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Behavior Modification for procrastination
Lakeyda Brown
Liberty University
1/30/2022
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Procrastination
Procrastination is delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute or past their deadline. It
is also a learned behavior that can be unlearned if a person is willing to change to avoid negative
consequences. Studies have shown that procrastination can have major effects on a person’s
mental health, professional life, and even their social life. I have a fear of being wrong or making
mistakes, so I procrastinate not thinking of the consequences at the end. I am doing this study so
I can learn how to self-regulate my mind and emotions to stay focus and finish whatever task I
may endure so I can have a positive outcome instead of negative.
According to an article I was reading procrastination is defined as a voluntarily delay of an
intended course of action despite expecting to be worse-off for the delay and is considered a
persistent behavior pattern that can result in major psychological suffering. Cognitive-behavioral
therapy is considered a treatment, but evidence has not been supported. Research indicate that
30-60% of students reported that they delay completing tasks some are due to anxiety and
depression. Procrastination is also connected to higher levels of psychological distress. For
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example, stress, self-esteem, impairment in social and interpersonal functioning. Ninety -one
students at a Canadian university completed a study that gave insight between the relation
between anxiety, depression, and procrastination. The study showed that students with higher
levels of anxiety and depression were more likely to procrastination because of negative
repetitive thought.
Research on Target behavior
There are a variety of studies that have suggested that procrastination is detrimental to
subjective well-being. Wang et al (2017) did a study that tested the efficacy of Acceptance and
Commitment Therapy (ACT), compared with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), in
alleviating academic procrastination. Sixty undergraduates dealing with academic procrastination
were randomly assigned to two treatment groups Acceptance and Commitment Therapy,
compared with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy and a control group. The results where that both
therapies showed short term effects in decreasing procrastination, but ACT had a longer effect.
The participants achieved self esteem through both treatments ACT and CBT. IN conclusion for
this study the findings suggest that CBT and ACT are effective interventions for procrastinators
but have different therapeutic mechanisms. Another study was done Chowdhury et al (2018) that
examined the construct validity of active procrastination. The participants were 305
undergraduate students from a Canadian university. The participants took the study through an
online experimental sign-up system. The procrastination was assessed using a multifaceted
measure of academic procrastination. Results showed that active procrastination is
heterogeneous in nature that consist of two theoretically and empirically distinct constructs
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which are purposeful arousal delay The study also showed a significant small to moderate and .
negative relations with general procrastination and irrational delay.
Research on treatment
I plan on using positive reinforcement to help with procrastinating in other words I will
start practicing internal self-praise. My treatment method for procrastinating is to start by
recognizing the causes of it. Mines is fear of failure, Overcommitment issues and sometimes I
am just confused on where to begin so I get stressed or uninterested and just give up. Knowing
that’s not the right thing to do.” Many of life’s failures are people who did not realize how close
they were to success when they gave up” By Thomas Edison. I will also start by eliminating my
distractions when I know I must study or have tasks to do. For example, turning of my phone and
television so I can concentrate better and stay focus. I will start rewarding myself even for the
smallest things I complete. Dale Carnegie stated “Praise the slightest improvement and praise
every improvement. Be hearty in your approbation and lavish in your praise.”
According to Steel and König (2006), the field of motivation consists of numerous attempts to
explain procrastination stemming from research in economy, psychology, sociology, and
cognitive neuroscience. There aren’t too many studies on procrastination and positive
reinforcement that I could find but there are articles on how to avoid procrastination so an
individual can reward themselves for the tasks or accomplishments they have overcome.
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In conclusion Procrastination is well known for negative outcomes regarding performance ,
and subjective well-being. Even though procrastination is a learned a behavior it can be changed
with a little self-control and positive reinforcement. Recent studies have shown that people regret
the things they haven’t done due to procrastination. When people procrastinate, they are wasting
time that they could be investing in something else. I have learned after this research that I can
overcome procrastination so I can better utilize the potential that God gave me to use.
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Reference:
Miltenberger, R. G. (2008). Behavior modification, principles and procedures (5th ed.).
Wadsworth.
Chowdhury, S. F., & Pychyl, T. A. (2018). A critique of the construct validity of active procrastination.
Personality and Individual Differences
Wang, S., Zhou, Y., Yu, S., Ran, L.-W., Liu, X.-P., & Chen, Y.-F. (2017). Acceptance and Commitment Therapy
and Cognitive–Behavioral Therapy as Treatments for Academic Procrastination
Sirois, F. M., & Giguère, B. (2018). Giving in when feeling less good: Procrastination, action
control, and social temptations. British Journal of Social Psychology, 57(2), 404-427
Marcus Eckert, David D Ebert, Dirk Lehr, Bernhard Sieland, Matthias Berking, Overcome
procrastination: (n.d.).
Shira Pollack & Joanna Herres (2020) Prior Day Negative Affect Influences Current Day
Procrastination: A Lagged Daily Diary Analysis, Anxiety, Stress & Coping,
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Constantin, K., English, M. M., & Mazmanian, D. (2018). Anxiety, Depression, and
Procrastination Among Students: Rumination Plays a Larger Mediating Role than Worry.
Journal of Rational - Emotive & Cognitive - Behavior Therapy,
Klingsieck, K. B. (2013). Procrastination: When good things don’t come to those who wait
