Examining Procrastination Across Multiple Goal Stages: A Longitudinal Study of Temporal Motivation Theory

Abstract

Procrastination is among the most common of motivational failures, putting off despite expecting to be worse off. We examine this dynamic phenomenon in a detailed and realistic longitudinal design (Study 1) as well as in a large correlational data set (N = 7400; Study 2). The results are largely consistent with temporal motivation theory. People’s pacing style reflects a hyperbolic curve, with the steepness of the curve predicted by self-reported procrastination. Procrastination is related to intention-action gaps, but not intentions. Procrastinators are susceptible to proximity of temptation and to the temporal separation between their intention and the planned act; the more distal, the greater the gap. Critical self-regulatory skills in explaining procrastination are attention control, energy regulation and automaticity, accounting for 74% of the variance. Future research using this design is recommended, as it provides an almost ideal blend of realism and detailed longitudinal assessment.

Young University Students’ Academic Self-Regulation Profiles and Their Associated Procrastination: Autonomous Functioning Requires Self-Regulated Operations

“…In this model, learning from mistakes can be understood as a last phase, which may blend into a renewed first phase of goal setting, with both of these phases representing a deliberative motivational dimension of self-regulation occurring before and after performance (Dewitte and Lens, 2000). Whereas the intermediate phase of decision making may represent the cognitive, meta-cognitive, and behavioral aspects of self-regulated learning implementation strategies, in other words, "self-generated thoughts, feelings, and actions" aimed at academic success (Pintrich and De Groot, 1990;Dewitte and Lens, 2000), spanning across initial goal pursuit, planning, avoiding temptations, controlling attention, and dealing with difficulties such as distal goals or fear of failure, while executing goal-oriented behaviors (Steel et al, 2018).…”

“…Recent research has found that three elements are key to understanding procrastination over time: pacing style (the pace and time at which the person decides, plans, and carries out courses of action), intention-action gap (the times the person fails to enact their own intentions), and goal striving (the effort exerted by the person over time to reach their goals) (Steel et al, 2018). Also, these three elements point in the direction of distinct dimensions having to work well together over time, such as having a timely strategy (which relates closely with constructs like goal setting, decision making, and learning from mistakes), and exerting effort over time (closely related with constructs such as perseverance).…”

“…Procrastination has been found to be unrelated to general intelligence (Ferrari, 1991), and procrastinators report a similar number of study intentions than non-procrastinators, but the latter enact more of those intentions (Dewitte and Lens, 2000). Similarly, research has stressed that intention-action gaps, which is implementing a task with delay or being late, are explained by the failure to transform intention into action, but not by intentions, which show no differences between people who procrastinate and who do not (Steel et al, 2018). These antecedents show that volitional problems, such as procrastination, can independently predict variations in critical study outcomes, such as learning or performance, over and above motivation and skill, possibly even mediating between the latter and learning or achievement outcomes (Dewitte and Lens, 2000).…”

“…Sometimes, they fail to transform their motivation into volition by failing to convert their goals into precise implemental intentions aimed at enacting specific goal-oriented behaviors, in an adequate and timely manner; they also have been found to choose inadequate implemental intentions, goals, or methods, which grant little support for success. These two aspects, closely linked with goal setting, decision making, and learning form mistakes (which may overlap in time), have also been approached from a longitudinal perspective, in which goal choice and goal pursuit represent two distinct moments: choosing a goal and setting up an initial plan to pursue it (Steel et al, 2018).…”

“…The main goal of the present study was to test a structural model of self-regulation and procrastination. Self-regulation and procrastination are closely linked constructs (Steel and Klingsieck, 2016;Steel et al, 2018). Self-regulation includes a dimension of perseverance, as well as self-motivational and strategic aspects (Dewitte and Lens, 2000;Garzón-Umerenkova et al, 2017), whereas procrastination is a self-regulation failure (Steel, 2010), which includes a distinct emphasis on implemental or decisional delays, prompting the failure to meet deadlines, known as lateness factor (Svartdal and Steel, 2017).…”