--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Unfortunately, psychology has not…" description: "\"“Unfortunately, psychology has not adequately come to grips with the difficult subject of entertainment (or with its opposite, boredom). Despite a few ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/thomas-gilovich-10928_day-life_unfortunately-psychology-has-not-adequat_445005.jpg" --- # Unfortunately, psychology has not adequately come to grips… ![“Unfortunately, psychology has not adequately come to grips with the difficult subject of entertainment (or with its opposite, boredom). Despite a few initial efforts in this regard,22 the discipline has not developed an adequate conceptual framework for thinking productively about what people find…” quote by Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/thomas-gilovich-10928_day-life_unfortunately-psychology-has-not-adequat_445005.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/thomas-gilovich-10928_day-life_unfortunately-psychology-has-not-adequat_445005.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d6f/thomas-gilovich-10928_day-life_unfortunately-psychology-has-not-adequat_445005.jpg) > ““Unfortunately, psychology has not adequately come to grips with the difficult subject of entertainment (or with its opposite, boredom). Despite a few initial efforts in this regard,22 the discipline has not developed an adequate conceptual framework for thinking productively about what people find entertaining, why they find it so, how—and how much—the desire for entertainment governs everyday life, etc. The absence of such a framework is a noteworthy failure in an era in which people spend so much time and effort in the pursuit of entertainment—in this society surely, more time than they do in the “struggle” for survival; and, for many, more time than they do in the existential search for meaning and purpose.”” [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Psychology lacks a solid framework for studying entertainment and its impact on daily life and meaning. **In simple terms:** Entertainment is under-researched in psychology. Key Takeaway Develop better theories of entertainment. Themes psychology entertainment meaning culture behavior Mood reflective analytical Type academic critical When to use this quote - media analysis - marketing strategy - personal time management - public policy - academic research Key Concepts Motivation attention hedonic value Questions to Reflect On - How does entertainment shape personal values? - What metrics can capture entertainment’s influence? A Different Perspective Entertainment is subjective and varies across cultures, making universal models difficult. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Boredom](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) [Everyday life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/everyday-life/) [Psychology](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/psychology/) [Search for meaning](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/search-for-meaning/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Time And Effort](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time-and-effort/) ## Related quotes > [Your personal matters are always a subject of entertainment for others.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/your-personal-matters-are-always-a-subject-of-entertainment-for-others/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Class is the most difficult subject for American writers to deal with as it is the most difficult for the English to avoid.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/class-is-the-most-difficult-subject-for-american-writers-to-deal-with/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [“I have also figured out that for many people death is a difficult subject, not at all as simple as it is for me.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maija-haavisto/i-have-also-figured-out-that-for-many-people-death-is-a-difficult/) [Maija Haavisto](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maija-haavisto/) > [I hope they make a show like M\*A\*S\*H, which dealt with a lot of difficult subject matter but was very funny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-severance/i-hope-they-make-a-show-like-m-a-s-h-which-dealt-with-a-lot-of/) [Joan Severance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-severance/) > [As an artist, I feel a certain responsibility to write about difficult subject matter.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesmyn-ward/as-an-artist-i-feel-a-certain-responsibility-to-write-about-difficult/) [Jesmyn Ward](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesmyn-ward/) > [Of the thousands of people, celebrated and unknown, who have sat before my camera, I am often asked who was the most difficult subject,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/philippe-halsman/of-the-thousands-of-people-celebrated-and-unknown-who-have-sat-before/) [Philippe Halsman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/philippe-halsman/) > [I'm not the authority on the subject. I'm a middle-aged white guy speaking about racism. I'm just finding it a really difficult subject to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gareth-southgate/i-m-not-the-authority-on-the-subject-i-m-a-middle-aged-white-guy/) [Gareth Southgate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gareth-southgate/) > [“Attempting to alert the American public to an impending crisis becomes more difficult when the subject itself is complicated and defies easy or brief…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-koppel/attempting-to-alert-the-american-public-to-an-impending-crisis/) [Ted Koppel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-koppel/) > [When I have a difficult subject before me - when I find the road narrow, and can see no other way of teaching a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maimonides/when-i-have-a-difficult-subject-before-me-when-i-find-the-road-narrow/) [Maimonides](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maimonides/) > [Economics is a very difficult subject. I've compared it to trying to learn how to repair a car when the engine is running.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ben-bernanke/economics-is-a-very-difficult-subject-i-ve-compared-it-to-trying-to/) [Ben Bernanke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ben-bernanke/) > [If architects want to strengthen a decrepit arch, they increase the load which is laid upon it, for thereby the parts are joined more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/if-architects-want-to-strengthen-a-decrepit-arch-they-increase-the/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [In a last violent protest against the hopelessness of imminent death, I sensed my spirit piercing through the enveloping gloom. I felt it transcend…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/in-a-last-violent-protest-against-the-hopelessness-of-imminent-death/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [Man's search for meaning is the chief motivation of his life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/viktor-e-frankl/man-s-search-for-meaning-is-the-chief-motivation-of-his-life/) [Viktor E. Frankl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/viktor-e-frankl/) > [“Man’s Search for Meaning,”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judy-ford/man-s-search-for-meaning/) Judy Ford > [I see myself as a man who is searching for meaning in life. This is rather different from being a staunch believer in something.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aharon-appelfeld/i-see-myself-as-a-man-who-is-searching-for-meaning-in-life-this-is/) [Aharon Appelfeld](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aharon-appelfeld/) ## More by Thomas Gilovich > [“Chapter 7 takes a psychological truism, “we tend to believe what we think others believe” and turns it around: We tend to think others…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/chapter-7-takes-a-psychological-truism-we-tend-to-believe-what-we/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“As part of this research, one group of participants was asked which two countries are more similar to one another, East Germany and West…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/as-part-of-this-research-one-group-of-participants-was-asked-which/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“Finally, it has been shown that the tendency for people to think of themselves as above average is reduced—even for ambiguous traits—when people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/finally-it-has-been-shown-that-the-tendency-for-people-to-think-of/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“It appears that the probabilistic sciences of psychology and medicine teach their students to apply statistical and methodological rules to both scientific and everyday-life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/it-appears-that-the-probabilistic-sciences-of-psychology-and-medicine/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“To live, it seems, is to explain, to justify, and to find coherence among diverse outcomes, characteristics, and causes.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/to-live-it-seems-is-to-explain-to-justify-and-to-find-coherence-among/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“social psychologist Ziva Kunda, who argues that people are indeed more likely to believe things they want to believe, but that their capacity to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/social-psychologist-ziva-kunda-who-argues-that-people-are-indeed-more/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [We humans seem to be extremely good at generating ideas, theories, and explanations that have the ring of plausibility. We may be relatively deficient,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/we-humans-seem-to-be-extremely-good-at-generating-ideas-theories-and/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“our difficulty in accurately recognizing random arrangements of events can lead us to believe things that are not true—to believe something is systematic, ordered,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/our-difficulty-in-accurately-recognizing-random-arrangements-of/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“We therefore should be more skeptical than we seem to be about evidence presented to us secondhand. We should become accustomed to asking ourselves…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/we-therefore-should-be-more-skeptical-than-we-seem-to-be-about/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“In other words, when testing a hypothesis of similarity, people look for evidence of similarity rather than dissimilarity, and when testing a hypothesis of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/in-other-words-when-testing-a-hypothesis-of-similarity-people-look/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [What we believe is heavily influenced by what we think others believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/what-we-believe-is-heavily-influenced-by-what-we-think-others-believe/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“develop the habit of employing one of several “consider the opposite” strategies. We can learn to ask ourselves, for example, “Suppose the exact opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/develop-the-habit-of-employing-one-of-several-consider-the-opposite/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“confirmatory events are in fact much more memorable than non-confirmatory events.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/confirmatory-events-are-in-fact-much-more-memorable-than-non/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“Perhaps the most general and most important mental habit to instill is an appreciation of the folly of trying to draw conclusions from incomplete…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/perhaps-the-most-general-and-most-important-mental-habit-to-instill/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) > [“As a consequence, very tall parents tend to have tall children, but not as tall (on average) as they are themselves;”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-gilovich/as-a-consequence-very-tall-parents-tend-to-have-tall-children-but-not/) [Thomas Gilovich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) [Explore all 62 Thomas Gilovich quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-gilovich/) ## More Boredom quotes > [I am fairly tired--bored beyond endurance--by the world we live in, and its ideals, and am ready to say so, not violently, but kindly,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-adams/i-am-fairly-tired-bored-beyond-endurance-by-the-world-we-live-in-and/) [Henry Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-adams/) > [Life is what you make it¦If one refuses to use ones imagination..it will be boring.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/life-is-what-you-make-it-if-one-refuses-to-use-ones-imagination-it/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [Boredom is vastly underrated. Boredom means that nothing is trying to kill you every day.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robin-hobb/boredom-is-vastly-underrated-boredom-means-that-nothing-is-trying-to/) [Robin Hobb](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robin-hobb/) > [I'm bored of being bored because being bored is very boring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sachithra/i-m-bored-of-being-bored-because-being-bored-is-very-boring/) [Sachithra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sachithra/) > [When people look in the mirror, sometimes they see are their shells in the mirror, nothing else.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/when-people-look-in-the-mirror-sometimes-they-see-are-their-shells-in/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I don't think anyone wants to do the same thing over and over again.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bachmann/i-don-t-think-anyone-wants-to-do-the-same-thing-over-and-over-again/) [Eric Bachmann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bachmann/) > [“A car is one of the most interesting inventions, but driving is one of the most boring activities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/a-car-is-one-of-the-most-interesting-inventions-but-driving-is-one-of/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [The most total opposite of pleasure is not pain but boredom, for we are willing to risk pain to make a boring life interesting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-kreeft/the-most-total-opposite-of-pleasure-is-not-pain-but-boredom-for-we/) [Peter Kreeft](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-kreeft/) > [We shop out of boredom, for release, for excitement, for a sense of achievement, for a sense of control over our unruly existences. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-gunn/we-shop-out-of-boredom-for-release-for-excitement-for-a-sense-of/) [Tim Gunn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-gunn/) > [That human life must be some kind of mistake is sufficiently proved by the simple observation that man is a compound of needs which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arthur-schopenhauer/that-human-life-must-be-some-kind-of-mistake-is-sufficiently-proved/) [Arthur Schopenhauer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arthur-schopenhauer/) > [Isn’t ‘not to be bored’ one of the principal goals of life?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gustave-flaubert/isn-t-not-to-be-bored-one-of-the-principal-goals-of-life/) [Gustave Flaubert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gustave-flaubert/) > [The worst sin, the ultimate sin for me, in anything, is to be bored.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-turner/the-worst-sin-the-ultimate-sin-for-me-in-anything-is-to-be-bored/) [Ted Turner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-turner/) > [Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erich-fromm/exploitation-and-manipulation-produce-boredom-and-triviality-they/) [Erich Fromm](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erich-fromm/) > [“To me, at least in retrospect, the really interesting question is why dullness proves to be such a powerful impediment to attention. Why we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-foster-wallace/to-me-at-least-in-retrospect-the-really-interesting-question-is-why/) [David Foster Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-foster-wallace/) > [Listen deeply. Meditate on that which is arising. Even if it's boredom or difficulty or maybe a feeling of being stuck, that in itself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rodney-yee/listen-deeply-meditate-on-that-which-is-arising-even-if-it-s-boredom/) [Rodney Yee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rodney-yee/) [Browse all 1,505 Boredom quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/boredom/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“Unfortunately, psychology has not adequately come to grips with the difficult subject of entertainment (or with its opposite, boredom). 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