Editing Procrastination (section)

== Correlates ==
Procrastination has been linked to the complex arrangement of [[Cognitive psychology|cognitive]], [[Affect (psychology)|affective]] and [[behavior]]al relationships from task desirability to low self esteem and [[anxiety]] to [[Depression (mood)|depression]].<ref name="Solomon1984" /> A study found that procrastinators were less future-oriented than their non-procrastinator counterparts. This result was hypothesized to be in association with [[Hedonism|hedonistic]] perspectives on the present; instead it was found procrastination was better predicted by a fatalistic and hopeless attitude towards life.<ref name="Jackson2003">{{cite journal | last1 = Jackson | first1 = T. | last2 = Fritch | first2 = A. | last3 = Nagasaka | first3 = T. | last4 = Pope | first4 = L. | year = 2003 | title = Procrastination and Perceptions of Past, Present, and Future | url = http://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=2004-15383-003 | journal = Individual Differences Research | volume = 1 | pages = 17–28 | access-date = 2013-12-05 | archive-date = 2023-04-17 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20230417165459/https://psycnet.apa.org/index.cfm?fa=search.displayRecord&uid=2004-15383-003 | url-status = live }}</ref>

A correlation between procrastination and [[Morningness–eveningness questionnaire|eveningness]] was observed where individuals who had later sleeping and waking patterns were more likely to procrastinate.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Digdon |first1=Nancy |last2=Howell |first2=Andrew |date=2008-12-01 |title=College Students Who Have an Eveningness Preference Report Lower Self-Control and Greater Procrastination |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/23470309 |journal=Chronobiology International |volume=25 |issue=6 |pages=1029–46 |doi=10.1080/07420520802553671 |pmid=19005903 |s2cid=32980851 |via=ResearchGate}}</ref> Smartphone addiction is an important factor that interferes with sleep, and it is characterized by compulsive behavior patterns that cause people to malfunction. When smartphone use is suspended, withdrawal reactions may occur, seriously affecting sleep.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Hamvai |first1=Csaba |last2=Kiss |first2=Hedvig |last3=Vörös |first3=Henrietta |last4=Fitzpatrick |first4=Kevin M. |last5=Vargha |first5=András |last6=Pikó |first6=Bettina F. |date=2023-07-27 |title=Association between impulsivity and cognitive capacity decrease is mediated by smartphone addiction, academic procrastination, bedtime procrastination, sleep insufficiency and daytime fatigue among medical students: a path analysis |journal=BMC Medical Education |language=en |volume=23 |issue=1 |page=537 |doi=10.1186/s12909-023-04522-8 |issn=1472-6920 |pmc=10375684 |pmid=37501113 |doi-access=free }}</ref> It has been shown that [[Morningness–eveningness questionnaire|morningness]] increases across lifespan and procrastination decreases with age.<ref name="Steel2007" /><ref name="Duffy2002">{{cite journal | last1 = Duffy | first1 = JF | last2 = Czeisler | first2 = CA | year = 2002 | title = Age-Related Change in the Relationship Between Circadian Period, Circadian Phase, and Diurnal Preference in Humans | journal = Neuroscience Letters| volume = 318| issue = 3| pages = 117–120 | doi = 10.1016/S0304-3940(01)02427-2 | pmid = 11803113 | s2cid = 43152568 }}</ref>

=== Perfectionism ===
{{Main|Perfectionism (psychology)}}
Traditionally, procrastination has been associated with perfectionism: a tendency to negatively evaluate outcomes and one's own performance, intense fear and avoidance of evaluation of one's abilities by others, heightened social self-consciousness and anxiety, recurrent low mood, and "[[workaholic|workaholism]]". However, adaptive perfectionists—[[Egosyntonic and egodystonic|egosyntonic]] perfectionism—were ''less'' likely to procrastinate than non-perfectionists, while maladaptive perfectionists, who saw their perfectionism as a problem—[[Egosyntonic and egodystonic|egodystonic]] perfectionism—had high levels of procrastination and anxiety.<ref name="McGarvey">{{cite web|url=http://www.rps.psu.edu/sep96/almost.html|title=The Almost Perfect Definition|author=McGarvey, Jason A.|year=1996|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060313153133/http://www.rps.psu.edu/sep96/almost.html|archive-date=2006-03-13|url-status=dead}}</ref> In a regression analysis study from 2007, it was found that mild to moderate perfectionists typically procrastinate slightly less than others, with "the exception being perfectionists who were also seeking clinical counseling".<ref name="Steel2007" />

Perfectionism is a common cause for procrastination because pursuing unattainable goals (perfection) usually results in failure.<ref>Hillary Rettig (2011). ''The 7 Secrets of the Prolific: The Definitive Guide to Overcoming Procrastination, Perfectionism, and Writer's Block''</ref> Unrealistic expectations destroy [[self-esteem]] and lead to self-repudiation, self-contempt, and widespread unhappiness. To overcome procrastination, it is essential to recognize and accept the power of failure without condemning,<ref>James Prochaska, 1995</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=Principles of ACT|date=October 2015}} to stop focusing on faults and flaws and to set goals that are easier to achieve.

=== Academic ===
According to an Educational Science Professor, Hatice Odaci, academic procrastination is a significant problem during college years in part because many college students lack efficient [[time management]] skills in using the Internet. Also, Odaci notes that most colleges provide free and fast twenty-four-hour Internet service which some students are not usually accustomed to, and as a result of irresponsible use or lack of firewalls these students become engulfed in distractions, and thus in procrastination.<ref>{{cite journal | last=Odaci | first=Hatice | title=Academic self-efficacy and academic procrastination as predictors of problematic internet use in university students | journal=Computers & Education | publisher=Elsevier BV | volume=57 | issue=1 | year=2011 | issn=0360-1315 | doi=10.1016/j.compedu.2011.01.005 | pages=1109–1113 | url=https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=5624d9855cd9e38cd78b456e&assetKey=AS%3A286236704034819%401445255556988 | access-date=2018-11-03 | archive-date=2018-11-03 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181103131158/https://www.researchgate.net/file.PostFileLoader.html?id=5624d9855cd9e38cd78b456e&assetKey=AS%3A286236704034819%401445255556988 | url-status=live }}</ref> [[Psychologist]] William J. Knaus estimated that more than 90% of college students procrastinate. Of these students, 25% are chronic procrastinators and typically abandon higher education.<ref>Ellis and Knaus, 1977</ref>

[[Student syndrome]] is the phenomenon where a student will begin to fully apply themselves to a task only immediately before a deadline. This negates the usefulness of any buffers built into individual task duration [[Estimation (project management)|estimates]]. Results from a 2002 study indicate that many students are aware of procrastination and accordingly set binding deadlines long before the date for which a task is due. These self-imposed binding deadlines are correlated with a better performance than without binding deadlines though performance is best for evenly spaced external binding deadlines. Finally, students have difficulties optimally setting self-imposed deadlines, with results suggesting a lack of spacing before the date at which results are due.<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Ariely|first1=Dan|author-link=Dan Ariely|last2=Wertenbroch|first2=Klaus|year=2002|title=Procrastination, Deadlines, and Performance: Self-Control by Precommitment|journal=Psychological Science|volume=13|issue=3|pages=219–224|url=http://web.mit.edu/ariely/www/MIT/Papers/deadlines.pdf|doi=10.1111/1467-9280.00441|pmid=12009041|s2cid=3025329|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100215131540/http://web.mit.edu/ariely/www/MIT/Papers/deadlines.pdf|archive-date=2010-02-15}}</ref> In one experiment, participation in online exercises was found to be five times higher in the final week before a deadline than in the summed total of the first three weeks for which the exercises were available. Procrastinators end up being the ones doing most of the work in the final week before a deadline.<ref name="Steel2001"/> Additionally, students can delay making important decisions such as "I'll get my degree out of the way first then worry about jobs and careers when I finish University".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://blogs.bath.ac.uk/careers/2016/09/28/procrastinating-on-your-graduate-job-search/|title=Procrastinating on your graduate job search? &#124; Careers Perspectives from the University of Bath Careers Service|access-date=2021-06-09|archive-date=2021-06-09|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210609133107/https://blogs.bath.ac.uk/careers/2016/09/28/procrastinating-on-your-graduate-job-search/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Other reasons cited on why students procrastinate include fear of failure and success, perfectionist expectations, as well as legitimate activities that may take precedence over school work, such as a job.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/writing-the-paper/procrastination |title=Procrastination |publisher=The Writing Center at UNC-Chapel Hill |website=writingcenter.unc.edu |access-date=2012-03-10 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120318150005/http://writingcenter.unc.edu/resources/handouts-demos/writing-the-paper/procrastination |archive-date=2012-03-18 }}</ref>

Procrastinators have been found to receive worse grades than non-procrastinators. Tice et al. (1997) report that more than one-third of the variation in final exam scores could be attributed to procrastination. The negative association between procrastination and academic performance is recurring and consistent. The students in the study not only received poor academic grades, but they also reported high levels of stress and poor self-health. Howell et al. (2006) found that, though scores on two widely used procrastination scales<ref name="Solomon1984"/><ref name="Tuckman1991">{{cite journal | last=Tuckman | first=Bruce W. | title=The Development and Concurrent Validity of the Procrastination Scale | journal=Educational and Psychological Measurement | publisher=SAGE Publications | volume=51 | issue=2 | year=1991 | issn=0013-1644 | doi=10.1177/0013164491512022 | pages=473–480| s2cid=145707625 }}</ref> were not significantly associated with the grade received for an assignment, self-report measures of procrastination on the assessment itself were negatively associated with grade.<ref name="Howell2006">{{cite journal | last1 = Howell | first1 = AJ | last2 = Watson | first2 = DC | last3 = Powell | first3 = RA | last4 = Buro | first4 = K | year = 2006 | title = Academic Procrastination: The Pattern and Correlates of Behavioral Postponement | journal = Personality and Individual Differences| volume = 40| issue = 8| pages = 1519–30| doi=10.1016/j.paid.2005.11.023}}</ref>

In 2005, a study conducted by Angela Chu and Jin Nam Choi and published in ''[[The Journal of Social Psychology]]'' intended to understand task performance among procrastinators with the definition of procrastination as the absence of self-regulated performance, from the 1977 work of Ellis & Knaus. In their study they identified two types of procrastination: the traditional procrastination which they denote as passive, and active procrastination where the person finds enjoyment of a goal-oriented activity only under pressure. The study calls this active procrastination positive procrastination, as it is a functioning state in a self-handicapping environment. In addition, it was observed that active procrastinators have more realistic perceptions of time and perceive more control over their time than passive procrastinators, which is considered a major differentiator between the two types. Due to this observation, active procrastinators are much more similar to non-procrastinators as they have a better sense of purpose in their time use and possess efficient time-structuring behaviors. But surprisingly, active and passive procrastinators showed similar levels of academic performance. The population of the study was college students and the majority of the sample size were women and Asian in origin. Comparisons with chronic pathological procrastination traits were avoided.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Hsin Chun Chu|first1=Angela|last2=Nam Choi|first2=Jin|title=Rethinking Procrastination: Positive Effects of "Active" Procrastination Behavior on Attitudes and Performance|journal=The Journal of Social Psychology|volume=145|issue=3|pages=245–64|doi=10.3200/socp.145.3.245-264|pmid=15959999|year=2005|citeseerx=10.1.1.502.2444|s2cid=2705082}}</ref>

Different findings emerge when observed and self-reported procrastination are compared. Steel et al. constructed their own scales based on Silver and Sabini's "irrational" and "postponement" criteria. They also sought to measure this behavior objectively.<ref name="Steel2001"/> During a course, students could complete exam practice computer exercises at their own pace, and during the supervised class time could also complete chapter quizzes. A weighted average of the times at which each chapter quiz was finished formed the measure of observed procrastination, whilst observed irrationality was quantified with the number of practice exercises that were left uncompleted. Researchers found that there was only a moderate correlation between observed and self-reported procrastination (r = 0.35). There was a very strong inverse relationship between the number of exercises completed and the measure of postponement (r = −0.78). Observed procrastination was very strongly negatively correlated with course grade (r = −0.87), as was self-reported procrastination (though less so, r = −0.36). As such, self-reported measures of procrastination, on which the majority of the literature is based, may not be the most appropriate measure to use in all cases. It was also found that procrastination itself may not have contributed significantly to poorer grades. Steel et al. noted that those students who completed all of the practice exercises "tended to perform well on the final exam no matter how much they delayed."<ref name="Steel2001">{{cite journal | last1 = Steel | first1 = P. | last2 = Brothen | first2 = T. | last3 = Wambach | first3 = C. | year = 2001 | title = Procrastination and Personality, Performance and Mood | journal = Personality and Individual Differences| volume = 30| pages = 95–106| doi=10.1016/S0191-8869(00)00013-1}}</ref>


Procrastination is considerably more widespread in students than in the general population, with over 70 percent of students reporting procrastination for assignments at some point.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/media-spotlight/201307/getting-around-procrastination|title=Getting Around to Procrastination|access-date=10 October 2014}}</ref> A 2014 panel study from Germany among several thousand university students found that increasing academic procrastination increases the frequency of seven different forms of academic misconduct, i.e., using fraudulent excuses, plagiarism, copying from someone else in exams, using forbidden means in exams, carrying forbidden means into exams, copying parts of homework from others, fabrication or falsification of data and the variety of academic misconduct. This study argues that academic misconduct can be seen as a means to cope with the negative consequences of academic procrastination such as performance impairment.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Patrzek | first1 = J. | last2 = Sattler | first2 = S. | last3 = van Veen | first3 = F. | last4 = Grunschel | first4 = C. | last5 = Fries | first5 = S. | year = 2014 | title = Investigating the Effect of Academic Procrastination on the Frequency and Variety of Academic Misconduct: A Panel Study | journal = Studies in Higher Education | volume = 40| issue = 6| pages = 1–16| doi = 10.1080/03075079.2013.854765 | s2cid = 144324180 }}</ref>