Toward an understanding of academic and nonacademic tasks procrastinated by students: The use of daily logs

Abstract

For five consecutive days, at either the beginning or the end of a term, college students (30 women, 7 men) listed daily academic and nonacademic tasks they intended to complete and whether they actually completed them. Students reported nonacademic tasks (e.g., household chores, making telephone calls, exercising, and playing sports) as completed most often regardless of the time within the term. Results from 2 (early vs. later sessions) by 2 (completed vs. not completed tasks) by 2 (academic vs. nonacademic tasks) ANOVAs found that procrastinated tasks early in the term were more effortful and anxiety provoking than any other task during the term. Procrastinated academic tasks (e.g., homework, reading assignments, studying) in the early part of a term were rated as unpleasurable, while students reported later in the term that pleasantness of the task did not affect whether it was procrastinated or completed. These results imply that academic and nonacademic tasks should be challenging, yet fun, to heighten the likelihood that they are completed by students.

How Emotion Shapes Behavior: Feedback, Anticipation, and Reflection, Rather Than Direct Causation

“…Procrastination has also been hypothesized to be caused by bad moods and unpleasant emotional states, such as when working on the task gives people anxiety (Ferrari & Scher, 2000). Tice et al (2001) showed that this effect is also a mood-repair strategy.…”

Understanding and Treating Procrastination: A Review of a Common Self-Regulatory Failure

“…A task's unpleasantness and an individual's boredom and lack of interest are some of the most common reasons for deferring a task or assignment, and the more anxiety or effort it produces, the more likely the person is to procrastinate (Ferrari & Scher, 2000;Pychyl, Lee, Thibodeau, & Blunt, 2000). However, further exploration regarding tasks' characteristics also reveals a relationship with conscientiousness and habitual procrastination, demonstrating a possible moderating effect (Lay & Brokenshire, 1997); that is, people who procrastinate recurrently might experience many of life's commitments as more aversive.…”

Determining the Variables Which Explain the Behavior of Academic Procrastination in University Students

“…İşlerin sıkıcı ve sevimsiz olması ise erteleme davranışına neden olmaktadır. ), Ferrari ve Scher (2000), üniversite öğrencileri üzerinde yapmış oldukları araştırmada, öğrencilerin özellikle fazla çaba gerektiren ve kaygı yaratan işleri daha fazla erteledikleri, kendi yeteneklerini zorlamayan işlerde ise erteleme davranışını daha az gösterdikleri görülmüştür. Dolayısıyla bir kişinin bir ödevi yaparken o ödevin kişinin kapasitesinin üstünde ya da çok altında bir zorluk derecesine sahip olması da kişinin o ödevi ertelemesine neden olabilir.…”

“…Ayrıca, ödevlerin son teslim tarihi yaklaştıkça öğrencilerin çalışmalarını artırdıkları ve kaygılarının da azaldığı görülmüştür (Asur, 2002). Üniversite öğrencileri üzerinde yapmış oldukları araştırmada, Ferrari ve Scher (2000), öğrencilerin hem akademik hem de genel erteleme davranışı gösterdiklerini tespit etmişlerdir. Öğrencilerin özellikle fazla çaba gerektiren ve kaygı yaratan işleri daha fazla erteledikleri, kendi yeteneklerini zorlamayan işlerde ise erteleme davranışını daha az gösterdikleri görülmüştür.…”