Curiosity and Interesting Conversations as Factors that Reduce Relational Boredom in Intimate Relationships

This thesis examined the associations between curiosity, interesting conversations with intimate partners, and relational boredom. I hypothesized that high (vs low) socially-curious people have more frequent interesting conversations and use more interest-related self-regulatory strategies and that this, in turn, is associated with less boredom. Two online studies were conducted with samples of undergraduate students in dating relationships. In Study 1 (N = 137), people high (vs low) in social curiosity more frequently had interesting conversations, and interesting conversations were associated with less boredom. In Study 2 (N = 140), people high (vs low) in social curiosity used more interest-related self-regulatory strategies, and these strategies were associated with less boredom. In Study 2, curiosity subtypes (joyous exploration and thrill-seeking) were also associated with using interest-related self-regulatory strategies. The results imply that curious people have skills to create experiences with their partners, such as interesting dinner conversations, that strengthen their relationships.