The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure.

Abstract

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, selfefficacy, 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.

The Role of Personality and Subject-Specific Motivation in Students' Achievement in Math and Mother Tongue

“…These results are consistent with previous research (Puklek Levpušček et al, 2013). In addition, students who delayed their work, postponed their assignments or got unsettled quickly by different distractors, had lower achievement in both subjects than their peers, which is consistent with the meta-analysis made by Steel (2007). Some basic differences between the two subjects should also be pointed out: conscientiousness and immediate action were found to be significant positive predictors of achievement in L1.…”

“…Therefore, we included two strategies -immediate action and procrastination/distractibility in our study. In previous studies, immediate action was related to better and procrastination/distractibility to poorer academic achievement (Klassen, Krawchuk, & Rajani, 2008;Steel, 2007).…”

Hyperfocusing as a dimension of adult attention deficit hyperactivity disorder

“…the timing of the reward, not the reward itself, reflecting hypersensitivity to the passage of time (Tripp & Alsop, 2001). Steel (2007) defined the "procrastination" as the irrational tendency to voluntarily postpone or delay a task or a decision that actually has to be completed before a certain deadline. Procrastination was defined not only as a deficit in time management, but also involving a complex interaction of behavioral, cognitive and affective components (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984).…”

“…Moore, Burgard, Larson, & Ferm (2014) showed that non-prescriptive psycho-stimulant use among college students increased during periods of high stress which was provoked by self-reported procrastination and poor time management. Based on the negative experiences related to procrastination, especially adolescents and adults with ADHD are prone to develop negative beliefs about the self (Steel, 2007). Procrastination was also associated with inattention, perfectionism, fear of failure, depression and low self-esteem (Niermann & Scheres 2014;Pychyl, Coplan, & Reid, 2002;Solomon & Rothblum, 1984).…”

Decisional procrastination of school-to-work transition: Personality correlates of career indecision

“…Procrastination is a phenomenon that is generally counter-productive in a person's life, however some studies indicate to functional aspects of delay (Schraw et al, 2007). Procrastination is a strategy often applied regardless of the realization that delaying decision making or avoiding obligations solves nothing, moreover is frequently the worst possible course of action (Steel, 2007).…”