The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic Review

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The Nature of Procrastination A Meta-Analytic
Review
Counseling the Procrastinator in Academic
Settings Piers Steelwww.procrastinus.com
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Overview

• Study details
• Procrastination findings
• Procrastination and performance
• Weak correlates
• Strong correlates
• Traits tasks
• Theory of procrastination
• Treatment implications

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Meta-Analysis A Review

• A well-established methodology for mathematically
  summarizing a large body of knowledge
• Results are more precise than any single study
• Much of the variation we see among studies is due
  to error alone
• A meta-analysis can help eliminate that error and
  determine the true relationships

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Study Details

• Almost 500 studies have been written that deal
  with procrastination directly
• These studies contain over 600 relevant
  correlations
• Key terms
• K Number of Samples/Studies Conducted
• N Total Sample Size
• Correlations Effect Size
• Weak ? .20
• Medium ? .30
• Large ? .40

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Definition of Procrastination

• Three key components
• Overwhelmingly referred to as a negative
  phenomenon often seen as irrational
• We delay voluntarily, it is our choice
• We intend to do the task, not to avoid it
  entirely
• To voluntarily delay an intended course of action
  despite expecting to be worse-off for the delay

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Procrastination Performance

• Over all, a weak (r-.19, K34, N6,295) but
  consistently negative relationship with academic
  criteria (e.g., GPA, Exam, etc.)
• Procrastination is usually harmful, sometimes
  harmless, but never helpful
• More serious results for financial/career
  performance
• Correlations are negative and moderate to strong
  in strength

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Weak Correlates

• These relationships have long been suspected of
  being major causes of procrastination
• Rebelliousness, Sensation-Seeking, Neuroticism,
  and Irrational beliefs
• Results here indicate, however, that they
  generally either are
• Weak causes of procrastination
• Strong causes only for a small percentage of
  people

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Rebelliousness

• Theory
• Externally imposed schedules are more likely
  experienced as aversive, and thus avoided. Also,
  by delaying work and starting it on ones own
  schedule, autonomy is reasserted.
• Results (K21, N4,350)
• Almost no support
• Correlations extremely weak
• Except for adolescents, few report it as a reason

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Sensation-Seeking

• Theory
• People high in this trait are easily bored and
  long for excitement, and thus they may
  intentionally put off work to feel the tension of
  working close to a deadline.
• Results (K9, N1,810)
• Almost no support
• Correlations extremely weak
• Few endorse it as a reason

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Neuroticism Anxiety

• Theory
• People procrastinate on tasks because they are
  more susceptible to experiencing stress and thus
  find them more stressful
• Results (K44, N8,540)
• Little support
• Correlations mostly weak and where strong, due to
  impulsiveness
• Procrastination seems to cause anxiety, not
  vice-versa

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Irrational Beliefs

• Theory
• Acts similarly to neuroticism. These beliefs
  create anxiety and thus make certain tasks
  unpleasant.
• Results (K65, N12,072)
• Little support
• Correlations mostly weak, except for general
  irrational beliefs where it may be moderate
• Fear of failure and perfectionism are extremely
  low
• Self-perfectionists actually may be less likely
  to procrastinate

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Self-Handicapping

• Self-handicapping is when people place obstacles
  that hinder their own good performance.
• The motivation for self-handicapping is often to
  protect self-esteem by giving people an external
  reason, an out, if they fail to do well
• Strong empirical relationship
• Unclear whether it is associated only with the
  delay component of procrastination or also with
  the irrational element (may be intentional)
• May just share the common source of low
  self-efficacy

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Strong Correlates

• These relationships are generally more recently
  seen as major causes of procrastination
• Traits Self-Efficacy, Energy, Impulsiveness
  Self-Discipline, Achievement Motivation
• Task Characteristics Aversiveness, Delay
• Results here indicate they either describe or
  cause procrastination

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Low Self-Efficacy Self-Esteem

• Theory
• Related to irrational beliefs in that people may
  doubt their ability to do well
• Results (K26, N4,217 K33, N5,846)
• Good support
• For self-efficacy, strong correlations. Helps to
  explain the moderate relationship sometimes seen
  with irrational belief inventories.
• For self-esteem, moderate to weak correlations

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Depression Energy

• Theory
• Related to irrational beliefs and low
  self-efficacy. Burka and Yuen (1983) also discuss
  how it is harder to initiate tasks when we are
  tired.
• Results (K53, N10,233)
• Moderate support
• Depressed people are more pessimistic about
  outcomes.
• They are lethargic and thus more likely to find
  energy-intensive tasks unpleasant.

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Impulsiveness Self-Discipline

• Theory
• Impulsive people may be more likely to
  procrastinate as they are beset with desires of
  the moment and focus their attention upon them.
• Results (K17, N3,190 K18, N3,877)
• Very strong support
• Procrastinators tend to show an intention-action
  gap, indicating an impulsive shift in motivation
• They tend to choose short-term benefits over
  long-term gains, reflecting a core component of
  poor self-regulation

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Need for Achievement

• Theory
• Those high in achievement motivation set more
  difficult goals for themselves, find work to be
  intrinsically engaging and thus necessarily less
  aversive.
• Results (K38, N6,136)
• Strong support
• Large (approximately .50) correlations

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Task Aversiveness Trait State

• Theory
• We seek to avoid aversive stimuli, and
  consequently, the more aversive the situation,
  the more likely we are to avoid it (e.g.,
  procrastinate).
• Results (K10, N1,069 K8, N938)
• Very strong support for both state and trait
  types
• Aversive tasks tend to be procrastinated. People
  who find tasks aversive, tend to be
  procrastinators
• Researched with a variety of methodologies
• Especially susceptible for boring or frustrating
  jobs

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Task Delay

• Theory
• The further away an event is temporally, the less
  impact it has upon our decisions
• Results (not correlational)
• Very strong support from a variety of fields
  (e.g., economics, behaviorism)
• Students indicate that they would be less likely
  to procrastinate as a deadline approaches

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Theory of Procrastination

• Big findings
• Impulsiveness, Self-Discipline, Task delay
• Indicates time a factor
• Energy, Need for Achievement, Task Aversiveness
• Indicates value/valence a factor
• Self-Efficacy, Self-Confidence
• Indicates expectancy a factor

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Theory of Procrastination

• Any one of these variables can exacerbate
  procrastination
• This includes having an alternative course of
  action nearby that is evaluated more favorable

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Treatment

• Need for a diagnostic procedure.
• There are many possible causes of procrastination
  and then many different supporting factors
• It may be expectancy, impulsiveness, task
  aversiveness, or some combination
• For any specific factor, we need to learn why
• For example, if task aversiveness is driving the
  procrastination for one individual, we still need
  to learn why he or she finds it unpleasant
• For some, though not many, it will be because
  they are rebellious or have specific irrational
  beliefs

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General Treatment Goals

1. Reduce the aversiveness of the task
2. Increase competence with the task
3. Improve self-regulatory skills (e.g.,
   organization, planning) to decrease impulsiveness
4. Distance temptations

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Treatments

• Techniques that likely will be broadly successful
  are
• Energy Regulation
• Goal Setting
• Specific, Proximal, Challenging
• Stimulus Control
• Routine Building

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Final Thought Procrastination Rising

• We have been formally measuring procrastination
  since 1978
• It has been significantly rising over the last 25
  years, as has debt, obesity and other impulse
  related issues
• The need for effective treatments has never been
  greater than now