Social psychology scholars from the University of Virginia and Harvard University asked individuals to put away their belongings, including cell phones and pens, sit alone in a room, and entertain themselves with their own thoughts for fifteen minutes. Should the participants find the task too difficult, they had the option of distracting

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Recent research shows that people are uncomfortable if left alone with their thoughts, even for a few minutes. In one experiment, people were asked to sit quietly—without a phone or a book—for fifteen minutes. At the start of the experiment, they were also asked if they would consider administering electroshocks to themselves if they became bored.

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