Spontaneous self-affirmation predicts more meaning and less boredom

Chronic boredom is associated with many negative psychological outcomes, including undermining perceived meaning in life. Meanwhile, emerging research suggests that spontaneous self-affirmation, that is, an inclination to self-affirm, promotes well-being and buffers against psychological threats. We investigated the relationship between spontaneous self-affirmation, perceptions of meaning in life, and boredom proneness with four correlational studies. Study 1a (N = 166) demonstrated that people inclined to self-affirm have greater perceptions of meaning in life. Study 1b (N = 170) confirmed that spontaneous self-affirmation predicts lower levels of boredom proneness. Study 2a (N = 214) and Study 2b (N = 105) provided evidence for our central hypothesis, showing that spontaneous self- affirmation predicts lower levels of boredom proneness via greater perceptions of meaning in life. These findings confirm that boosting meaning in life through psychological resources, like spontaneous self-affirmation, may limit boredom. Our work extends the emerging well- being benefits of spontaneous self-affirmation to increases in meaning in life and reductions in boredom.