160
  39. Kor, A., Zilcha-Mano, S., Fogel, Y. A., Mikulincer, M., Reid, R. C., and Potenza, M. N. (2014). Psychometric Development of the Problematic Pornography Use Scale. Addictive Behaviors, 39, 861–868. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.addbeh.2014.01.027
  40. Koukounas, E., and McCabe, M. (1997). Sexual and Emotional Variables Influencing Sexual Response to Erotica. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 35, 221–230. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0005-7967(96)00097-6
  41. LePera, N. (2011). Relationships Between Boredom Proneness, Mindfulness, Anxiety, Depression, and Substance Use. The New School Psychology Bulletin, 8, 15–25.
  42. Levin, R. J. (2005). Sexual Arousal—Its Physiological Roles in Human Reproduction. Annual Review of Sex Research, 16, 154–189. https://doi.org/10.1080/10532528.2005.10559832
  43. Lin, Y., LePine, S. E., Krause, A. N., and Westgate, E. C. (2023). A Little Help from My Friends: Lack of Social Interaction Predicts Greater Boredom During the COVID‐19 Pandemic. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 17, e12871. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12871
  44. McCoul, M. D., and Haslam, N. (2001). Predicting High Risk Sexual Behaviour in Heterosexual and Homosexual Men: The Roles of Impulsivity and Sensation Seeking. Personality and Individual Differences, 31, 1303–1310. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0191-8869(00)00222-1
  45. Meisler, A. W., and Carey, M. P. (1991). Depressed Affect and Male Sexual Arousal. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 20, 541–554. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01550953
  46. Mercer, K. B., and Eastwood, J. D. (2010). Is Boredom Associated with Problem Gambling Behaviour? It Depends on What You Mean by ‘Boredom.’ International Gambling Studies, 10, 91–104. https://doi.org/10.1080/14459791003754414
  47. Miller, J. A., Caldwell, L. L., Weybright, E. H., Smith, E. A., Vergnani, T., and Wegner, L. (2014). Was Bob Seger Right? Relation Between Boredom in Leisure and [Risky] Sex. Leisure Sciences, 36, 52–67. https://doi.org/10.1080/01490400.2014.860789
  48. Mitchell, W. B., Dibartolo, P. M., Brown, T. A., and Barlow, D. H. (1998). Effects of Positive and Negative Mood on Sexual Arousal in Sexually Functional Males. Archives of Sexual Behavior, 27, 197–207. https://doi.org/10.1023/a:1018686631428
  49. Moynihan, A. B., Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Igou, E. R., Wisman, A., Donnelly, A. E., and Mulcaire, J. B. (2015). Eaten up by Boredom: Consuming Food to Escape Awareness of the Bored Self. Frontiers in Psychology, 6, 369. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00369
  50. Moynihan, A. B., Igou, E. R., and Van Tilburg, W. A. P. (2017). Boredom Increases Impulsiveness: A Meaning-regulation Perspective. Social Psychology, 48, 293–309. https://doi.org/10.1027/1864-9335/a000317
  51. Moynihan, A. B., Igou, E. R., and Van Tilburg, W. A. P. (2021a). Bored Stiff: The Relationship Between Meaninglessness, Sexual Sensation Seeking, and Promiscuous Attitudes Via Boredom Susceptibility. Personality and Individual Differences, 168, 110295. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2020.110295
  52. Moynihan, A. B., Igou, E. R., and Van Tilburg, W. A. P. (2021b). Existential Escape of the Bored: A Review of Meaning-regulation Processes under Boredom. European Review of Social Psychology, 32, 161–200. https://doi.org/10.1080/10463283.2020.1829347
  53. Moynihan, A. B., Igou, E. R., and Van Tilburg, W. A. P. (2022). Pornography Consumption as Existential Escape from Boredom. Personality and Individual Differences, 198, 111802. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2022.111802
  54. Polly, L. M., Vodanovich, S. J., Watt, J. D., and Blanchard, M. J. (1993). The Effects of Attributional Processes on Boredom Proneness. Journal of Social Behavior & Personality, 8, 123–132.
  55. Raines, J., Holmes, L., Watts-Overall, T. M., Slettevold, E., Gruia, D. C., Orbell, S., and Rieger, G. (2021). Patterns of Genital Sexual Arousal in Transgender Men. Psychological Science, 32, 485–495. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797620971654
  56. Reid, R. C., Carpenter, B. N., Spackman, M., and Willes, D. L. (2008). Alexithymia, Emotional Instability, and Vulnerability to Stress Proneness in Patients Seeking Help for Hypersexual Behavior. Journal of Sex & Marital Therapy, 34, 133–149. https://doi.org/10.1080/00926230701636197
  57. Reid, R. C., Harper, J. M., and Anderson, E. H. (2009). Coping Strategies Used by Hypersexual Patients to Defend Against the Painful Effects of Shame. Clinical Psychology & Psychotherapy: An International Journal of Theory & Practice, 16, 125–138. https://doi.org/10.1002/cpp.609
  58. Rieger, G., Cash, B. M., Merrill, S. M., Jones-Rounds, J., Dharmavaram, S. M., and Savin-Williams, R. C. (2015). Sexual Arousal: The Correspondence of Eyes and Genitals. Biological Psychology, 104, 56–64. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biopsycho.2014.11.009
  59. Rieger, G., Savin-Williams, R. C., Chivers, M. L., and Bailey, J. M. (2016). Sexual Arousal and Masculinity-femininity of Women. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 111, 265–283. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000077
  60. Schmitt, D. P. (2007). Sexual Strategies Across Sexual Orientations. Journal of Psychology & Human Sexuality, 18, 183–214. https://doi.org/10.1300/j056v18n02_06
  61. Seto, M. C. (2004). Pedophilia and Sexual Offenses Against Children. Annual Review of Sex Research, 15(1), 321–361.
  62. Smith, C. A., and Ellsworth, P. C. (1985). Patterns of Cognitive Appraisal in Emotion. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 48, 813–838. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-3514.48.4.813
  63. Suschinsky, K. D., Shelley, A. J., Gerritsen, J., Tuiten, A., and Chivers, M. L. (2015). The Clitoral Photoplethysmograph: A Pilot Study Examining Discriminant and Convergent Validity. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 12, 2324–2338. https://doi.org/10.1111/jsm.13047
  64. Tam, K. Y., Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Chan, C. S., Igou, E. R., and Lau, H. (2021). Attention Drifting in and out: The Boredom Feedback Model. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 25, 251–272. https://doi.org/10.1177/10888683211010297
  65. Taubman Ben-Ari, O. (2004). Intimacy and Risky Sexual Behavior—What Does It Have to Do with Death? Death Studies, 28, 865–887. https://doi.org/10.1080/07481180490490988
  66. Ter Kuile, M. M., Both, S., and Van Uden, J. (2010). The Effects of Experimentally-induced Sad and Happy Mood on Sexual Arousal in Sexually Healthy Women. The Journal of Sexual Medicine, 7, 1177–1184. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1743-6109.2009.01632.x
  67. Van den Bergh, D., Van Doorn, J., Marsman, M., Draws, T., Van Kesteren, E. J., Derks, Dablander, F., Gronau, Q. F., Kucharský, Š., Gupta, A. R. K. N., Sarafoglou, A., Voelkel, J. G., Stefan, A., Ly, A., Hinne, M., Matzke, D., and Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2020). A Tutorial on Conducting and Interpreting a Bayesian ANOVA in JASP. L’Année psychologique, 120, 73–96. https://doi.org/10.3917/anpsy1.201.0073
  68. Van Doorn, J., Van den Bergh, D., Böhm, U., Dablander, F., Derks, K., Draws, T., Etz, A., Evans, N. J., Gronau, Q. F., Haaf, J. M., Hinne, M., Kucharský, Š., Ly, A., Marsman, M., Matzke, D., Gupta, A. R. K. N., Sarafoglou, A., Stefan, A., Voelkel, J, G., and Wagenmakers, E.-J. (2021). The JASP Guidelines for Conducting and Reporting a Bayesian Analysis. Psychonomic Bulletin & Review, 28, 813–826. https://doi.org/10.3758/s13423-020-01798-5
  69. Van Tilburg, W. A. P., and Igou, E. R. (2011). On Boredom and Social Identity: A Pragmatic Meaning-regulation Approach. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 37, 1679–1691. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167211418530
  70. Van Tilburg, W. A. P., and Igou, E. R. (2012). On boredom: Lack of Challenge and Meaning as Distinct Boredom Experiences. Motivation and Emotion, 36, 181–194. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11031-011-9234-9
  71. Van Tilburg, W. A. P., and Igou, E. R. (2016). Going to Political Extremes in Response to Boredom. European Journal of Social Psychology, 46, 687–699. https://doi.org/10.1002/ejsp.2205
  72. Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Igou, E. R., and Sedikides, C. (2013). In Search of Meaningfulness: Nostalgia as an Antidote to Boredom. Emotion, 13, 450–461. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0030442
  73. Van Tilburg, W. A. P., Moynihan, A. B., Chan, C. S., and Igou, E. R. (2024). Boredom Proneness. In M. Bieleke, W. Wolff, and C. Martarelli (Eds.), Handbook of Boredom Research (pp. 191–210). Routledge.
  74. Vodanovich, S. J., and Watt, J. D. (2016). Self-report Measures of Boredom: An Updated Review of the Literature. The Journal of Psychology, 150. https://doi.org/196-228. 10.1080/00223980.2015.1074531
  75. Watt, J. D., and Ewing, J. E. (1996). Toward the Development and Validation of a Measure of Sexual Boredom. Journal of Sex Research, 33, 57–66. https://doi.org/10.1080/00224499609551815
  76. Watt, J. D., and Vodanovich, S. J. (1999). Boredom Proneness and Psychosocial Development. The Journal of Psychology, 133, 303–314. https://doi.org/10.1080/00223989909599743
  77. Watts, T. M., Holmes, L., Raines, J., Orbell, S., and Rieger, G. (2018). Sexual Arousal Patterns of Identical Twins with Discordant Sexual Orientations. Scientific Reports, 8. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-33188-2
  78. Westgate, E. C., and Wilson, T. D. (2018). Boring Thoughts and Bored Minds: The MAC Model of Boredom and Cognitive Engagement. Psychological Review, 125, 689–713. https://doi.org/10.1037/rev0000097
  79. Wisman, A. (2006). Digging in Terror Management Theory: To Use or Lose the Symbolic Self? Psychological Inquiry, 17, 319–326. https://doi.org/10.1080/10478400701369468