Editing Content theory (section)

== Procrastination ==
{{Main|Procrastination}}
Procrastination is the act to voluntarily postponing or delaying an intended course of action despite anticipating that you will be worse off because of that delay.<ref name=":6" /> While procrastination was once seen as a harmless habit, recent studies indicate otherwise. In a 1997 study conducted by Dianne Tice and William James Fellow Roy Baumeister at Case Western University, college students were given ratings on an established scale of procrastination and tracked their academic performance, stress, and health throughout the semester. While procrastinators experienced some initial benefit in the form of lower stress levels (presumably by putting off their work at first), they ultimately earned lower grades and reported higher levels of stress and illness.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Jaffe|first=Eric|date=2013-03-29|title=Why Wait? The Science Behind Procrastination|url=https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/why-wait-the-science-behind-procrastination|journal=APS Observer|language=en-US|volume=26|issue=4}}</ref>

Procrastination can be seen as a defense mechanism.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://hub.rockyview.ab.ca/mod/book/view.php?id=260&chapterid=324|title=Defense Mechanisms: Procrastination|website=hub.rockyview.ab.ca|language=en|access-date=2018-11-10}}</ref> Because it is less demanding to simply avoid a task instead of dealing with the possibility of failure, procrastinators choose the short-term gratification of delaying a task over the long-term uncertainty of undertaking it. Procrastination can also be a justification for when the user ultimately has no choice but to undertake a task and performs below their standard. For example, a term paper could be seen as a daunting task. If the user puts it off until the night before, they can justify their poor score by telling themselves that they would have done better with more time. This kind of justification is extremely harmful and only helps to perpetuate the cycle of procrastination.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/the-procrastination-equation/201207/lying-and-procrastination|title=Lying and Procrastination|website=Psychology Today|language=en-US|access-date=2018-11-10}}</ref>

Over the years, scientists have determined that not all procrastination is the same. The first type is chronic procrastinators whom exhibit a combination of qualities from the other, more specialized types of procrastinators. "Arousal" types are usually self-proclaimed "pressure performers" and relish the exhilaration of completing tasks close to the deadline. "Avoider" types procrastinate to avoid the outcome of whatever task they are pushing back - whether it be a potential failure or success. "Avoider" types are usually very self-conscious and care deeply about other people's opinions. Lastly, "Decisional" procrastinators avoid making decisions in order to protect themselves from the responsibility that follows the outcome of events.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.psychologytoday.com/basics/procrastination|title=Procrastination|website=Psychology Today|language=en-US|access-date=2019-01-30}}</ref>
{{Failed verification|date=October 2020}}