ARROW@TU DUBLIN A Qualitative Functional Analysis of Academic Procrastination among Irish Undergraduate Students [MSc Thesis]
by
Gráinne Carthy
ABSTRACT
Academic procrastination involves the needless postponement of academic tasks at the expense of one’s academic goals. Informed by the principles of Acceptance Commitment Therapy, this study explored students’ experiences of academic procrastination in an Irish undergraduate sample. Over two studies, semi structured interviews were used to explore the common scenarios in which students tended to procrastinate, and also the scenarios which by contrast tended to motivate relatively immediate academic engagement. Study 1 involved interviewing twelve participants who had been recruited from online lectures. After noting the potential for self-selection bias in this recruitment strategy, study 2 specifically recruited seven participants in person who were engaging in academic procrastination at the time that they were recruited (i.e., recruited from an on campus recreational room where they were spending substantial time procrastinating their academic coursework). Findings highlighted an important new conceptual distinction between deliberately rationalised forms of academic procrastination (i.e., stories used to rationalise delaying academic work) and more impulsive forms of procrastination involving distraction. The observed interplay between these two types of procrastination not only explains how undergraduate students can become trapped in vicious and systematic cycles of procrastination; but these findings also highlight various ways in which one might interrupt such cycles, and indeed systematically replace them with virtuous cycles of academic engagement. As such, these findings have potentially important implications for the efficient deployment of university resources for both reducing rationalized forms of academic procrastination, and designing learning environments to reduce distraction.
Publication Date: 2022
Decreasing students' stress through time management training: an intervention study
by
Alexander Häfner, Armin Stock and Verena Oberst
ABSTRACT
The aim of this study was to examine the effects of a time management training program on perceived control of time and perceived stress in the context of higher education. Twenty-three undergraduate students attended a time management training intervention and reported demands, perceived stress and perceived control of time directly before 2 and 4 weeks after training. We used a “non-equivalent dependent variable design” (Cook and Campbell, Quasi-experimentation: design and analysis for field settings, p. 118, 1979) with perceived stress and perceived control of time as dependent variables, which should be influenced by the training, and demands as control variable, which should not be changed. As expected, perceived stress decreased and perceived control of time increased after training, whereas demands did not change. Therefore, time management training might be beneficial for undergraduate students’ well-being. Nevertheless, more intervention studies in this field are necessary, especially with lager samples, to contribute to more robust results and conclusions.
Publication Date: 2015
The Impact of Time Management on Students' Academic Achievement
by
S N A M Razali, M S Rusiman, W S Gan and N Arbin
ABSTRACT
Time management is very important and it may actually affect individual's overall performance and achievements. Students nowadays always commented that they do not have enough time to complete all the tasks assigned to them. In addition, a university environment's flexibility and freedom can derail students who have not mastered time management skills. Therefore, the aim of this study is to determine the relationship between the time management and academic achievement of the students. The factor analysis result showed three main factors associated with time management which can be classified as time planning, time attitudes and time wasting. The result also indicated that gender and races of students show no significant differences in time management behaviours. While year of study and faculty of students reveal the significant differences in the time management behaviours. Meanwhile, all the time management behaviours are significantly positively related to academic achievement of students although the relationship is weak. Time planning is the most significant correlated predictor.
Publication Date: 2018
Internet-based cognitive - behavior therapy for procrastination: A randomized controlled trial
by
A. Rozental, E. Forsell, A. Svensson, G. Andersson, and P. Carlbring
ABSTRACT
Procrastination can be a persistent behavior pattern associated with personal distress. However, research investigating different treatment interventions is scarce, and no randomized controlled trial has examined the efficacy of cognitive−behavior therapy (CBT). Meanwhile, Internet-based CBT has been found promising for several conditions, but has not yet been used for procrastination. Method: Participants (N = 150) were randomized to guided self-help, unguided self-help, and wait-list control. Outcome measures were administered before and after treatment, or weekly throughout the treatment period. They included the Pure Procrastination Scale, the Irrational Procrastination Scale, the Susceptibility to Temptation Scale, the Montgomery Åsberg Depression Rating Scale−Self-report version, the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Assessment, and the Quality of Life Inventory. The intention-to-treat principle was used for all statistical analyses. Results: Mixed-effects models revealed moderate between-groups effect sizes comparing guided and unguided self-help with wait-list control; the Pure Procrastination Scale, Cohen’s d = 0.70, 95% confidence interval (CI) [0.29, 1.10], and d = 0.50, 95% CI [0.10, 0.90], and the Irrational Procrastination Scale, d = 0.81 95% CI [0.40, 1.22], and d = 0.69 95% CI [0.29, 1.09]. Clinically significant change was achieved among 31.3–40.0% for guided self-help, compared with 24.0–36.0% for unguided self-help. Neither of the treatment conditions was found to be superior on any of the outcome measures, Fs(98, 65.17−72.55)< 1.70, p >.19. Conclusion: Internet-based CBT could be useful for managing self-reported difficulties due to procrastination, both with and without the guidance of a therapist.
Publication Date: 2015
“Facebocrastination”? Predictors of using Facebook for procrastination and its effects on students’ well-being
by
Meier, Adrian; Reinecke, Leonard; Meltzer, Christine E.
ABSTRACT
Procrastinating with popular online media such as Facebook has been suggested to impair users’ well-being, particularly among students. Building on recent procrastination, self-control, and communication literature, we conducted two studies (total N = 699) that examined the predictors of procrastination with Facebook as well as its effects on students’ academic and overall well-being. Results from both studies consistently indicate that low trait self-control, habitual Facebook checking, and high enjoyment of Facebook use predict almost 40 percent of the variance of using Facebook for procrastination. Moreover, results from Study 2 underline that using Facebook for the irrational delay of important tasks increases students’ academic stress levels and contributes to the negative well-being effects of Facebook use beyond the academic domain. The implications of investigating procrastination as a specific pattern of uncontrolled and dysfunctional media use are discussed with regard to research on the uses and effects of ubiquitous online media.
Publication Date: 2016
Understanding procrastination: A case of a study skills course
by
T. Hailikari, N. Katajavuori and H. Asikainen
ABSTRACT
Procrastination is consistently viewed as problematic to academic success and students’ general well-being. There are prevailing questions regarding the underlying and maintaining mechanisms of procrastination which are yet to be learnt. The aim of the present study was to combine different ways to explain procrastination and explore how students’ time and effort management skills, psychological flexibility and academic self-efficacy are connected to procrastination as they have been commonly addressed separately in previous studies. The data were collected from 135 students who participated in a voluntary time management and well-being course in autumn 2019. The results showed that students’ ability to organize their time and effort has the strongest association with procrastination out of the variables included in the study. Psychological flexibility also has a strong individual role in explaining procrastination along with time and effort management skills. Surprisingly, academic self-efficacy did not have a direct association with procrastination. Interestingly, our findings further suggest that time and effort management and psychological flexibility are closely related and appear to go hand in hand and, thus, both need to be considered when the aim is to reduce procrastination. The implications of the findings are further discussed.
Publication Date: 2021
Stop procrastinating! Start writing!
by
Kurt J. Marfurt
ABSTRACT
As an academic for half of my career, one of my main tasks has been to edit student term papers, theses, and dissertations. Not surprisingly, such editing requires a draft document to be submitted for review. For a multitude of reasons — perfectionism, a desire to generate yet one more figure, fear of negative feedback, or discomfort with writing in a foreign language — many students procrastinate and often suffer from writer’s block, where the potential author simply stares at the blank page or computer screen without making any progress. The target audience of this article includes not only graduate students and young professionals, but also, given the current industry slowdown, more seasoned professionals who haven’t had the opportunity to write in years. I am assuming that the work has been completed and presented orally, and deemed by the audience, professional colleagues, or management to be worthy of publication.
Publication Date: 2016
How to stop procrastinating: seven strategies backed by science
by
Alice Boyes [Harvard Business Review]
ABSTRACT
Do you keep postponing work you need to do? The problem probably stems from one of three things: your habits and systems (or lack thereof), your desire to avoid negative emotions (like anxiety and boredom), or your own flawed thinking patterns (which can make a task seem harder than it is). Luckily, there are simple strategies for managing each. To develop good habits, for instance, do your important work in a consistent pattern daily: After I do this, I do my deep work. Devise a system for starting new tasks (drawing on one you’ve handled well); that will make it easier to get the ball rolling. When a task makes you anxious, do the easiest part first and progress from there; motivate yourself to do a boring task with a reward for completing it. And if you’re cognitively blocked, consider what would make a task impossible—and then identify its opposite. Novel work often is filled with friction. You must recognize that tension doesn’t mean you’re not making progress. And if a project still feels overwhelming, tackle it in small chunks of time, not big ones.
