1. Advising the College Procrastinator Before It’s Too Late!
Procrastination
Advising the College Procrastinator Before It’s Too Late!
Brendan M. Caputo, M.S. Ed.
Molloy College

2. P.A.

3. We’ve been procrastinating for ages!
Hesiod said not to “put your work off till tomorrow and the day after” (800 B.C.)
Latin verb “procrastinare”
pro - forward motion
crastinus - belonging to tomorrow “put off or postpone until another day”

4. Procrastination
Defined- Procrastination includes intentional delay of an intended course of action, despite the awareness of negative outcomes.
Think about the students you work with and what tasks they procrastinate on.
But why such an increase in procrastination lately?

5. Why?
Inability to self-regulate or poor self-regulation (pleasure principle)
Motivation- Extrinsic vs. Intrinsic
Fear (of success or fear of failure)
Skill Deficit
Rebellion or Need for Control
Personality
Perfectionism, Conscientiousness…

6. Other reasons why? Is it a brain malfunction?
Do students know how long a task really takes?
Studies say yes, but they put it off anyway!
Is it a brain malfunction?
Inconclusive, but it may be in pre-frontal cortex

7. Are there types? Chronic vs. Situational
There are three types of chronic:
arousal types, or thrill-seekers
avoiders, who may be avoiding fear of failure or success, concerned with what others think of them lack effort than ability (Ferrari)
decisional procrastinators, who cannot make a decision. (Not making a decision absolves procrastinators of responsibility for the outcome of events)
Tice and Baumeister and (Ferrari)

8. Trivia Question
What percentage of people worldwide are considered self reported, chronic procrastinators?
5-10%
10-15%
20-25%
I’ll get back to you on this question later

9. So… Notice what is NOT listed as a main reason for procrastination??
(hint- two words- rhymes with Rime Smanagement)

10. The Answer Is…
Time Management

11. What does the Data say?
It’s more emotional rather than time management related (Pychyl)
Those who set aside work gained greater guilt, shame, anxiety as the deadlines became closer
Bad moods are correlated with task delay
When emotion and mood are removed from the equation, procrastination is solely about time management

12. Study
Tice and Baumeister used procrastination scale and also measured college students’ health, stress, academic performance, etc over one semester
Then retested with more checkpoints on similar class in another semester
There was a final paper due

13. Did you see this coming?
Procrastinators reported better health than non-procrastinators…

14. Here’s what really happened?
But health was only measured in the beginning in first study!
Initially procrastination paid off with less stress but chronic procrastinators had:
More Stress
More Illness
More Visits to the Doctor
Lower Grades (later study shows lower GPA)
Lower Work Quality

15. Puzzles Math Puzzle (Tice and Ferrari) Fun vs. Cognitive task
Procrastinators and non-procrastinators practiced the puzzle when it was for fun
Procrastinators delayed practice when it was seen as a “chore” or cognitive task

16. Translation to the Real World
Weigh More
Spend More (on holiday gifts and taxes!)
Make Less
Less Happy

17. Student Populations
Data shows no statistical difference can be accounted for when looking at:
Race
Athlete vs. Non-athlete
Major Pursued
Income
Family Background

18. Things to note Males are more likely to submit assignments late.
Non-traditional aged students tend to have less chronic procrastination.

19. Suggestions
Administer procrastination scale to look at proclivity to procrastinate
Routine
Procrastinators should break up tasks into smaller mini-tasks
Goal Setting
Start with external deadlines then move to self
Planner
Check in (beep beep)
Reward the early – don’t punish the late?

20. ….More Suggestions Reduce the Aversive Nature of the Task
Try to name 20 birds (thinking/mentality exercise)
Regulate Energy and do unpleasant tasks when you have the most energy
Counseling should focus on need for burst of pleasure control
Groupswork best for accountability
Self forgiveness/self efficacy
Better on mid-terms

21. Even MORE Suggestions
Assignments and deadlines that build upon each other and classes that build upon each other… like Learning Communities
For E-Learners, have an early alert system, communicate with professor. Find out when and how often material is accessed.
Imbed videos and use social media
Check up on it!

22. Tuckman Procrastination Scale

23. Scoring the Scale

24. Should we get to questions now or later?

25. Resources
Journal of Educational Technology & Society Vol. 18; no. 3; pp. 64 – 74
Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 203 – 212
Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy Vol. 30; no. 4; pp. 249 – 263
- The Tuckman Scale and how to score it

26. More Good Stuff
- Another scale/ assessment
– link to Pychyl PPT

27. Articles
"Ferrari, J. R., Harriott, J. S., & Zimmerman, M. (1999). The social support networks of procrastinators: Friends or family in times of trouble? Personality & Individual Differences, 26 (2), “
"Ferrari, J. R., Mason, C. P., & Hammer, C. (2006). Procrastination as
a predictor of task perceptions: Individual Differences Research, 4(1), "
"Lay, C. (1986). At last, my research article on procrastination. Journal of Research in Personality, (pp. 20), "
"Schouwenburg, Henri C. (Ed); Lay, Clarry H. (Ed); Pychyl, Timothy A. (Ed); Ferrari, Joseph R. (Ed), (2004). Counseling the procrastinator in academic settings. , (pp. 3-17). Washington, DC, US: American Psychological Association."
"Tice, D.M., & Baumeister, R.F. (1997). Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: The costs and benefits of dawdling. Psychological Science, 8, "