Academic Procrastination

 ACADEMIC PROCRASTINATION 

EFFECT ON STUDIES

IntroductionIn the present study, we define procrastination as the voluntary delay of an intended and necessary and/or (personally) important activity, despite expecting potential negative consequences that outweigh the positive consequences of the delay.

Personal Factors

Procrastination is influenced by several personal factors. Factors that may increase the tendency to procrastinate include anxiety, depression, self-handicapping, the Big Five factor neuroticism, fear of failure, perceived competence and pessimistic academic attributional style.

There is a higher risk of academic procrastination if students have poor planning skills, a reduced use of cognitive and meta-cognitive learning strategies, or a low level of perseverance, and if the students are easily distracted. It is also important that students are motivated for the learning activity. Motivation is the force that drives a person to engage in activities and concerns energy, direction, persistence, and all aspects of activation and intention. 

 Student motivation can be distinguished as intrinsic motivation, that is, motivation resulting from internal drives (doing a learning activity for the pleasure it brings or because of interest) and extrinsic motivation, that is, motivation resulting from external factors (doing something for an external reason; for example, the student wants to maintain a good relationship with the teacher). High intrinsic motivation reduces academic procrastination.

Situational Factors

Academic procrastination can also be influenced by situational factors. An important situational factor is teachers, because if teachers are well-organized, it is easier for students to organize, structure, and plan their work. Teachers with high expectations increase students’ class enjoyment and interest and diminish students’ procrastination. 

When students have to do study tasks, procrastination can be evoked and maintained by task characteristics. A task perceived as boring, unpleasant, and/or uninteresting (so-called task aversiveness) strongly predicts students’ procrastination. When a task is perceived as interesting or requires students to use a variety of skills, and when students perceive social norms and rewards for starting promptly, students procrastinate less.

Differences in How Students Deal With Procrastination

Thus, various factors could influence students’ procrastination behavior. 

Self-control at various levels of procrastination plays a role at different moments in which students work on study activities. An important aspect of having self-control is effort regulation,  which refers to the capacity to persist when confronted with academic challenges, and for example, start unconditionally when a task is perceived as unattractive.

    Average procrastinators seem to suffer the most from fear of failure regarding exams. High self-esteem and self-efficacy make a difference in procrastination behavior. 

Implications for Practice

Because of the important role of intrinsic motivation in dealing with procrastination behavior, it can be helpful for teacher education institutions to determine to what extent students are motivated. This could have consequences for the intake procedure that takes place, as well as for the aspects of this procedure. This study showed that it especially makes sense for average procrastinators that study activities are practice-oriented. Recognizing the relevance and practical foundation of study activities makes students understand why the study activity is important for them. A stronger connection between the theory students have to study and practice can be reached by taking practical experiences as a starting point for enhancement.