Is boredom an emotion?
One of my professors called it that today and it just doesn't seem quite right. I mean, in a cognitive definition, I guess it could be but I don't think that I consider it an emotion.
But what do I consider it?
Maybe a state of being? Unconscious, conscious and occupied/interested, or conscious but bored? That doesn't seem to be it either.
State of mind? That's pretty close to an emotion. Although "New York" isn't an emotion and we're told that that can be a state of mind.
I think that state of mind might be the closest. And it may vary from person to person. I have friends who get bored if they're stuck waiting at the doctor's office for ten minutes. I also have friends who could stay in that same office for hours without feeling bored. I'm not sure if it's the way people are raised or just their brain's MO, but there's a definite difference.
So that's what I'll be pondering this week.
What do you think? Is boredom an emotion? If not, what is it? Why do some people experience it more acutely than others? Can you change it?
