Why are you so boring? The role of agency in perceived boringness

People perceived as boring are often socially excluded, yet the psychological basis of this stereotyping remains understudied. This study examined how judgments of agency influence perceptions of boringness, focusing on individual differences in trait boredom and personal sense of agency. In a within-participants experiment ( N = 205), participants rated the boringness of hypothetical individuals expressing high or low agency. Low-agency targets were rated as significantly more boring. Trait boredom moderated this effect: individuals high in trait boredom found even high-agency targets more boring. Similarly, participants with a low sense of personal agency perceived others, especially high-agency individuals, as more boring. Being perceived as boring also predicted greater social avoidance and lower warmth ratings. These findings highlight the role of agency in social perception and suggest that high trait boredom may distort judgments, contributing to biased and potentially harmful social outcomes.