Some people may take a few minutes to sit down and think no other person or any interference. Maybe it's true. But maybe they are just part of the minority.
U.S. researchers study results published on Thursday, July 3, 2014 shows that most of the volunteers were asked to spend no more than 15 minutes alone in a room without doing anything but just sitting and thinking it was considered heavy duty.
In fact, in one of the 11 experiments led by researchers the University of Virginia, the men in particular would rather experience a mild electric shock rather than just sit and not do anything.
"Many people find it hard to use their minds to entertain themselves, at least when asked to do so in a place," said professor of psychology at the University of Virginia, Timothy Wilson, who led the study.
"In today's modern era, with all the devices that we have, people seem to meet at any time by some external activity," he said as quoted by Reuters news agency.
The study results are published in the journal Science that involves almost 800 people. Some experiments involve only students, but researchers also extend the study to include adults who live in the same area.
They go to church and agricultural markets to recruit people from diverse backgrounds and aged up to 77 years and get the same results: most participants, regardless of age or gender, does not like to dwell alone with their thoughts.
In some experiments, the student volunteers were asked to sit alone in the open laboratory space and spend six to 15 minutes of not doing anything except thinking or daydreaming.
They are not allowed to bring cell phones, music players, reading or writing instruments and asked to remain in their seats and awake. Most reported that they do not enjoy the task and that the task makes them difficult to concentrate.
The researchers then conducted experiments on adults and students to do the same in their homes, and get the same results. In addition a third volunteer cheating using cell phones or listening to music.
The researchers then conducted an experiment to see if the student volunteers will even choose to do things that are not fun than just sitting and thinking. They gave the volunteers the option to experience a mild static electric shock.
The volunteers were then asked whether, if given the money five dollars they will use in part to avoid electric shock again.
Those who said they would pay to avoid a mild electric shock again asked to sit alone and think for 15 minutes but were given the option to deliver mild electric shocks to their bodies simply by pressing the buttons.
Most volunteers do so, in particular the men: two-thirds (12 of 18) provide at least one surprise. One person did it 190 times. A quarter of women (6 of 24) delivers a mild electric shock to them, at least one time. "I think they just wanted to surprise themselves of boredom," said Wilson.
"Sometimes negative stimulation is preferable to no stimulation at all," he said.. *** [EKA | FROM VARIOUS SOURCES | REUTERS]
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