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I forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce future procrastination
Abstract
In the present study, we examined the association between forgiving the self for a specific instance of procrastination and procrastination on that same task in the future. A sample of 119 first-year University students (49 male, 70 female) completed measures of procrastination and self-forgiveness immediately before each of two midterm examinations in their introductory psychology course. Results revealed that among students who reported high levels of self-forgiveness for procrastinating on studying for the first examination, procrastination on preparing for the subsequent examination was reduced. This relationship was mediated by negative affect, such that increased self-forgiveness reduced procrastination by decreasing negative affect. Results are discussed in relation to the impact of procrastination on self-directed negative affect.
... On the other hand, since perceived social support can change individuals' evaluation of the problem situation (Feeney & Collins, 2015), it will reduce their stress associated with problem solving. In addition, negative emotions were found a risk factor of procrastination (Tice et al., 2001;Wohl et al., 2010). The misregulation hypothesis of procrastination hold that procrastination may function as an emotion regulation strategy to relieve negative emotions experienced in the moment (Sirois & Pychyl, 2013), so feeling negative emotions will increase the possibility of procrastination. ...
... Moreover, evidence revealed that self-compassion can promote self-regulation by reducing negative emotions that interfere with successful self-regulation (Terry & Leary, 2011). Another study showed that self-forgiveness, an emotion-oriented strategy similar to self-compassion, could reduce procrastination through decreased negative emotions (Wohl et al., 2010). It was further found that people who are more self-compassionate are less likely to engage in bedtime procrastination, which was explained by their better emotional regulation strategies to downregulate negative emotions (Sirois et al., 2019). ...
... Consistent with hypothesis 2, it was found that negative emotions are another mechanism that accounts for the association between perceived social support and procrastination. Researchers have indicated negative emotions an important risk factor of procrastination (Tice et al., 2001;Wohl et al., 2010). As perceived social support was negatively associated with negative emotional experiences (Lyubomirsky & Layous, 2013;Jacobson et al., 2017), negative emotions may operate as a mediator in the association between social support and procrastination. ...
Perceived social support was found to play an important role in reducing procrastination. However, little is known about the psychological mechanisms underlying this relation. Based on the integrated model of social support, the current study investigated the effect of the perceived social support on procrastination, and further explored the mediating role of self-compassion and negative emotions in this relation in a sample of 874 Chinese college students. Results showed: (a) perceived social support negatively predicted procrastination; (b) both self-compassion and negative emotions partially mediated the association between perceived social support and procrastination separately; (c) self-compassion and negative emotions sequentially mediated the relation between perceived social support and procrastination. This study provides new insights for the mechanisms between perceived social support and procrastination, which has important practical implications for the interventions of college students’ procrastination.
... Previous studies have highlighted the relation between self-forgiveness, mental health, and well-being (e.g., Cornish & Wade, 2015;Wilson, Milosevic, Carroll, Hart, & Hibbard, 2008). More specifically, pervasive, or chronic negative emotions are linked with rumination and negative health outcomes (Gilbert & Andrews, 1998;Whelton, 2000;Wohl, Pychyl, & Bennett, 2010). Yet, self-forgiveness can reduce rumination and pervasive negative emotions (Wohl et al., 2010) and allows the individual to reintegrate a positive self-image, restored without condoning (Thompson et al., 2005). ...
... More specifically, pervasive, or chronic negative emotions are linked with rumination and negative health outcomes (Gilbert & Andrews, 1998;Whelton, 2000;Wohl, Pychyl, & Bennett, 2010). Yet, self-forgiveness can reduce rumination and pervasive negative emotions (Wohl et al., 2010) and allows the individual to reintegrate a positive self-image, restored without condoning (Thompson et al., 2005). A meta-analysis on self-forgiveness by Davis and colleagues (2015) showed evidence of a connection between self-forgiveness, positive mental health, and well-being (average r= −0.45). ...
... Higher levels of self-forgiveness were related to lower levels of perceived stress and symptoms of depression. Self-forgiveness is also related to better psychological well-being (Cornish & Wade, 2015;Davis et al., 2015;Liao & Wei, 2015;Wohl et al., 2010), highlighting the importance of the present research and encouraging other researchers to continue investigating these constructs. ...
Several studies have suggested that self-forgiveness promotes
psychological well-being. The state self-forgiveness scale (SSFS)
and the differentiated self-forgiveness process scale (DSFPS) are
two self-report questionnaires that assess self-forgiveness in psychotherapy,
personal change, and health. The present study aims
to examine the psychometric properties of the SSFS and the
DSFPS in a Portuguese sample, highlighting reliability and validity
properties for scores on both scales. We examine the relationships
among self-forgiveness, self-criticism, psychological
well-being, and global psychopathological symptoms. The two
scales were completed in a random nonclinical sample of 475
University students. The psychological well-being scale was used
to explore the relation between self-forgiveness and well-being.
Our findings show evidence of a good estimated internal consistency
for scores on both scales - SSFS and DSFPS. Self-forgiveness
is related to higher indexes of positive feelings (e.g.,
self-compassion, self-esteem) such as positive behaviors and beliefs
about the self. Thus, self-criticism (e.g., hated self) tends to
decrease while self-forgiveness feelings and actions, as well as
positive feelings of the self (self-compassion; self-love) tends to
increase. In clinical practice these are positive indicators, which
can lead to personal improvement, as well as positive affect and
lower symptomatology (e.g., symptoms of depression).
... People who share procrastination behaviour tend to face at one point or another by ignoring unpleasant tasks. By avoiding unpleasant tasks with effort, self-kindness might increase towards oneself [2]. Indeed, to minimize the risk of making a mistake is a significant category of procrastinating people [3]. ...
... Procrastination is considered mostly a way of collecting thoughts to avoid failure in everyday life [4]. By establishing more motivational behaviours than avoidance, less avoidable behaviour is employed [2]. Besides to a positive self-image, which gives personal control perspective, self-deception straightens out cheats and reveal the cheaters [5]. ...
... As mentioned, procrastination is to ignore the engagement in a specific action taking it as avoidance behaviour. There are essential entails to change avoidance motivation with approach motivation [2]. The reasons why people with a procrastination pattern can harm themselves by irrationally avoiding an intended task in controversial issues. ...
The current research was conducted to determine the mediating role of negative Affection toward self- forgiveness, and procrastination in male students of the University of Tabriz. Therefore, 361 male students between 18-22 were selected by a random cluster sampling method from three groups of Technical and engineering, basic science and human science faculties. The General Procrastination, Decisional Procrastination, Positive and Negative Affect, and Heartland Forgiveness inventories were used to gather the data. The theoretical model was tested within a structural equation- modelling framework to identify both direct and indirect effects. The results indicate an overall fit model. Although the direct effects of self-forgiveness on decisional and general procrastination behaviours were not significant, thus, an indirect impact of self-forgiveness on the decisional and general procrastination behaviours were fully mediated by negative affection. Also, the effect of self-forgiveness on negative affect and academic procrastination, the training was essential for students.
... People who share procrastination behaviour tend to face at one point or another by ignoring unpleasant tasks. By avoiding unpleasant tasks with effort, self-kindness might increase towards oneself [2]. Indeed, to minimize the risk of making a mistake is a significant category of procrastinating people [3]. ...
... Procrastination is considered mostly a way of collecting thoughts to avoid failure in everyday life [4]. By establishing more motivational behaviours than avoidance, less avoidable behaviour is employed [2]. Besides to a positive self-image, which gives personal control perspective, self-deception straightens out cheats and reveal the cheaters [5]. ...
... As mentioned, procrastination is to ignore the engagement in a specific action taking it as avoidance behaviour. There are essential entails to change avoidance motivation with approach motivation [2]. The reasons why people with a procrastination pattern can harm themselves by irrationally avoiding an intended task in controversial issues. ...
... Second, research on self-forgiveness in procrastination relates directly to the negative consequences of procrastination and demonstrates how the cognitive processing of such experiences may positively or negatively affect the individual. For example, Wohl et al. (2010) showed that self-forgiveness, the reduction in negative affect associated with procrastination, is positive in the sense that it reduces future procrastination. Similarly, Sirois (2014) found that procrastination is associated with lower levels of self-compassion and that lower levels of self-compassion at least in part explained the procrastination-stress relationship. ...
... It is well documented that negative emotions are potentially powerful drivers of procrastinatory behavior, as delay may be instrumental in mood repair and avoidance of aversive events (e.g., Blunt and Pychyl, 2000;Wohl et al., 2010;Pollack and Herres, 2020). The emotions of shame, guilt, or regret address negative feelings related to past events and are of particular interest in the present context. ...
Standard definitions of procrastination underscore the irrational nature of this habit, a critical criterion being that the procrastinating individual delays despite expecting to be worse off for the delay. However, an examination of more than 175 items in 18 procrastination scales reveals that they do not address such a forward-looking criterion. Consequently, scales run the risk of not separating maladaptive and irrational delays from other forms of delay. We propose that forward-looking considerations may not be the best way of operationalizing the irrationality involved in procrastination and argue that scales should instead focus on past negative consequences of unnecessary delay. We suggest a new scale to measure such procrastination-related negative consequences and demonstrate that this scale, used separately or combined with established procrastination scales, performs better in predicting negative states and correlates to procrastination than established scales. The new scale seems to be helpful in separating trivial forms of unnecessary delay from maladaptive forms and hence represents a potentially valuable tool in research and clinical/applied efforts.
... For administrators, establishing productivity can be achieved through three basics of productivity which are: (i) making small increments at work which will add up to productivity (ii) regular check-ins with coworkers, and (iii) self-forgiveness by remembering that we are all humans (Korkki, 2016). Wohl et al. (2010) argue that self-forgiveness is salient for reducing the occurrence of future procrastinations. Pychyl (2010) adds that we have to forgive ourselves to get rid of the negative emotions in relation to the task at hand therefore we can continue or try again. ...
... Wohl et al. (2010) argue that self-forgiveness is salient for reducing the occurrence of future procrastinations. Pychyl (2010) adds that we have to forgive ourselves to get rid of the negative emotions in relation to the task at hand therefore we can continue or try again. As indicated in these studies, self-forgiveness might be effective in the elimination of negative affective states which were shown to be correlated with procrastination (Eckert et al., 2016). ...
... If guilt involves feeling bad about some kind of action taken by the self (Tracy & Robins, 2004), then providing permission to engage in that action could assuage negative feelings. If this is the case, then reduction of negative emotion associated with self-regulation failure could provide a reason why people continue to use justification even though it ultimately thwarts their long-term goals (Wohl, Pychyl, & Bennett, 2010). ...
... Finally, as highlighted above, these results demonstrate that self-control decisions have emotional effects. Consistent with the research on procrastination (Wohl et al., 2010), choosing to give in to a temptation rather than engaging in effort toward a long-term goal resulted in impaired positive and increased negative affect. Self-control failure feels bad and attempts to ameliorate the emotional consequences of failure likely differ depending on the individual and the type of self-control challenge. ...
Recent work suggests that the cognitive process of justification, which is the act of generating an excuse to give in to temptation prior to acting, can license tempting behavior and disrupt long term goal pursuit. However, the emotional repercussions of justification are unknown. We examined the effect of justification on self-control failure and subsequent emotion in two studies depicting an initiatory self-control situation (i.e., when the long-term goal is to act and the temptation is to do nothing). We predicted that self-control failure via justification would result in less negative and more positive affect compared to self-control failure without justification. In Study 1, participants reported on a vignette character, and in Study 2 they reported on what they would do in the context of a dilemma of whether or not to exercise. Across studies, self-control failure was associated with increased negative affect and decreased positive affect. The two studies differed in terms of whether justification increased (Study 1) or decreased (Study 2) likelihood of self-control failure. This study extends justification findings beyond initiatory self-control situations (i.e., when the temptation is to do something active and long-term goal involves restraint) and clearly ties self-control decisions to affective processes.
... This dynamic process was related to the upward spiral process in mindfulness practice (Garland et al., 2010), in which state mindfulness and positive emotions promoted each other and finally helped people cope with stressful events and achieve flourishing in mental health. Considering that procrastination was easily triggered by negative emotions (Tice & Bratslavsky, 2000;Wohl et al., 2010) and that it was a strategy to regulate short-term negative emotions by avoiding the current tiresome task (Tice et al., 2001), higher levels of acting with awareness may reduce individuals' subsequent procrastination by alleviating their negative emotions. In addition, some researchers noted that when college students procrastinate on current tasks, they were often engaged in some mindless smartphone activities (Aydın & Aydın, 2022;Meier et al., 2016) such as browsing social media. ...
Objectives Procrastination is a common behavior in our daily life that can lead to detrimental consequences, and previous studies have shown that female college students are more vulnerable to procrastination. Mindfulness-based interventions have been used to reduce procrastination; however, little is known about how mindfulness and procrastination interplay in everyday contexts. Therefore, the main purpose of this study was to explore the dynamic and bidirectional relation between mindfulness and procrastination from a multidimensional perspective.
Methods A total of 252 female college students participated in a 34-day diary study, during which they completed daily measures of procrastination and three dimensions of state mindfulness (i.e., acting with awareness, nonjudgmental acceptance, and present-moment attention). Dynamic structural equation modeling was used to analyze the data.
Results We found a bidirectional association of daily procrastination with one dimension of state mindfulness (i.e., acting with awareness), but not with the other two dimensions (i.e., nonjudgmental acceptance, and present-moment attention). Specifically, higher levels of acting with awareness predicted individuals’ lower levels of procrastination the next day (β = -0.042, 95% CI [-0.070, -0.019]), which enhanced their subsequent levels of acting with awareness (β = -0.087, 95% CI [-0.113, -0.058]). This indicated a self-perpetuating virtuous cycle between acting with awareness and daily procrastination.
Conclusions Our findings provided valuable insights into mindfulness-based preventions and interventions. This study not only supported the role of mindfulness in reducing procrastination, but more importantly, highlighted the importance of targeting particular dimensions of mindfulness, rather than considering it as a whole, to enhance the effectiveness of mindfulness practices.
... Several researchers utilised these scales in their studies to measure procrastination. For instance, Goroshit (Goroshit, 2018) used the Studying Procrastination Scale developed by Wohl, Pychyl, and Bennett (Wohl et al., 2010), Tuckman (Tuckman, 2005) and Michinov et al. (Michinov et al., 2011) used Tuck-man Procrastination Scale, Klingsieck et al. (Klingsieck et al., 2012) used General Lay procrastination scale in their research to study procrastination. ...
Procrastination is one of the issues affecting more than half of the student population and is known to impact them negatively. It is also one of the major reasons for failure and dropout. Therefore, several studies have been conducted in this domain to understand when and why students procrastinate. The existing studies use self-reported procrastination scales and/or digital traces of student interactions recorded in learning environments to identify procrastination behavior. The majority of the extant studies leverage individual tasks such as assignments submission, quizzes attempted, course materials assessed by a student, etc., to study such behavior. This paper uses group-based collaborative wiki activity to explore the procrastination behavior among the students. This study will help us explore student behavior in a group activity. The results would help us investigate if the student’s behavior changes when it comes to a group activity. The results would be beneficial for instructors, practitioners, and educational researchers to know if group activity could be utilized to overcome procrastination behavior.
... Pychyl et al. (2000) reported that instead of learning, students often take part in activities such as sleeping, reading, or watching TV, while Tice and Bratslavsky (2000), reported that people put back or ignore aversive works to get a temporary positive affect at the price of prolonged goals. Several authors, such as Steel (2007), Tice et al. (2001), Wohl et al. (2010) have suggested that negative emotions can be considered an important antecedent of procrastination. Tice et al. (2001) reported that when individuals are unhappy, they tend to procrastinate more. ...
Academic procrastination is one of the main problems students encounter during studying. It affects their mental health, academic performance, and even everyday activities. A lack of time management was once thought to be the cause of procrastination. Procrastination, however, has been linked to mood control, according to recent studies. Decision-making is also a factor that is influenced by emotion or a person’s affect. The present study aims to find whether decision-making and affective styles influence academic procrastination among Indian students. The participants (N = 211) who are currently studying any discipline in a regular mode and who are between the ages of 17 to 30 years (mean = 21.10 & SD = 2.168) were selected using purposive sampling, and data was collected online using Academic Procrastination Scale, General Decision-Making Style Instrument and Affective Style Questionnaire. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation, along with multiple regression analysis. Results found a significant inverse correlation between rational decision-making and academic procrastination and a weak inverse correlation between adjusting affective style and academic procrastination. A significant positive correlation between avoidant decision-making and academic procrastination was also found. Through regression analysis avoidance, decision-making has been found as a positive predictor of academic procrastination along with rational decision-making, and spontaneous decision-making as negative predictors. No significant correlations were found for academic procrastination with intuitive, dependent, spontaneous, concealing, and tolerating styles. The current results contribute to the existing literature on academic procrastination and the development of effective strategies to reduce academic procrastination by managing unhealthy decision-making styles.
... These feelings can contribute to associating the aversive task with even more negative affect, and therefore potentially increase the ongoing procrastination. Meanwhile, as demonstrated by Wohl et al. (2010), self-forgiveness for procrastinating can reduce procrastination by decreasing the negative affect. Considering the above, it appears that procrastination can serve as a form of regulatory activity that is pursued at the expense of the future well-being. ...
Procrastination, the voluntary delay of beginning or completing an intended task despite the negative consequences of doing so, is a prevalent problem that entails severe academic, professional, financial, and health consequences. According to the influential emotion regulation process perspective, procrastination occurs when people prioritize short-term mood repair over pursuing their long-term goals. This suggests that chronic procrastination may be related to emotion regulation dysfunction; however, further research is still necessary. In this thesis, I discuss the current literature on emotion regulation dysfunction in procrastination, as well as report the present EEG study aiming to compare the effectiveness of the two emotion down-regulation strategies, cognitive distraction and cognitive reappraisal, in high and low procrastinating students (N = 40). Amplitudes of the late positive potential were measured during the emotion regulation task and participants' preference for using either strategy was assessed during the emotion regulation choice task. While no between-group differences were found in effectiveness or preference regarding emotion regulation, the results suggest that the high procrastinating group may be characterized by a reduced ability to distract attention from negative stimuli. The results indicate the need for further research on the ability to pursue long-term goals through effective emotion regulation in procrastination, which will help develop effective therapeutic methods for its treatment.
... If short-term mood regulation is prioritised over long-term goals, then people will procrastinate as a means of making a positive hedonic shift by avoiding the difficult emotions associated with an aversive task [2]. In support of this perspective, randomised controlled trials and prospective research have demonstrated that interventions which improve emotion regulation skills are effective for reducing procrastination [32][33][34]. In short, procrastination can be understood as poor mood regulation in the form of avoidant coping that shifts the focus to "feeling good now" [35], but at the cost of reaching goals. ...
Research over the past two decades has continued to highlight the robust associations between procrastination and stress across multiple populations and contexts. Despite this burgeoning evidence base and theory linking procrastination to higher levels of stress, as well as the reverse, the role of context in this potentially dynamic association has received relatively little attention. In this conceptual review I argue that from a mood regulation perspective of procrastination, stressful contexts necessarily increase risk for procrastination because they deplete coping resources and lower the threshold for tolerating negative emotions. Drawing on insights from coping and emotion regulation theory, the new stress context vulnerability model of procrastination proposes that the risk for procrastination increases in stressful contexts primarily because procrastination is a low-resource means of avoiding aversive and difficult task-related emotions. The new model is then applied to evidence on the primary and secondary sources of stress during the COVID-19 pandemic and how they may have increased vulnerability for procrastination. After discussing potential applications of the new model for understanding how and why risk for procrastination may increase in other stressful contexts, approaches that might mitigate vulnerability for procrastination in high-stress contexts are discussed. Overall, this new stress context vulnerability model underscores the need for taking a more compassionate view of the antecedents and factors that may increase the risk for procrastination.
... По нашим данным, большинство студентов (84,4 %) сталкиваются с негативными эмоциональными состояниями, самые частые из которых -тревога (ее отмечают 80,7 % респондентов) и чувство вины (58,7 % респондентов). Это вполне согласуется с результатами исследователей, изучающих данную тему, которые свидетельствуют о том, что отрицательные эмоции являются важными предшественниками прокрастинации (Steel, 2007;Wohl, Pychyl, & Bennett, 2010). Когда человек сталкивается с задачей, которая рассматривается как неприятная, трудная или скучная, он испытывает отрицательные эмоции (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984). ...
В статье авторы рассматривают академическую прокрастинацию как серьезную проблему студентов высших учебных заведений, которая негативно сказывается на их психологическом состоянии и на результатах учебной деятельности. Актуальность исследования заключается в распространенности проблемы. В исследованиях на данную тему отмечается, что очень большой процент студентов подвержен академической прокрастинации. Новизна исследования заключается в комплексном изучении у студентов гуманитарного профиля проявлений и причин академической прокрастинации и связанных с ней эмоциональных состояний. Исследование проводилось с помощью авторской анкеты-опросника на выборке студентов гуманитарных специальностей (в количестве 128 человек) в декабре 2020 года. В результате были получены и проанализированы данные по нескольким направлениям: 1) проявления прокрастинации; 2) причины прокрастинации; 3) эмоциональные состояния, сопровождающие прокрастинацию; 4) последствия для учебного процесса; 5) пути преодоления состояния прокрастинации. Было выявлено, что академическая прокрастинация проявляется у респондентов прежде всего в откладывании выполнения учебных заданий и подготовки к экзаменам. Наиболее частыми причинами такого откладывания респонденты назвали трудоемкость и сложность задачи, а также вид задания: чаще всего откладывают письменные задания. Эмоциональный аспект академической прокрастинации обычно характеризуется у респондентов тревогой и чувством вины. Приступать к выполнению задания студентов чаще всего побуждают две причины: тревога о негативных последствиях того, что работа не будет сдана в срок, и желание поскорее избавиться от задачи, которая вызывает напряжение, оставаясь невыполненной. Также было проанализировано влияние академической прокрастинации на учебный процесс. Оказалось, что более трети опрошенных хотя бы несколько раз пропускали занятия по причине несделанного задания. Таким образом, академическая прокрастинация является фактором, который значительно осложняет учебную деятельность студентов вузов.
... Negative emotions have been suggested as one of the antecedents of procrastination (Steel, 2007;Tice et al., 2001;Wohl et al., 2010). Evidence has shown that individuals engage in more procrastination when they are upset or sad, and that distraction reduces the negative feelings of procrastination (Tice et al., 2001). ...
The current scientific literature lacks studies on the relationship between problematic internet use (PIU) and procrastination, especially regarding the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examined the association between procrastination and PIU, as well as determining the mediating roles of tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression. The conceptual model was tested using data collected from 434 Iranian college students. The participants completed a number of psychometric scales assessing procrastination, PIU, tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results showed that PIU, tolerance for ambiguity, and suppression were positively associated with procrastination, and that there was a negative association between reappraisal and procrastination. Moreover, the mediation analysis indicated that tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression fully mediated the association between PIU and procrastination. However, it is also possible to interpret the results as suggesting that PIU is unimportant as a predictor for procrastination once mediators are controlled for.
... They procrastinate the task and fail to do the aversive task (Tice et al., 2001). At the same time, they frequently report experiencing feelings of guilt , worry, and shame (Fee & Tangney, 2000;Wohl et al., 2010) during and after a procrastination episode. This subjective discomfort also leads to increased negative affect over time (Sirois & Giguère, 2018), further maladaptive dynamics, and even enhances future procrastination (Pollack & Herres, 2020;Wäschle et al., 2014). ...
Procrastination is the irrational delay of an intended task and is common among students. A delay can only be defined as procrastination when it is voluntary, the action was intended but not implemented, and the delay is accompanied by subjective discomfort. Established scales of procrastination cover mainly behavioral aspects but have neglected the emotional aspect. This inaccuracy concerning the construct validity might entail misconceptions of procrastination. Accordingly, we developed and validated the Behavioral and Emotional Academic Procrastination Scale (BEPS), which covers all aspects of the definition of procrastination. The 6-item scale measuring self-reported academic procrastination was tested in three studies. Study 1 ( N = 239) evaluated the psychometric qualities of the BEPS, indicating good item characteristics and internal consistency. Study 2 ( N = 1,441) used confirmatory factor analysis and revealed two correlated factors: one covering the behavioral aspect and the other reflecting the emotional aspect. Measurement invariance was shown through longitudinal and multigroup confirmatory factor analyses. Study 3 ( N = 234) provided evidence for the scale’s convergent validity through correlations with established procrastination scales, self-efficacy, and neuroticism. The BEPS thus economically operationalizes all characteristics of academic procrastination and appears to be a reliable and valid self-report measure.
... Hall and Fincham found this process to be a shift from self-punishment to self-acceptance, thereby reducing the negative consequences of procrastination [43]. Self-forgiveness allows individuals to move past the burden of previous behaviors and concentrate more on the upcoming learning tasks to make a positive impact on future academic performance [118]. Two studies both demonstrate that self-forgiveness strategies enhance feelings of self-worth and positive emotions and result in personal growth [101,72]. ...
... Adolescent acquire cognitive efficiency through reducing start-up time and by strategic planning. (15) Another aspect is the psychological beliefs of students regarding their ability to work under pressure is one justification for their tendency to procrastinate referred to as 'sensation seeking' (17) Maladaptive characteristics of academic procrastination are laziness, postponement of work and fear of failure. Laziness is the result of boredom from the classes resulting in the delay of the work. ...
Mental health is an integral part of adolescent's wellbeing. Procrastination of the academic tasks is found to be the cause of stress among the adolescents. Procrastination is an individual act of postponing or suspending the tasks until the last gasp or past the deadlines. Psychotherapies appears to be an effective treatment for academic procrastination among the adolescents. The present review compared the efficacy of ACT and CBT in reducing the academic procrastination among the adolescents. Methods: Thorough search of three databases (Pubmed, Google Scholar, and PsycINFO) from 2010-2021 was conducted using the keywords like CBT, ACT and academic procrastination. Results: Research support findings that psychological interventions both CBT and ACT are promising interventions for decreasing procrastination. ACT had better long-term effects than CBT on improving procrastinating behaviour.
... [14] Greater level of self-compassion has been related to lesser self-conscious emotions such as shame or guilt, greater self-forgiveness, and reduction in future procrastination and negative mood. [15,16] Self-compassion may thus act as a buffer in the experience of negative events and enhance positive feelings toward oneself when encountering difficulties. Studies examining self-compassion and anxiety across clinical samples suggest that self-compassion reduces the severity of anxiety and functions as a buffer. ...
Background and Aim: Literature on procrastination suggests that it is related to varied negative outcomes in the nonclinical population; however, there is a paucity of studies examining procrastination in the clinical population. We examined procrastination and self-compassion in persons with anxiety disorders.
Methods: Forty-nine individuals diagnosed with an anxiety disorder, between 18 and 50 years of age, were recruited from a tertiary care center. Participants were assessed using the Decisional Procrastination Scale, the Adult Inventory of Procrastination, the Self-Compassion Scale, the Overall Anxiety Severity and Impairment Scale, and the Beck Depression Inventory-II.
Results: Results indicated that individuals with anxiety disorders reported elevated procrastination and low self-compassion. Self-compassion and decisional procrastination were significantly negatively correlated. The subjective distress due to procrastination reported by the participants was significantly positively correlated with decisional procrastination. Self-compassion and anxiety severity were found to be negatively correlated. Self-compassion was a significant predictor of decisional procrastination and anxiety severity.
Conclusion: The findings of the present study highlight the significance of assessing procrastination in anxiety disorders and indicate that self-compassion-based interventions may be helpful in alleviating anxiety symptoms and in reducing decisional procrastination.
... El hábito puede ser más o menos frecuente y presentarse en ciertos contextos, mientras que la justificación o razones pueden obedecer a diferentes valencias motivacionales, lo que conllevaría diferentes experiencias, percepciones y emociones. Siendo así, varios autores han señalado que las emociones negativas son un antecedente importante de la procrastinación (Wohl et al., 2010) y que, por lo tanto, la regulación emocional tendría un papel importante para comprender los aspectos motivacionales que definen la procrastinación en su inicio o mantenimiento. ...
La procrastinación es un déficit motivacional que conduce a dificultades académicas, psicológicas y de salud en el alumnado. Se exploran las experiencias y emociones sobre la procrastinación en alumnado universitario con tres niveles de riesgo académico, y sus posibles implicaciones para la orientación académica en la educación superior. El estudio empleó grupos de discusión y analiza los discursos mediante un procedimiento de categorización progresiva. Participaron 21 universitarios en tres grupos de riesgo académico bajo (7), moderado (8) y alto (6); entre los 17 y 23 años, de cinco titulaciones y de segundo a cuarto curso. Se hallaron fuertes emociones negativas asociadas a la procrastinación y componentes motivacionales, como la falta de interés en las tareas, diferenciadas de acuerdo con el riesgo académico. Se discuten las posibles implicaciones para la orientación pedagógica ofreciendo pautas de cara al tratamiento de la procrastinación desde una perspectiva preventiva. Para ello diferenciamos factores internos del alumnado, tales como capacidad, motivación, organización y gestión el tiempo. Factores externos relativos a las situaciones en los que se desarrolla el aprendizaje, como el tipo y extensión de los trabajos, la generación de un reto óptimo o la hetero-regulación docente recordando el calendario de actividades. Se recomiendan diferentes estrategias de orientación, prestando atención a la interacción entre estudiantes y entre estudiantes y el docente.
... The Studying Procrastination Scale (Wohl, et al., 2010) is a self-report instrument consisting of three items on a seven-point Likert scale, from 1 (strongly disagree) to 7 (strongly agree). An example of scale items is: "I delayed preparing for the exam by doing other, less important things instead". ...
Academic procrastination is one of the main problems in the private higher education sector associated with a high rate of abandonment of higher education and delays in fulfilling student obligations. In an effort to detect some of the personal predictors of this phenomenon, we examined associations between personality traits, psychological distress, academic procrastination, and academic achievement among students in private higher education. A sample of 369 participants (145 men, 224 women, 23 years on average) was taken. Participants self-reported their academic achievement and anonymously completed several questionnaires: The Studying Procrastination Scale, The Depression Anxiety Stress Scales – 21, the HEXACO Personality Inventory-Revised - 60. In line with prediction, the HEXACO dimensions explained an additional 24% of the variance in academic procrastination after controlling for psychological distress. In addition, Conscientiousness and psychological distress predicted academic procrastination, and Conscientiousness uniquely significantly predicted academic performance. Our results suggest that academic procrastination and academic performance are influenced by personality. Also, this study indicated that the impact of psychological distress on academic outcomes depends on the constellation of personality traits. Current findings could help to better understand personal factors associated with negative academic outcomes and prevent negative emotional states associated with student procrastination and poor academic performance.
... However, the extant psychological literature on the behavioral consequences of self-forgiveness has yielded mixed results. Some studies suggest that self-forgiveness can help people to better themselves (see Peterson et al., 2017;Wohl et al., 2010). Other research, however, suggests that self-forgiveness can lead to a perpetuation of negative behaviors (e.g., smoking, gambling; Squires et al., 2012;Tangney et al., 2005;Wohl & Thompson, 2011). ...
Self-forgiveness is typically understood as a process that prevents continued engagement in negative behavior. However, it can also have a dark side in that it can lead to continuing that negative behavior. In the current research, we examined self-forgiveness in the domain of overspending—a potentially self-harming behavior. We tested whether self-forgiveness for past overspending affected future spending as a function of individual differences in incremental theories about character. In two studies, we asked participants to recall a past overspending incident as well as the degree to which they forgive themselves for this overspending, and then assessed their spending during a grocery trip immediately afterwards (Study 1) or a shopping trip in the subsequent days (Study 2). In both studies, self-forgiveness for overspending was related to greater subsequent spending among incremental theorists, but not among entity theorists. These results extend current research on self-forgiveness by demonstrating that implicit theories can determine for whom self-forgiveness fosters positive behavioral change (entity theorists) and for whom self-forgiveness may maintain the self-harming behavior (incremental theorists).
... Academisch uitstelgedrag wordt gekenmerkt door de neiging om belangrijke studie gerelateerde taken uit te stellen ondanks de realisatie dat dit waarschijnlijk zal leiden tot negatieve consequenties (Lay, 1986;Lay & Silverman, 1996;Steel, 2007). Taken die regelmatig worden uitgesteld onder studenten zijn het schrijven van verslagen, het leren voor tentamens en het bijhouden van wekelijkse leestaken (Nordby et al., 2017;Wohl, Pychyl & Bennett, 2010). Academisch uitstelgedrag heeft verschillende negatieve gevolgen, waaronder het behalen van lagere cijfers, het staken van belangrijke vakken en studievertraging (Hussain & Sultan, 2010;Rozental et al., 2018;Scher & Osterman, 2002). ...
Hoevers, M., (2019), De ontwikkeling van een faalangstvragenlijst voor studenten (Development of a fear of failure questionnaire for students), Deventer Saxion University of applied sciences.
To be able to discriminate between students who procrastinate as a consequence of fear of failure and students who procrastinate for other reasons two parallel questionnaires were developed. Based on a conceptual framework in which the current models of fear of failure were brought together an item pool has been created. Statistical analyses resulted in three factors that could be used as scales for the questionnaire. Factor 1 could be described as state anxiety during examination. Factor 2 is related to de fear of disapproval by others. Factor 3 is related to fear for the consequences of failure, anticipating or during exams.
... Responsibility makes an individual with conscientiousness trait committed to the welfare of every member of his/her community, including his/her abuser. Other research results illustrate that there is a correlation between self-forgiveness process and level of procrastination among university students [45] and a negative correlation between forgiveness and self-blame [46] The final result discloses a negative correlation between neuroticism and forgiveness; hence, it strengthens the findings of prior researches [17, 38,]. McCrae and Costa [47] assert that neuroticism is a part of personality traits that often triggers anxiety. ...
... In addition, perfectionism and rumination have been found to be negatively related to self-forgiveness (Dixon et al., 2014), suggesting that self-forgiveness is undermined by overthinking about transgressions. Interestingly, self-forgiveness has been found to reduce procrastination among university students (Wohl et al., 2010), suggesting that self-forgiveness serves to adaptively move on in order to accomplish other goals. ...
The present research addresses the unique role of locomotion and assessment regulatory-mode orientations on self-forgiveness, by controlling for personality traits and by excluding possible effects of variables linked to strategies that underestimate one’s culpability. In three studies (Total N = 471) we found that assessment obstructs, while locomotion promotes, self-forgiveness both at an explicit (Studies 1 and 2) and at an implicit level (Study 3), and by controlling for acceptance of responsibility (Studies 1 and 3), the Big-Five dimensions, moral disengagement strategies (Study 1), self-blame and justifications (Study 2), transgression severity, and time passed since the episode occurred (Study 3). The implications of the results are also discussed with reference to self-forgiveness.
... There is a significant relationship between forgiveness, perfectionism, intimacy, and life satisfaction (Kim, Johnson, & Ripley, 2011). In one example, students who procrastinated in reading a lesson were less likely to procrastinate on subsequent exams when faced forgiveness (Wohl, Pychyl, & Bennett, 2010). ...
... From this perspective, focusing on regulating emotions and prioritizing the short-term mood repair rather than pursuing goals in the long term, results in failure in self-regulation and therefore procrastination (Sirois and Pychyl, 2013). Evidence indicated that negative emotions are important antecedents of procrastination (Steel, 2007a;Wohl et al., 2010). When an individual confronts a task that is viewed as aversive, difficult, or boring, he/she experiences negative emotions (Solomon and Rothblum, 1984). ...
Objective and background:
Academic procrastination as deliberate postponement of academic tasks, despite being aware of its consequences, is a common phenomenon among students. Current conceptualizations of procrastination support the rule of emotion regulation difficulties in the psychopathology of this phenomenon. In this regard, the current study is aimed to investigate the role of difficulty in emotion regulation in academic procrastination.
Method:
The present study is a cross-sectional study. Participants were 250 students who completed Tuckman Procrastination Scale (TPS), and Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS).
Result:
Correlation analyses showed that the TPS has a significant positive association on overall DERS and all but one of the six dimensions (DERS-Awareness) of emotion regulation difficulties (p < 0.01). This association remained significant after controlling for anxiety and depression. Further, the multivariate regression showed that the only DERS dimension that could predict TPS was DERS-Strategies. Finally, individuals with a high level of procrastination reported greater DERS scores than those with a lower level.
Discussion:
Results indicate that difficulty in emotion regulation, especially the ones' believe about his/her ability in regulating unpleasant emotions effectively, is important in procrastination. However, despite the limited association between DERS and TPS, the findings raise some potentially useful implications for procrastination studies and interventions.
... This result is of great practical importance as when a person cannot get down to the task, watching a video showing the forest landscape might help. This walk (or video watched) should significantly reduce the aspect related to the occurrence of negative thinking, which has been suggested to be a key factor responsible for problems with the impossibility to get on with tasks [73]. The urban-forest area relation has also been repeatedly studied with some indication, that being in an urban area may adversely affect to the mental health of the subjects [74]. ...
A common problem among students is the problem of delaying important work activities, which is conceptualized as procrastination. Since procrastination can cause considerable costs for society, we would like to find a method to effectively alleviate the symptoms of this conditioning. It has been proven in an earlier study that staying in the forest environment increases vitality and reduces anxiety, and the negative state of these features can be associated with the intensification of procrastination symptoms. Therefore, it is likely that watching a forest video may decrease the probability or intensity of procrastination. To measure the impact of the forest environment on the level of procrastination of the subjects, a randomized experiment was carried out, in which the subjects watched in random order (on different days) one of two 15-min videos: one showing a walk in the forest area and one showing a walk in an urban environment (control). We measured the level of so-called ‘fluid procrastination’ including three aspects: ‘lack of energy to do the work’, ‘inability to get to work’ and ’pessimistic attitude to do the work’ with a set of questions the respondents completed before and after the experiment. The results showed that one aspect of fluid procrastination (‘pessimistic attitude to do the work’) can be effectively lowered by watching a video showing the forest environment. In contrast, watching a video of an urban environment increased the procrastination levels for two other aspects of procrastination (‘lack of energy to do the work’, ‘inability to get to work’). We also measured three other parameters before and after the experiment: mood state, restoration and vitality. Watching the video from forest area raised mood and restoration and watching the video from urban area, decreased mood, vitality and restoration. The study suggests that watching a video showing forest landscapes could be used as an effective remedy for problems related to procrastination among students.
The development of science and technology in the last couple of
centuries led to a population explosion across the globe, leading to
increasing urbanization. In order to fulfil the uprising's food demands,
cultivation on a large scale using huge amounts of artificial nutrient
supplements with limited land resources became an unavoidable situation.
Some of these nutrients enter the biological system and some flow to nearby
water bodies. This unwanted nutrient loading on the water bodies makes
them nutrient-rich. Urban sanitation and industrialization also added
problems to the existing situation by releasing nutrient-rich polluted waters
into water bodies and making them toxic. However, despite extensive
research during the past few decades, there are few solutions to
eutrophication. This review will highlight various sources of eutrophication
and its impact and will try to connect solutions for the betterment of the
future.
Today’s knowledge workers face cognitively demanding tasks and blurred work-life boundaries amidst rising stress and burnout in the workplace. Holistic approaches to supporting workers, which consider both productivity and well-being, are increasingly important. Taking this holistic approach, we designed an intervention inspired by cognitive behavioural therapy that consists of: (1) using the term “Time Well Spent” (TWS) in place of “productivity”, (2) a mobile self-logging tool for logging activities, feelings, and thoughts at work, and (3) a visualization that guides users to reflect on their data. We ran a 4-week exploratory qualitative comparison in the field with 24 graduate students to examine our Therapy-inspired intervention alongside a classic Baseline intervention. Participants who used our intervention often shifted towards a holistic perspective of their primary working hours, which included an increased consideration of breaks and emotions. No such change was seen by those who used the Baseline intervention.
Objective: I examined the relationships between psychological capital (PsyCap), academic adjustment, and tendency toward procrastination in 3 groups of students in higher education-an ethnocultural minority group (Israeli Arabs), a neurotypical ethnocultural majority group (Israeli Jews), and an ethnocultural majority group diagnosed with learning disabilities (Israeli Jews with learning disabilities). The goal was to deepen and expand understanding of the factors that affect academic adjustment. Methods: Overall, 449 post-secondary students enrolled in various academic institutions in Israel participated in the study. The data were collected using an online Qualtrics questionnaire. Results: First, I hypothesized a positive relationship between PsyCap and academic adjustment and a negative relationship between those 2 variables and academic procrastination. This hypothesis was fully corroborated. Second, I hypothesized that students from an ethnic minority group and majority students with a diagnosed neurological disability would present lower levels of PsyCap and academic adjustment and higher levels of academic procrastination than a majority neurotypical group. The hypothesis was only partially confirmed. Third, I hypothesized that the higher the PsyCap, the lower the degree of academic procrastination and, in turn, the higher the academic adjustment. The hypothesis was confirmed. Conclusion: The findings can help support the design of academic assistance programs to improve the integration into higher learning of students who belong to special groups.
Academic procrastination of students of all ages can cause stress, anxiety, mental breakdowns, and many more psychological conditions. This study aimed to discover the degrees of procrastination on different types of schoolwork; revealed the impact of procrastination on students’ mental health; determined the main causes of procrastination behavior; challenged stereotypes and misconceptions about procrastinators and proposed an intervention plan for high school students. This research focused on 11th-grade students at AHSNCCU and was conducted through in-depth individual interviews. We designed a questionnaire with 13 questions and analyzed the answers from 6 female procrastinators. Through this research, we concluded that students are less likely to procrastinate on group projects because peer pressure and other people’s perceptions of them are influential to their behaviors. As for the causes of procrastination, we identified many reasons including the fear of failure, fear of stepping out of their comfort zones, and the lack of motivation (which is mentioned most). The common stereotype of procrastinators – procrastinators’ lack of time managing skills -- is challenged because we spot deeper reasons and fears behind their procrastinating. Also, our research suggests the belief that procrastinators get bad grades is unreliable as many of our interviewees received decent grades and still procrastinate. To conclude the research, we proposed intervention activities such as journaling, freewriting, and meditating. In addition, we put up posters regarding the causes and effects of procrastination with intervention activities to raise awareness of academic procrastination and provide a helping hand for those in misery from it.
Self-forgiveness (SF) involves a process through which negative moral emotions directed at the self are replaced by benevolence and acceptance. Lower SF scores can be associated with less self-compassion, higher psychological distress, and lower life dissatisfaction. However, neural correlates of SF have not been investigated yet. We enrolled a total of 79 healthy individuals. The Self-Forgiveness Scale (SFS), Self-Compassion Scale (SCS), Connor-Davidson Resilience Scale (CD-RISC), Beck Depression Inventory-II (BDI-II), and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI) were evaluated. Voxel-wise correlational analyses showed a significant positive correlation between the total SFS scores and gray matter volumes (GMVs) in the fusiform gyrus (FG). In addition, the GMVs in the FG were significantly positively associated with the total SCS and CD-RISC scores and negatively correlated with the total BDI-II and BAI scores. These findings suggest that the FG related to the mirror neuron system might be a neural correlate of SF. Furthermore, its increased volumes of FG in healthy individuals can be associated with the capacity to overcome stressful life events.
The Australian ABC television series Making Australia Happy followed eight individuals as they completed an intensive eight-week positive psychology coaching programme using scientifically-validated positive psychology interventions. The show generated the largest ever web-based response to an ABC programme with over 1,000,000 hits on the ABC website (initially crashing the ABC servers) and over 45,000 registered individuals taking online assessments and doing positive psychology exercises. Over the eight weeks participants’ levels of stress, anxiety and depression reduced remarkably, levels of subjective wellbeing and psychological well-being increased and there were significant improvements in a range of biochemical markers including blood pressure, cortisol and melatonin. Participants’ mean performance on a cold presser task (a measure of physical resilience) increased from 57 seconds to 131 seconds post-programme. In addition, pre-post Magnetoencephalography (MEG) brain scans showed significant positive changes in brain functioning. A 24-week follow-up indicated that the gains in positive psychological functioning were maintained. This reflective article, written by the psychologist presenter of the show outlines these findings and discusses some of the challenges for psychologists working at the intersection of science and commercialism, particularly in areas such as positive psychology.
Purpose
The aim of this paper is to offer insight into procrastination over the past decade using bibliometric analysis to gauge the evolving journey of this concept. Thus, the concept of procrastination is examined in terms of authors, affiliating institutions, countries, citation patterns, bibliometric coupling and co-occurrence analysis.
Design/methodology/approach
For exploring the research work on procrastination, the bibliometric analysis was conducted for co-authorship, co-occurrence of keywords, citation network analysis, most influential authors, document and country wise bibliometric coupling by taking 630 publications between the years 2010–2020 into consideration. Software like VOSviewer and Tableau was used for result analysis. In addition, the content analysis was used for the top research papers amongst the eleven different clusters.
Findings
The study reveals the nature and direction of research over the past decade on procrastination. The most prominent journals, authors, articles, institutions, countries and keywords have been identified. The topic shows an upward trend of research as no consolidation or maturity in the pattern is observed. Frontiers In Psychology had the highest number of publications followed by Personality And Individual Differences. The top three contributors are Sirosis, F.M., Feng, T. and Ferrari, J.R. The country-wise analysis shows the USA leading followed by Germany, China and Canada. UiT The Arctic University of Norway was having the most significant contribution followed by The Ohio State University, DePaul University and Tel Hai Academic College. The most prominent themes and documents are reported. In addition, the content analysis depicted the need to conduct the research work on the certain themes which may usher the researchers towards more conceptual clarity and strategizing.
Originality/value
Sufficient discourse and relevant literature are available about procrastination, bedtime procrastination and academic procrastination and related areas. However, procrastination is becoming a universal issue, especially in the field of human resources and workforce development. This paper attempts to facilitate the policy-makers, regulators, researchers and practitioners to explore allied and less explored areas of procrastination that need future investigation.
The aim of this study is to identify the factors affecting the social laziness of organizations. This research is applied in terms of purpose, and in terms of nature and method of data collection is survey-analytical. The statistical population of the study in the screening phase is 15 experts including academic experts, managers, and supervisors of public organizations in Tehran that have two characteristics; first, complete, in-depth familiarity with the organization issues; second, interested in participating in the study. In this phase, judgmental sampling method was used to select the best people from the community of experts. The main data collection tool in this study is questionnaires that were designed for different purposes and distributed among the statistical population. It should be noted that in this study, the first questionnaire was designed to be open and to identify the factors. The second questionnaire was close, aiming at screening the factors. After data collection, the necessary analyses were conducted using SPSS software, the combined approach of DEMETEL, and ANP. The results of the research led to the identification and prioritization of 8 factors. Based on the combined approach, the criterion of order-law and injustice ranked first with a weight of 0.1634. Weak monitoring system ranked second with a weight of 0.1426 and space boredom and burnout ranked third with a weight of 0.1274.
The aim of the study was to investigate the predictive value of adaptive and maladaptive dimensions of perfectionism for academic procrastination in university students and the possible moderating role of different dimensions of academic hardiness. The total sample was consisted of 966 undergraduate students from various departments. They were asked to answer three self-reported questionnaires as regards their perfectionism, procrastination, and hardiness in academic settings. The results showed that adaptive perfectionism is a negative predictor of academic procrastination, while the maladaptive perfectionism is a positive predictor. Two of the three dimensions of academic hardiness, namely commitment and challenge, were found to be significant moderators of the relation between maladaptive perfectionism and academic procrastination, while control was a significant moderator of the relationship between adaptive perfectionism and students’ academic procrastination. The results indicate that finding the academic tasks as highly challenging and being highly committed to personal accomplishment seems to play a moderating role by leading to higher procrastination only for those who feel a high discrepancy between their personal standards and their accomplishments. Having, though, high personal standards and a high level of control seems to reduce academic procrastination.
This qualitative study examines academic procrastination among Israeli Master of Education students writing their theses. The majority of the the participants (80% of the 145) reported behaving differently on this task than on other assignments. One of the primary factors influencing procrastination derives from the complexity of the assignment. Considering the research literature describes tight relationships between academic procrastination and academic achievement, one surprising finding concerns the fact that respondents saw no relationship between their procrastination and their final grade. A gap was found between students' self-perception and their actual performance. Approximately 75% of the students perceive themselves as academic procrastinators, but in actuality nearly half of them completed the assignment on time. The starting date was found to be significant. Students who immediately began work upon receiving the assignment strongly tended to submit it on time. Students who did not begin early completed the project later than the scheduled date, if at all. Practitioner Notes Practitioner Notes 1. There are challenges to responding to student procrastination 2. Procrastination has a direct effect on student achievement 3. There is a gap between students' self-perception and their actual performance. 4. The complexity of the assignment has an effect on procrastination
Procrastination is the volitional delay of an intended task, despite believing that delay will be harmful. While not all delay is attributable to procrastination, procrastination is fundamentally characterised by delay. As much as 90% of the population have experience with procrastination, with around 20% in the general population and 50% of university students reporting problematic levels of chronic procrastination. Compared to their non-procrastinating peers, chronic procrastinators report lower levels of wellbeing, higher rates of depression, higher rates of alcohol and other drug use for coping, and poor health adjustment. Procrastinators tend to have lower salaries, shorter durations of employment, and a greater likelihood of being unemployed or underemployed. There is also a direct economic impact on the workforce, with office workers found to spend an average of 1.5 hours per work day procrastinating.
Despite its prevalence, the variability of tasks, time available, subjectivity, and individual differences render procrastination difficult to observe as it happens. Consequently, while correlates, antecedents, effects, and types of procrastination have been widely investigated, progress in this field is limited by several factors. In particular, few studies have accurately quantified delay associated with procrastination over time. As a consequence, there is limited evidence supporting the ability of trait measures of procrastination to predict delay, and few interventions aimed at reducing procrastination have been clearly associated with reduced delay. Recent developments in smartphone technology and Experience Sampling Method (ESM) applications have enabled intensive longitudinal observations of such dynamic phenomena with relative ease; however, such methodology and statistical modelling of delay have yet to be reliably applied to the study of procrastination.
To address the challenge of observing delay associated with procrastination, I conducted three studies of students enrolled in a 1st year psychology course: a small pilot study (N = 24) and two larger scale replications (Ns = 80 and 107) focusing on intensive longitudinal measurement of delay, procrastination scale validation, and an intervention to reduce procrastination respectively. Participant ages ranged from 17.38 to 65.85 years (M = 23.85, SD = 9.49) and 75% identified as female. Each study included a baseline survey of demographic and trait procrastination and personality variables, an ESM phase comprised of 28 SMS surveys over 14 days in the lead-up to submission of an assignment worth 30% of the course grade, and the collection of assignment submission date and mark from the course convenor. Participants in the ESM phase were randomly allocated into either an intervention or control condition, with participants in both conditions reporting their assignment progress, completion intent, and affect regarding their assignment progress. Participants in the intervention, but not the control, condition were messaged at the end of each ESM survey with open reflection prompts designed to reduce procrastination. Studies 1 and 3 also included follow up interviews with a small subsample of participants (N = 8) to garner first-hand perspectives of participation in the ESM component of the studies.
Through the application of multilevel model analyses, the presence of quantified delay curves in all three studies provides firm evidence that regular self-reporting of task progress using ESM is a robust and reliable method for measuring behavioural delay. The use of multilevel modelling in quantifying delay enabled the inclusion of mixed effects, where the predictive ability of several procrastination scales could be assessed. A trait measure of passive procrastination was found to reliably predict behavioural delay, whereas no association was found between a measure of active procrastination, a type of procrastination purported to be adaptive and deliberate, and delay. The intervention prompting regular reflection on factors thought to be related to procrastination that was embedded into the ESM phase of each study was found to significantly reduce delay in Studies 1 and 3, but not in Study 2. Between-study differences in this intervention effect were likely related to contextual differences as participants in Study 2 were aware that the research pertained to procrastination whereas those in the other studies were not informed of the focus on procrastination. In the follow-up interviews, participants reported that regularly reporting task progress, as well as the intervention reflection prompts, may have assisted with the reduction of procrastination. Analyses conducted into the relationships between trait procrastination, neuroticism, and state affect and delay revealed that neuroticism (emotional stability) moderated the relationship between trait procrastination and affect, and affect mediated the relationship between trait procrastination and task delay. Moreover, cross-lagged panel model analyses of inter-temporal changes in affect and delay showed that participants who reported greater task progress at an earlier time were likely to report higher positive affect at a subsequent time, whereas those reporting higher positive affect at an earlier time tended to report lower progress at a subsequent time.
Overall, the research offers three specific unique contributions to the body of knowledge. First, the use of ESM surveys of task progress is demonstrated to be a reliable method for measuring behavioural delay associated with procrastination. This is evidenced by the presence of accelerating delay curves, where assignment progress increases in a hyperbolic trajectory prior to a submission date. The reliable observation and modelling of delay is an oft-cited limitation of the field; thus, the replicated validation of this as a reliable method constitutes a valuable contribution. Second, multilevel mixed effects modelling is used to assess the ability of scales measuring different aspects of trait procrastination to predict behavioural delay, indicating that some trait procrastination measures are more predictive of behaviour than are others. The statistical method employed, and the use of task progress rather than study duration as the outcome, enabled the construct validity of the contentious ‘active’ form of procrastination to be challenged. This approach is proposed also to be a suitable method for assessing the behavioural efficacy of targeted interventions for reducing procrastination. Third, sending regular reflection prompts to randomly selected ESM recipients resulted in a significant reduction in behavioural delay in two of the three studies. This use of low-intensity reflection prompts delivered at a high frequency demonstrates smartphone use can be an effective medium for reducing procrastination without the need for intensive approaches requiring considerable commitment from both practitioners and participants. This intervention design sets an example for reducing delay in academia, with the method likely capable of being extended, with adaptation, to procrastination in other areas such as health behaviour change, personal finance, and collective action.
Abstract
The purpose of study was investigate the causes of procrastination prevalence among employees of the administration youth and sport of north khorasan province. The research method used was a descriptive survey and study population included all employees and Managers of the administration youth and sport province, formed the number 111 people.
The research sampling method is censu. data collecting tool, the questionnaire has 25 questions prepared by safariniya and et al (2011) that questionnaire validity and reliability already in previous research, is approved.
Analyze the data gathered from the analysis of variance test and independent t-test was used to examine the relationships between hypotheses in this research.
Results showed, between the negligence of employees and managers with different sexes, significant mean differences, if the negligence between managers and employees with different education and organizational post the average difference was not significant, on the other inefficient indicators, alienation and mental anguish, there was no significant difference between employees and managers administration.
Keywords: Negligence, Inefficiency, Disgust, Mental Anguish, Employees, Administrators
The aim of the presented study was to Polish version of The State Self-Forgiveness Scale (Wohl i in., 2008) – Skala Epizodycznego Przebaczenia Sobie. The scale is used to assess self-forgiveness after wrongdoing towards self and other persons. The scale consists of 17 items and two subscales describing feelings and actions as well as beliefs towards oneself, which are to lead to self-forgiveness. Four hundred forty four (Mage =27.8, SD=9.9) participated in the study. Both exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory analysis were performed to determine the psychometric properties (RMSEA 0,048, GFI 0,924, PCLOSE 0,556). In order to determine the internal consistency was calculated by Cronbach’s alpha (0,80-0,86). The internal validity was assessed by Heartland Forgiveness Scale. The obtained results showed that the Polish version of The State Self-forgiveness Scale as tool with good psychometric properties and to recommend it for the assessment of self-forgiveness both in research.
Background and objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the psychometric properties of the Persian version of the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS) including reliability, validity, measurement invariance among demographic variables and exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Method: In this cross-sectional study, 390 college students from the three universities in Tehran were asked to fill out a battery of four self-report measures that included PPS, DERS, DASS-21, and SWLS questionnaires. Results: The EFA result showed three factors on this scale. PPS measures three dimensions of procrastination called decisional procrastination, behavioral procrastination, and timeliness. The results of multi-group confirmatory factor analysis showed cross group invariance of the factor structure, measurement weights, structural covariances and measurement residuals of PPS across demographic variables. The results revealed high internal consistency and high test-retest reliability. There were statistically significant correlations between PPS and its subscales and DASS-21, DERS, and SWLS. Conclusion: Overall, PPS showed good reliability and validity in Iranian population and it could be applied for assessing their procrastination.
Prokrastinasi merupakan salah satu fenomena permalahan yang mempengaruhi jutaan pelajar di seluruh dunia. Prokrastinasi akademik adalah salah satu alasan yang paling sering dipergunakan dalam merasionalisasi kegagalan atau kinerja akademik yang tidak maksimal dari mahasiswa di perguruan tinggi. Banyak bukti-bukti ilmiah yang menunjukkan bahwa prokrastinasi akademik banyak berhubungan dengan berbagai macam kerugian dalam bidang akademik maupun non-akademik. Efek prokrastinasi pada umumnya mahasiswa akan mengalami penurunan akademik, di samping itu mereka juga dihinggapi ketegangan dan kecemasan yang tinggi. Pada dasarnya ada dua hal yang mempengaruhi prokrastinasi yaitu faktor internal dan faktor eksternal. Faktor internal berupa aspek fisiologis dan psikologis, sedangkan faktor eksternal berupa berbagai hal yang mempengaruhi individu dalam perkembangannya mulai dari gaya pengasuhan orang tua, pengaruh keluarga, dan sebagainya. Berbagai tip untuk mengatasi prokrastinasi didiskusikan baik dalam aspek preventif, developmental, maupun kuratif.
Günümüzde pek çok öğrencinin temel sorunlarından biri olan akademik erteleme davranışı, kökeninde çok çeşitli etmenlerin bulunduğu sorunsal bir olgudur. Akademik ertelemenin akademik başarı, genel not ortalaması, final sınav notları, özsaygı ve öz yeterlilik hisleri gibi değişkenler ile olumsuz bir ilişkisi olduğu bilinmektedir. Genel olarak erteleme davranışlarının öz-kontrol zorluklarından ve yapılacak görevin caydırıcılığından kaynaklı olduğunu düşünülmektedir. Ancak araştırmacılar bu etkenlere yönelik müdahalelerin her zaman istenilen başarıyı sağlayamadığını belirtmişlerdir. Psikodinamik yaklaşımı benimseyen araştırmacılar ve klinisyenler ise zihinsel çatışmaların erteleme davranışlarında oynadığı rolleri ön plana çıkarmaya çalışmışlardır. Güncel alanyazın erteleme davranışlarının duygudurum ve özsaygı düzenlemede yaşanan sorunlardan kaynaklanıyor olabileceğini belirtmektedir. Bu çalışmada, akademik erteleme şikâyeti olan bir üniversite öğrencisi ile yürütülen psikoterapi süreci aktarılmıştır. Psikoterapi süreci ve kuramsal tartışmalar, Heinz Kohut’un psikanalitik kendilik psikolojisi yaklaşımı üzerinden gerçekleştirilmiştir. Psikanalitik kendilik psikolojisi, modern psikanalitik kuramlardan bir tanesi olmakla beraber psikanalizin odağındaki dinamik çatışmalara yönelik vurguyu, kişinin özsaygısını düzenlemek ve kendiliğini ortaya çıkarmakta yaşadığı zorluklara kaydırmaktadır. Bu makalede öncelikli olarak erteleme ile ilgili genel ve klinik alanyazın gözden geçirilmiş, daha sonra uygulanan psikoterapi yaklaşımının kuramsal altyapısı anlatılmış ve son olarak vaka büyüklenmeci kendilik ve ülküleştirme aktarımları gibi psikanalitik kendilik psikolojisi kavramları üzerinden incelenerek tartışılmıştır.
Although research on interpersonal forgiveness is burgeoning, there is little con- ceptual or empirical scholarship on self-forgiveness. To stimulate research on this topic, a conceptual analysis of self-forgiveness is offered in which self-forgiveness is defined and distinguished from interpersonal forgiveness and pseudo self-for- giveness. The conditions under which self-forgiveness is appropriate also are iden- tified. A theoretical model describing the processes involved in self-forgiveness following the perpetration of an interpersonal transgression is outlined and the pro- posed emotional, social-cognitive, and offense-related determinants of self-for- giveness are described. The limitations of the model and its implications for future research are explored.
Procrastination is variously described as harmful, innocuous, or even beneficial. Two longitudinal studies examined procrastination among students. Procrastinators reported lower stress and less illness than nonprocrastinators early in the semester, but they reported higher stress and more illness late in the term, and overall they were sicker. Procrastinators also received lower grades on all assignments. Procrastination thus appears to be a self-defeating behavior pattern marked by short-term benefits and long-term costs.
Although considerable empirical attention has recently focused on forgiveness, less work has been done on examining self-forgiveness. A major stumbling block for self-forgiveness research has been the lack of a measure to assess self-forgiveness for specific transgressions. This article reports the development of the State Self-Forgiveness Scales and the test of a model of self-forgiveness' relation to psychological well-being in the context of the unwanted end of a romantic relationship. In Study 1, factor analysis revealed a 2-factor structure to the self-forgiveness data. Study 2 found that self-blame predicted depressive affect to the extent that participants forgave the self. The implications of state self-forgiveness for both basic research and therapy are discussed. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Progress toward understanding human behavior has been hindered by discipline-bound theories, dividing our efforts. Fortunately, these separate endeavors are converging and can be effectively integrated. Focusing on the fundamental features of picoeconomics. expectancy theory, cumulative prospect theory, and need theory, we construct a temporal motivational theory (TMT). TMT appears consistent with the major findings from many other investigations, including psychobiology and behaviorism. The potential implications of TMT are numerous, affecting our understanding on a wide range of topics, including group behavior, job design, stock market behavior, and goal setting.
Procrastinators have reported experiencing low self-esteem and high social anxiety. The present study explored whether these characteristics promoted the choice of an environmental performance obstacle more by procrastinators than nonprocrastinators as an attempt to protect social and self-esteems. Female procrastinators (n = 57) self-reported significantly lower self-esteem but not abstract for verbal thinking abilities than female nonprocrastinators (n = 63). Participants then were assigned randomly to one of four conditions, in which they could choose the presence of a distracting, debilitating noise when their performance on either a (bogus) diagnostic or nondiagnostic task was public or private to a female experimenter. Procrastinators (49.1%) were more likely than nonprocrastinators (30.2%) to self-handicap. Most procrastinators handicapped in public when the task was nondiagnostic of ability (69.2%) or in private when the task was diagnostic of ability (73.3%), as opposed to public-diagnostic (35.7%) or private-nondiagnostic (20.0%) conditions. There was no significant tendency across conditions to self-handicap by nonprocrastinators. Results were explained by self- and social-esteem protection motives employed by procrastinators.
A recent study on the negative health consequences of procrastination suggested that procrastination was associated with higher stress and poor health (Tice & Baumeister, 1997). The current investigation sought to clarify and extend these findings by examining the mediational role of stress and health behaviors in the procrastination–illness relationship. It was hypothesized that in addition to stress, a behavioral pathway would be implicated, with poor weliness behaviors and delay in seeking treatment for health problems mediating the effects of procrastination on health. The model was tested with a sample of university students (n=122) during a high stress period. As expected, the results indicated that procrastination related to poorer health, treatment delay, perceived stress, and fewer weilness behaviors. The process analyses supported the mediational role of stress and treatment delay, but not weliness behaviors, in the procrastination–illness relationship. The model is consistent with current conceptualizations of the personality–health relationship, and presents procrastination as a behavioral style that may increase vulnerability for negative health outcomes.
Mediated moderation occurs when the interaction between two variables affects a mediator, which then affects a dependent variable. In this article, we describe the mediated moderation model and evaluate it with a statistical simulation using an adaptation of product-of-coefficients methods to assess mediation. We also demonstrate the use of this method with a substantive example from the adolescent tobacco literature. In the simulation, relative bias (RB) in point estimates and standard errors did not exceed problematic levels of +/- 10% although systematic variability in RB was accounted for by parameter size, sample size, and nonzero direct effects. Power to detect mediated moderation effects appears to be severely compromised under one particular combination of conditions: when the component variables that make up the interaction terms are correlated and partial mediated moderation exists. Implications for the estimation of mediated moderation effects in experimental and nonexperimental research are discussed.
Procrastination is a prevalent and pernicious form of self-regulatory failure that is not entirely understood. Hence, the relevant conceptual, theoretical, and empirical work is reviewed, drawing upon correlational, experimental, and qualitative findings. A meta-analysis of procrastination's possible causes and effects, based on 691 correlations, reveals that neuroticism, rebelliousness, and sensation seeking show only a weak connection. Strong and consistent predictors of procrastination were task aversiveness, task delay, self-efficacy, and impulsiveness, as well as conscientiousness and its facets of self-control, distractibility, organization, and achievement motivation. These effects prove consistent with temporal motivation theory, an integrative hybrid of expectancy theory and hyperbolic discounting. Continued research into procrastination should not be delayed, especially because its prevalence appears to be growing.
Most research concerning chronic procrastination has focused on the cognitive and behavioral aspects of delay in starting or completing tasks. The primary goal of the current study was to clarify the relationship of chronic procrastination with affective experiences of shame and guilt. In the present study, 86 undergraduates (34 male, 52 female) completed two measures of chronic procrastination as well as measures of shame, guilt, perfectionism, self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and conscientiousness. Correlational analyses demonstrated that shame-proneness was related to procrastination tendencies, whereas guilt-proneness was not. In addition, using hierarchical regression, shame was found to be a moderator between chronic procrastination and perfectionism, particularly socially-prescribed perfectionism. Overall, the results suggest that affect plays an important role in understanding the complex dynamics of chronic procrastination.
Procrastination has been viewed both as a single trait dimension and as a complex trait composed of several component antecedents. The aim of this study was to investigate some of the antecedents of procrastination (fear of failure, aversiveness of task, risk taking, rebellion against control, dependency, and difficulty making decisions) in terms of the five factors of personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness and Conscientiousness). The participants consisted of 349 university students who completed the Revised NEO Personality Inventory and the Procrastination Assessment Scale for students. Total procrastination was related to both the low conscientiousness facets (competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, deliberation) and the neuroticism facets (anxiety, depression, self-consciousness, impulsiveness, vulnerability). When the procrastination antecedents were considered, task aversiveness had a strong relationship to both low conscientiousness and neuroticism. Fear of failure, difficulty making decisions, and dependency had a smaller relationship to several of the conscientiousness and neuroticism facets. In addition, risk-taking was negatively related to agreeableness and the fantasy facet of openness to experience was related to total procrastination.
In proposing that the higher-order factor (lack of) Conscientiousness is the major proximal source of the lower-order trait procrastination, this study set up three approaches to examine this question: the degree to which a measure of the factor would parallel a measure of the trait in predicting dilatory behaviour and negative affect, the degree to which the factor would replace the trait in these predictions, and the extent to which the relations of the trait and the factor to negative affect would be mediated by Neuroticism. University students, 232 females and 48 males, completed a trait procrastination scale and the Conscientiousness and Neuroticism factor scales of the NEO-PI-R. They also responded to a measure of dilatory behaviour concerning their academic work, and to a measure of negative affect involving dejection and agitation. Trait procrastination was negatively related to the Conscientiousness factor and to each of its facets. Relations of trait procrastination and of Conscientiousness tended to parallel one another. Indicative of the specificity dilemma, trait procrastination outperformed Conscientiousness in predicting trait-specific dilatory behaviour. On the other hand, Conscientiousness was the better predictor of dejection. The mediating role of Neuroticism tended to be comparable in linking both the trait and the factor to negative affect. Discussion centres on additional ways to overcome the specificity dilemma when attempting to locate the proximal source of a lower-order trait within a higher-order factor. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The major patterns of self-regulatory failure are reviewed. Underregulation occurs because of deficient standards, inadequate monitoring, or inadequate strength. Misregulation occurs because of false assumptions or misdirected efforts, especially an unwarranted emphasis on emotion. The evidence supports a strength (limited resource) model of self-regulation and suggests that people often acquiesce in losing control. Loss of control of attention, failure of transcendence, and various lapse-activated causes all contribute to regulatory failure.
In recent studies of the structure of affect, positive and negative affect have consistently emerged as two dominant and relatively independent dimensions. A number of mood scales have been created to measure these factors; however, many existing measures are inadequate, showing low reliability or poor convergent or discriminant validity. To fill the need for reliable and valid Positive Affect and Negative Affect scales that are also brief and easy to administer, we developed two 10-item mood scales that comprise the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). The scales are shown to be highly internally consistent, largely uncorrelated, and stable at appropriate levels over a 2-month time period. Normative data and factorial and external evidence of convergent and discriminant validity for the scales are also presented. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)
Understanding how emotion regulation is similar to and different from other self-control tasks can advance the understanding of emotion regulation. Emotion regulation has many similarities to other regulatory tasks such as dieting, and abstaining from smoking, drugs, alcohol, ill-advised sexual encounters, gambling, and procrastination, but it differs in a few important respects. Emotion regulation is similar to other kinds of self-regulation in that it consists of three components: standards, monitoring, and strength. Emotion regulation involves overriding one set responses with another, incompatible set, just like with other types of self-control. And like other regulatory tasks, emotion regulation can fail either because of underregulation or because of misregulation. Although emotion regulation is similar in many respects to other regulatory tasks, it is a special case of self-regulation in that it can often undermine attempts at other kinds of self- control. Specifically, focusing on regulating moods and feeling states can lead to a failure of self-control in other areas.
In "Losing Control," the authors provide a single reference source with comprehensive information on general patterns of self-regulation failure across contexts, research findings on specific self-control disorders, and commentary on the clinical and social aspects of self-regulation failure. Self-control is discussed in relation to what the "self" is, and the cognitive, motivational, and emotional factors that impinge on one's ability to control one's "self." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
500 students and 150 faculty members in 5 collegiate settings were asked the extent to which they procrastinated, as well as faculty perceptions of student procrastination. Results show a significant difference between faculty and student perception of student procrastination; a very small negative correlation between GPA and procrastination; significant differences in procrastination among freshmen, sophomores, juniors and seniors; and that faculty perception of student procrastination differed significantly according to the degree of the faculty member and his/her area of expertise. (9 ref) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Most research concerning chronic procrastination has focused on the cognitive and behavioral aspects of delay in starting or completing tasks. The primary goal of the current study was to clarify the relationship of chronic procrastination with affective experiences of shame and guilt. In the present study, 86 18-49 yr old undergraduates (34 male, 52 female) completed two measures of chronic procrastination as well as measures of shame, guilt, perfectionism, self-esteem, fear of negative evaluation, and conscientiousness. Correlational analyses demonstrated that shame-proneness was related to procrastination tendencies, whereas guilt-proneness was not. In addition, using hierarchical regression, shame was found to be a moderator between chronic procrastination and perfectionism, particularly socially-prescribed perfectionism. Overall, the results suggest that affect plays an important role in understanding the complex dynamics of chronic procrastination. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Affective correlates of procrastination were examined through experience-sampling. 45 undergraduate students carried electronic pagers for 5 days preceding an academic deadline. Students were paged 8 times daily. At each signal, the participants indicated what they were doing, extent of procrastination and affective state. Contrary to previous research, procrastination was not found to be correlated with either positive or negative affect. Participants' appraisals of their tasks when paged revealed that they procrastinated on unpleasant, stressful and difficult tasks, while engaging in activities that were significantly more pleasant. Specious rewards, self-regulation and the apparent short-term benefits of procrastination are discussed in relation to these findings and as a basis for counseling intervention. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2012 APA, all rights reserved)
Procrastination, the act or tendency of putting things off that should be done today until tomorrow, has recently become a field of interest in the study of academic underachievement. In constructing tests for the measurement of procrastination, and in comparing test scores with self-attributions of reasons for procrastination, an unexpected discrepancy has been observed between fear of failure as a prominent reason for procrastination and test fear of failure being unrelated to procrastination. This study was meant to clarify this discrepancy. Students who procrastinate generally endorse many reasons for procrastination simultaneously. For some relatively homogeneous groups of students fear of failure is one of these reasons. Other groups of students do not attribute procrastination to fear of failure at all. For the sample as a whole, procrastination and fear of failure appear unrelated. However, trait procrastination and fear of failure may interact and result in increased levels of actualprocrastinatory behaviour.
Conceptually, procrastination shares certain characteristics with self-handicapping, and trait measures of both concepts are positively related. Nevertheless, there are important distinctions to be considered. With this in mind, the present paper compared the behavior of trait self-handicappers preparing for an evaluation with the behavior of trait procrastinators. Male and female high school students were given the opportunity to practice for a test of Raven's Progressive Matrices either in class (Study 1) or at home over a 5-day period (Study 2). They were randomly provided with a set of easy or difficult practice items. In Study 1 trait self-handicappers exhibited self-handicapping behavior by answering fewer practice items and reporting spending more time on an irrelevant task; trait procrastinators did not. In Study 2, both trait measures were related to dilatory behavior in beginning to practice at home. Other aspects of the results were considered and distinctions between the two concepts discussed.
The purpose of this research was to explore notions of task aversiveness across stages of personal projects. 95 female and 66 male undergraduate students enrolled in an introductory psychology class completed Personal Projects Analysis (PPA; Little, 1983 [Personal projects: a rationale and method for investigation. Environment and Behaviour, 15, 273–309]). Based on theories of action proposed by and [Gollwitzer, P. M. (1990). The volitional benefits from planning. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh, The psychology of action: linking cognition and motivation to behaviour (pp. 287–312). New York: Guilford Press], respondents’ projects were sorted into four broad stages: inception, planning, action and termination. Principal components analysis (PCA) revealed that boredom, frustration and resentment emerge as PPA dimensions associated with task aversiveness at each stage of project development. Personal meaning, autonomy, structure, stress and negative emotions were also found to be related to task aversiveness, but these aspects of aversiveness varied across the stages of project development. As hypothesized, each principal component identified with task aversiveness was found to be positively related with procrastination. These findings are discussed in terms of previous research in the area of procrastination and Kuhl's theory of action [Kuhl, J. (1987). Action control: the maintenance of motivational states. In F. Halisch & J. Kuhl, Motivation, intention and volition (pp. 279–291). New York: Springer-Verlag.; Kuhl, J. (1994). A theory of action and state orientations. In J. Kuhl & J. Beckman, Volition and personality: action versus state orientation (pp. 9–46). Toronto: Hogrefe & Huber].
This paper considered three studies designed to examine procrastinatory behavior. In Study I, a general form (G) of a true-false procrastination scale was created. This form was based on an earlier version of the scale containing parallel forms A and B. Procrastination was positively related to measures of disorganization and independent of need-achievement, energy level, and self-esteem. High scorers on the procrastination scale were more likely to return their completed inventory late. Procrastination was unrelated to grade-point average (R = −10). In Study II, subjects completed Form G of the procrastination scale and a variation of Little's (1983) Personal Projects Questionnaire. Based on ratings of their personal projects, procrastinators and nonprocrastinators were distinguished in a number of ways, foremost being the nonprocrastinator's more positive response to the project dimension of stress and the procrastinator's greater sensitivity to how enjoyable the project was in terms of time spent. In Study III, after completing a personality inventory, air-passengers awaiting their flight departure were asked to take an envelope with them and to mail it back on a designated date. Procrastinators were less accurate in doing so than were nonprocrastinators. Various aspects of procrastinatory behavior were discussed, including a reconsideration of the defining of the construct.
Trait procrastination is viewed as a summary variable linked to the predisposition to engage in dilatory behaviour. This paper sought to trace the sources of trait procrastination by locating it within the five-factor personality structure. Study 1 concerned self-ratings on trait adjectives (in Dutch) that were relevant in some way to procrastinatory behaviour. The position of these adjectives on the five factors of personality (Neuroticism, Extraversion, Agreeableness, Openness, and Conscientiousness) was known. Respondents were 161 female and 117 male students attending a university in The Netherlands. They also completed a Dutch translation of a measure of trait procrastination. In Study 2, 271 female and 81 male Canadian university students completed the measure of trait procrastination and the Revised NEO Personality Inventory (in English). The results were remarkably consistent across the two samples. Trait procrastination was largely associated with lack of Conscientiousness. Trait adjectives highly related to trait procrastination (Study 1) included ‘undisciplined’, ‘lazy’, and ‘disorderly’. Trait procrastination in Study 2 was highly related to lower scores on each of the six facets of Conscientiousness (Competence, Order, Dutifulness, Achievement-Striving, Self-Discipline, and Deliberation). There were also some relations to Neuroticism, primarily in terms of tentativeness (Study 1) or Impulsiveness (a facet of Neuroticism) in Study 2. Relatively minor links to the lack of Extraversion were noted, essentially in terms of inactivity. Implications of the main findings locating trait procrastination within the Big-five personality structure were discussed. This overall approach added to our understanding of what characterizes the concept of trait procrastination and what is unrelated.
Two studies concerned with taking breaks from either mental or physical work are presented. In the first study, a questionnaire was given to 101 students in which they answered questions about their own break taking and that of others. They also completed a time management questionnaire and scales about procrastination, self-esteem, and work overload. In the second study, 17 students kept detailed diaries of their daily break-taking behavior over a 6-week period. Results are discussed in terms of the types of reasons given for taking breaks and the possible discrepancies between such reasons and the actual activities engaged in during breaks.
The possible negative consequences of counterfactuals were explored in the current study by examining the relationship between counterfactual direction and trait procrastination, a self-defeating behavioural style. Eighty participants generated counterfactuals in response to two experimental anxiety inductions. Trait procrastination was overall related to avoiding thoughts about how things could have been better (making more downward and relatively fewer upward counterfactuals) in response to the two anxiety-provoking scenarios, suggesting the involvement of a self-enhancement motive (mood repair). Evidence for the involvement of this self-motive in procrastinating behaviour also emerged, as procrastination was more related to making more downward counterfactuals for a delay-specific anxiety scenario than for a general anxiety scenario. The pattern of results supports the proposal that downward counterfactuals may be associated with negative behavioural styles such as procrastination and implicates self-enhancement motives in this relationship. The behavioural and motivational consequences of downward counterfactuals are discussed and possible connections between downward counterfactuals and other self-defeating behaviours are presented.
Six studies regarding forgiveness are presented. The Heartland Forgiveness Scale (HFS), a self-report measure of dispositional forgiveness (with subscales to assess forgiveness of self, others, and situations) was developed and demonstrated good psychometric properties. Forgiveness correlated positively with cognitive flexibility, positive affect, and distraction; it correlated negatively with rumination, vengeance, and hostility. Forgiveness predicted four components of psychological well-being (anger, anxiety, depression, and satisfaction with life); forgiveness of situations accounted for unique variance in these components of psychological well-being. Forgiveness and hostility demonstrated equivalent, inverse associations with relationship duration, and forgiveness accounted for unique variance in relationship satisfaction, even when controlling for trust. Forgiveness level correlated positively with decreased negativity in statements written about transgressions in the present versus the past tense.
Forgiving the self: Conceptual issues and empirical findings
- J P Tangney
- A L Boone
- R Dearing
Tangney, J. P., Boone, A. L., & Dearing, R. (2005). Forgiving the self: Conceptual issues
and empirical findings. In E. Worthington, Jr. (Ed.), Handbook of forgiveness
(pp. 143-157). New York: Routledge.
Shame and guilt in neurosis Demonstration and evaluation of a method for assessing mediated moderation
- H B Lewis
Lewis, H. B. (1971). Shame and guilt in neurosis. New York: International University Press Inc. Morgan-Lopez, A. A., & MacKinnon, D. P. (2006). Demonstration and evaluation of a method for assessing mediated moderation. Behavior Research Methods, 38, 77–87.
Forgiving the self: Conceptual issues and empirical findings
- Tangney
Looking within: The state forgiveness scale
- Wohl