A Phenomenological Investigation of Being Bored with Life

Bargdill, Richard W.

doi:10.2466/pr0.2000.86.2.493

Cited by 10 publications

(5 citation statements)

References 1 publication

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“…(9) The General Structure of the experience is a written composite of all the invariant elements from the group of ISS. (10) Quotes from participants are added to general structure to show empirical support for the General Structure (Bargdill, 2000).…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

One Way That Meaning Is Created: A Phenomenology of Meaningful Events for Young Adults

Bargdill

Marasco-Kuhn

Muron

et al. 2019

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

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In this qualitative study, six college-age participants (three males and three females) provided written and narrative accounts about an event in their lives they found to be personally meaningful. The accounts were analyzed using an existential-phenomenological framework. The results suggest that a meaningful life event is often experienced as uncanny or completely unexpected. The participants believed that circumstances proceeding and following the event included actions both by others and their selves that were not forthright. The resulting conflict in this meaningful event will require authentic actions from the participants. Those authentic actions helped participants reaffirm their identity, revitalize vulnerable relationships, and expand their sense of purpose. Participants eventually felt gratitude toward the difficult but meaningful event.

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Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

One Way That Meaning Is Created: A Phenomenology of Meaningful Events for Young Adults

Bargdill

Marasco-Kuhn

Muron

et al. 2019

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…It is common in ritualised, routinised tasks where we feel under-stimulated (Conrad, 1997) and identity work cannot be pursued. Phenomeno-logically, boredom is a sensation of blockage, numbness and petrification, of being suspended in a vacuum of nothingness (Bargdill, 2000). Yet boredom is also interactive, when these feelings are dramaturgically displayed to an audience (Darden and Marks, 1999).…”

Section: Four Dimensions Of Nothingmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Sociology of Nothing: Understanding the Unmarked

2017

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Nothing is a sociologically neglected terrain, comprising negatively defined phenomena, such as non--identification, non--participation and non--presence. Nevertheless, these symbolic social objects are created and managed through meaningful social interaction. Nothing is accomplished either by active commission (doing/being a non--something) or by passive omission (not--doing/not--being something). I explore these dichotomous forms through four dimensions of negative social space: non--identity, inactivity, absence and silence. Paradoxically, nothing is always productive of something: other symbolic objects come into being through the apprehension of phantoms, imaginaries, replacements and alternatives, which generate further constitutive meanings. A sociological analysis illuminates these processes, revealing how much nothing matters.

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“…Empirically based comparisons between habitual boredom and depression have been called for but are rare. This section will contrast people’s phenomenological experience of habitual boredom as outlined by the author (Bargdill, 1999, 2000a) with a phenomenological structure of people’s experience of unipolar depression (Carter, 1990). Following this brief overview, the two experiences will be contrasted using the author’s conceptualization of boredom (Bargdill, 2014) as the main point of departure.…”

Section: Review Of Phenomenological Accounts Of Boredom and Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bargdill (1999, 2000a, 2000b) analyzed written accounts and follow-up interviews with six participants (three males and three females with an age range between 16 and 67 years) who described being bored with their lives. He found that habitual boredom develops as people become emotionally ambivalent after they have compromised their original life projects, goals, or dreams for less desirable goals.…”

Section: Review Of Phenomenological Accounts Of Boredom and Depressionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Habitual Boredom and Depression: Some Qualitative Differences

Bargdill

2016

Journal of Humanistic Psychology

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This article will compare and contrast the author's theory of Habitual Boredom with a phenomenological account of Unipolar Depression. The habitually bored show more external ambivalence, passive avoidance, and shame, as well as a tendency toward passive hope and identity confusion. The depressed show more internal ambivalence, willful (but futile) determination, and guilt as well as tendency toward hopelessness and identity objectification. The article also discusses some of the experiential similarities and developmental differences between the two phenomenon as well as some aspects of the defensive structure that initially prevents the bored from becoming depressed.

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A Phenomenological Investigation of Being Bored with Life

Cited by 10 publications

References 1 publication

One Way That Meaning Is Created: A Phenomenology of Meaningful Events for Young Adults

One Way That Meaning Is Created: A Phenomenology of Meaningful Events for Young Adults

A Sociology of Nothing: Understanding the Unmarked

Habitual Boredom and Depression: Some Qualitative Differences

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