PROCRASTINATION AND

TASK AVOIDANCE THEORY, RESEARCH, AND

TREATMENT

THE PLENUM SERIES IN SOCIAL/CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY Series Editor: C. R. Snyder

University of Kansas Lawrence, Kansas

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PROCRASTINATION AND TASK AVOIDANCE Theory, Research, and Treatment

Joseph R. Ferrari, Judith L. Johnson, and William G. McCown

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Edited by James E. Maddux

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PROCRASTINATION AND

TASK AVOIDANCE THEORY, RESEARCH, AND

TREATMENT

JOSEPH R. FERRARI DePaul University Chicago, Illinois

JUDITH L. JOHNSON Villanova University

Villanova, Pennsylvania

WILLIAM G. MCCOWN Nathan Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research

Orangeburg, New York

AND ASSOCIATES

Springer Science+Business Media, LLC

On file

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

ISBN 978-1-4899-0229-0 ISBN 978-1-4899-0227-6 (eBook) DOI 10.1007/978-1-4899-0227-6

©1995 Springer Science+Business Media New York Originally published by Plenum Press, New York in 1995

Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 1995

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

All rights reserved

No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming,

recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher

To my wife Sharon and my children Catherine (Katie), Christina, and Jonathan for their inspiration and encouragement

-Joseph R. Ferrari

To our families and students for their support and assistance -Judith L. Johnson

-William G. McCown

ASSOCIATES

KIRK R. BLANKSTEIN, Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M3J lA3

GORDON L. FLETT, Department of Psychology, York University, North York, Ontario, Canada M3J IP3

PAUL L. HEWITT, Department of Psychology, University of WInnipeg, WInnipeg, Manitoba, Canada R3T 2N2

CLARRY LAY, Department of Psychology, York University, North York, Ontario, Canada M3J IP3

THOMAS R. MARTIN, Department of Psychology, York University, North York, Ontario, Canada M3J IP3

HENRI C. SCHOUWENBURG, Department of Student Support, Univer­sity of Groningen, 9700 AB Groningen, The Netherlands

vii

FOREWORD

Procrastination is a fascinating, highly complex human phenomenon for which the time has come for systematic theoretical and therapeutic effort. The present volume reflects this effort. It was a labor of love to read this scholarly, timely book-the first of its kind on the topic.

It was especially encouraging to find that its authors are remarkably free of the phenomenon they have been investigating. One might have expected the opposite. It has often been argued that people select topics that trouble them and come to understand their problems better by studying or treating them in others. This does not appear to be true of the procrastination researchers represented in this book. I base this conclusion on two simple observations. First, the work is replete with recent refer­ences and the book itself has reached the reader scarcely a year following its completion. Second, when one considers the remarkable pace of pro­grammatic research by these contributors during the past decade, it is clear that they are at the healthy end of the procrastination continuum.

The fascinating history of the term procrastination is well documented in this book. The term continues to conjure up contrasting, eloquent images-especially for poets. When Edward Young wrote in 1742, "Pro­crastination is the Thief of Time," he was condemning the waste of the most precious of human commodities. When more recently, in 1927, Marquis wrote that "procrastination is the art of keeping up with yester­day," he regarded this human frailty with bemused tolerance. Both mean­ings are retained today-the former for moderate to severe forms of indecision and delay, and the latter for less consequential transgressions.

The contributors to this volume offer the reader their personal reasons for becoming interested in procrastination. My own interest began 10 years

ix

x FOREWORD

ago when a graduate student asked me to serve as his thesis adviser on the ~opic. After reading the few published articles available at the time, I suggested that he investigate procrastination in everyday life-the extent to which one deals efficiently and effectively with the many minor tasks of daily living-rather than more conventional topics, such as academic procrastination or neurotic indecision. In retrospect, this suggestion came out of my unique cultural experience as an American who had settled in Israel. Hand,ling the routines of daily living is, in fact, far more difficult in Israel than in the United States. For example, few service establishments­financial, municipal, cultural, or recreational-are open at the same time (e.g., 9-5) during the week. Banks, post offices, museums, and depart­ment stores all have different opening and closing times, as well as different schedules for different days of the week. Furthe~ Israel is far more bureaucratic than the United States and requires many more documents, even for minor matters. I found the ability to deal promptly, efficiently, and effectively with the routine tasks of daily living in Israel to be a valuable asset, and the absence of this ability to be a debilitating stressor.

This personal awareness permitted me to make the procrastination­hassle connection when I first encountered Lazarus's work on daily has­sles. In my split (American/Israeli) brain, procrastinating on the many routine tasks of daily living becomes a proximal cause for the intense, chronic experience of feeling hassled that leads, in turn, to adverse psychological and physical consequences. People who engage in chronic task avoidance, but are affectively indifferent to it, suffer only adverse practical consequences of their dilatory behavior. People who engage in chronic task avoidance and are upset about it suffer adverse psychological consequences as well. Several kinds of negative appraisals may arise in the context of chronic task avoidance associated with dysphoriC affect. These appraisals threaten several personal characteristics that are cherished by most people: Self-control, effeetance or control over the environment, and self-esteem. These kinds of appraisals serve as expectancies that produce task avoidance, or as conclusions that follow from it, or both. Interest in the relationship of procrastinatory behavior, dysphoric affect elicited by this behavior, and adverse expectancies is reflected in this book.

Procrastination is as much a consequence of adverse preexisting personality characteristics and life experiences as it is an agent for bringing about adverse consequences in its own right. This volume is well-balanced in its emphasis on the antecedents and consequents of procrastination, and documents the fruitful interplay between programmatic research on both aspects. Research on the former enhances diagnosis and identifica­tion of the relevant pathological etiological factors that produce procras­tination. Research on the latter ascertains the degree and kind of the

FOREWORD xi

pathology that follows chronic procrastination. The findings from both approaches provide the procrastination therapist with theoretical perspec­tives, tools to measure relevant variables before, during, and after treat­ment, and a wide variety of treatment techniques.

The closing chapters of the volume deal with treatment and are fascinating for the reader and valuable for the clinician. Notwithstanding the difficulty, the field has reached the point where systematic treatment studies are possible. This writer would like to make a modest proposal: To constitute a national task force to develop criteria for diagnosis, assess­ment, and treatment of procrastination disorders. Some years ago the American Psychiatric Association introduced some degree of order, uni­formity, reliability, and validity in dealing with psychiatric disorders and behavioral disabilities. A similar collaboration by researchers and clinicians today may develop for procrastination the same kind of operationally defined criteria found in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manuals (DSM) for established psychiatric and behavioral disorders. There will soon be a body of knowledge, an armamentarium of diagnostic tools, treatment techniques, and treatment evaluation tools to justify launching such a project with reference to procrastination. This project would be launched with full awareness that this codified body of knowledge will undergo modification as clinical and epidemiological studies provide new informa­tion on diagnosiS, assessment, treatment, and evaluation of treatment effectiveness.

NORMAN A. MILGRAM

Tel Aviv University

PREFACE

Before we proposed the idea to the series editor, C. R. Snyder, we were unclear about the direction and potential content of the present book. One of the authors wanted to write a theoretical book. Another wanted an edited volume that would neatly summarize the growing amount of research regarding procrastination. The third leaned heavily toward a clinically oriented monograph that would appeal primarily to therapists working with chronic procrastinators.

We were not convinced which of these directions would be most useful, but deftnitely wanted to offer many of the major procrastination researchers the opportunity to contribute. However, we also realized the problems inherent in edited books, especially in an area where the re­search tradition is not well developed. We feared that such a format would be repetitive and might be of little value to clinicians.

Eliot Werner at Plenum suggested a simple solution to the book's direction. He recommended that we write the majority of the book, and that we include speciftc invited chapters from prominent procrastination researchers. In this manner we could combine the focus of an authored book with the diversity of an edited volume. The present text became an Hauthored with contributors" book. Chapters that do not include author names have been written by us. Chapters by our associates are clearly marked. The associate authors do not always agree with each other or, for that matter, with us. However, we are pleased with the diversity of theoretical sentiment expressed in this book. Respectful disagreement is a hallmark of a progressive science, providing that those who disagree maintain positive dialogue. Fortunately, the community of researchers in

xiii

xiv PREFACE

the field of procrastination is small and cooperative enough that this dialogue has been quite open, if occasionally spirited.

One criticism often voiced of both authored and edited books is that they usually escape the peer-review process. This book is an exception. All chapters were peer reviewed by outside reviewers. We greatly appreciate the contributions of these all-but-anonymous scholars and have almost always incorporated their criticisms into helpful revisions.

In addition to Eliot Werner and C. R. Snyde~ we wish to thank a number of colleagues and friends who offered us encouragement and helpful critiques, including-but not limited to-our reviewers: Marvin Acklin, Robert Arkin, Sean Austin, Tamara Baker, Roy Baumeiste~ Sam Bogoch, Hilman Boudreaux, Roberta Bowie, Margaret Brugge, Michael Blitz, Meghan Byrne, Linda Chamberlain, Jonathan Cheek, Tom Cipril­lina, Shel Cot1e~ Rebecca Curtis, Jorge Daruna, Harold Dawley, Phil DeSimone, Oeo Dillon, John Dovidio, Larry Emmett, Robert Emmons, Eva Feindler, Kay Fisch, Aileen Fink, Hans Eysenck, Judy Holmes, J. 1. Lewis, Luciano L'Abate, John Lombardo, Nita Lutwak, George Nagle, 'fram Neill, Julie Norem, Mike Olivette, Nunzio Pomara, Tom Petzel, Walter Reichman, Steve Scher, Alan Sconzert, Myrna Shure, Dan Skubick, Crist Stevenson, Kate Szymanski, Gary Thomsen, and Dolly Weiss.

Ferrari personally thanks Leonard Jason, Herbert Muriels, Diane Tice, Ray Wolfe, and the members of the 1993 Nags Head Invitational Confer­ence on "Personality and Social Behavior. /I Johnson and McCown also would like to add thanks to Hugh Gannon, Jenny Ornsteen, Margaret Brugge, and Mary Ellen Johnson. We also would like to thank our students (JRF-Tracey Clark, Barbara Effert, Bobbi Jo Nelson, Denise Roberts, and Gail Zelinski; JLJ-Michael Bloom; WGM-Katherine Bishop, Deni Carise, and Jennifer Posa), families, and certainly our research participants.

Finally, we would like to express our gratitude to Daniel Schopp­Wyatt for creating the subject index and to rrudy Brown of Plenum for assistance and support.

JOSEPH R. FERRARI

JUDITH 1. JOHNSON WILliAM G. MCCOWN

CONTENTS

Chapter 1

An Overview of Procrastination ................................ .

Procrastination Research: A Growing Endeavor ................ . Definitions of Procrastination ................................ .

Historical Roots .......................................... . Contemporary Definitions ................................ .

Oinical Significance of Procrastination ....................... . Procrastination in the General Population ..................... .

Procrastination in Adult Clinical Populations ................ . Relation of Axis II Disorders to Procrastination .............. .

Conclusion

Chapter 2

1

2 3 3 5

12 15 17 18 19

Procrastination Research: A Synopsis of Existing Research Perspectives 21

Preempirical Inquiry ........................................ 21 Psychoanalytic and Psychodynamic Theories .................. 22

Psychoanalytic Theories ................................... 22 Psychodynamic Theories .................................. 23

Procrastination Research and the Behavioral rradition . . . . . . . . . . . 25 Reinforcement Theory ..................................... 26 Procrastination and Specious Rewards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 Behaviorism and Programmed Systems of Instruction ........ 32 Critique of Behaviorism as Explanation of Procrastination 34

xv

xvi CONTENlS

Cognitive and Cognitive-Behavioral Theories of Procrastination .. 34 Irrational Beliefs .......................................... 35 Self-Statements and Private Self-Consciousness ............... 36 Locus of Control and Learned Helplessness .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 Irrational Perfectionism .................................... 38

Depression, Low Self-Esteem, and Anxiety ..............•..... 38 Temperamental and Personological Explanations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40

Achievement Motivation and Procrastination ................. 40 Intelligence and Ability .................................... 40 Impulsivity and Extraversion ............................... 42 Conscientiousness ......................................... 43 Differences in Capacity for Accurate Time Perception ......... 44

Neuropsychological and Biological Variables ................... 45 Conclusion ................................................. 46

Chapter 3

Assessment of Academic and Everyday Procrastination: The Use of Self-Report Measures ......................................... 47

Academic Procrastination .................................... 48 Procrastination Assessment Scale-Students (PASS) ............ 48 The Aitken Procrastination Inventory (API) .................. 52 Tuckman Procrastination Scale (TPS) ........................ 54 Conclusions on Academic Measures ........................ 55

Measures of Everyday Procrastination ......................... 56 General Procrastination Scale (GP) .......................... 56 Decisional Procrastination (DP) Scale........................ 61 Adult Inventory of Procrastination (AlP) ................. . . . . 63 The Tel-Aviv Procrastination (TAP) Inventory................. 66 Conclusion on Measures of Everyday Procrastination ......... 69

Chapter 4

Academic Procrastination: Theoretical Notions, Measurement, and Research ................................................ 71

Henri C. Schouwenburg

Manifestations of Procrastinatory Behavior ..................... 72 Procrastination and Irrational Thought ...................... 72

CONTENTS xvii

Fear of Failure and Procrastination .......................... 73 Procrastination and HThe Big Five" .......................... 76 Procrastination and Self-Worth ............................. 80 Integration into a Working Hypothesis ...................... 81

'freatment of Academic Procrastination ........................ 83 Measurement: The Development of New Instruments .... . . . . . . . 84

The Procrastination Checklist Study Tasks (PCS) ............. 84 The Academic Procrastination State Inventory (APSI) ......... 85 The Study Problems Questionnaire (SPQ) ................... 87

Research ................................................... 90 Time Dependency of Academic Procrastination . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90 Prediction of Study Progress ............................... 93

Conclusion ................................................. 95

Chapter 5

Trait Procrastination, Agitation, Dejection, and Self-Discrepancy. . . . . . 97

Clarry H. LAy

The Quasi-Independent Nature of Agitation (Anxiety) and Dejection (Depression) .................................. 99

Assessing the Relations of Thait Procrastination with Agitation and Dejection-Related Emotions (Studies 1-4) ............. 100

Study 1 .................................................. 100 Study 2 .................................................. 102 Study 3 .................................................. 103 Study 4 .................................................. 105

General Conclusions Based on Studies 1-4 .................... 106 Cross-Cultural Considerations ................................ 107 A Consideration of Some Other Theoretical Statements ......... 109 Thait Procrastination, Affect, and Dilatory Behavior ............. 110 Implications for the Counseling of Thait Procrastinators . . . . . . . . . . 112

Chapter 6

Dimensions of Perfectionism and Procrastination ................... 113

Gordon L. Flett, Paul L. Hewitt, and Tlwmas R. Martin

The Family Environment and its Link to Perfectionism and Procrastination .......................................... 114

xviii CONTENTS

History of the Perfectionism Construct ........................ 116 Similarities between Perfectionism and Procrastination .......... 117

Distinguishing Features............................. ....... 118 Procrastination and Perfectionistic Parental Expectancies ........ 126 Perfectionism and Procrastination in Low-Threat Situations ...... 130 Future ~earCh Issues ...................................... 132 Summary .................................................. 136

Chapter 7

Procrastination, Negative Self-Evaluation, and Stress in Depression and Anxiety: A Review and Preliminary Model ................... 137

Gordon L. Flett, Kirk R. Blankstein, and Thomas R. Martin

Procrastination in Anxiety and Depression . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 138 The Negative Self-Concepts of Procrastinators............ ...... 143 Procrastination, Life Stress, and Adjustment ................... 148 Toward a Model of Procrastination and Poor PsyChological

Adjustment ............................................ 156 Procrastination and the Development of Self-Uncertainty ...... 158 Procrastination, Social Comparison, and the Self ............. 160 Procrastination and the Avoidance of Diagnostic Information .. 161 Optimistic versus Pessimistic Procrastination in Personal

Adjustment ............................................ 163 Coping with Procrastination and PsyChological Distress ....... 164

Summary and Future ~earCh Directions ..................... 166

Chapter 8

The Role of Personality Disorders and Characterological Tendencies in Procrastination ........................................... 169

The Role of Anxiety and Fear -................................ 170 Procrastination and Personality Disorders...................... 171 Procrastination and Passive-Aggressiveness .................... 171 Procrastination and Obsessive-Compulsive Tendencies ....•..... 173

Study 1 .................................................. 173 Study 2 .................................................. 178 Study 3 .................................................. 183

General Conclusion ......................................... 185

CONTENTS xix

Chapter 9

Treatment of Academic Procrastination in College Students 187

Meta-Analysis and the Ethics of Intervention .................. 187 How Theoretical Accounts of Procrastination Influence rreatment

Strategies .............................................. 189 The rreatment of College-Student Procrastination: An Overview 190

Referral Typologies ........................................ 191 Assessment and Obtaining a History of the College-Student

Procrastinator ........................................... 194 General rreatment Philosophy Regarding College-Student

Procrastination .......................................... 196 Changing Cognitive Misconceptions: A Key Treatment Strategy

for all Types of Procrastination ........................... 197 Modifying Cognitive Distortions and the Anxious Procrastinator 199 Cognitive Interventions for the Low-Conscientious Procrastinator 201 Group Therapy for Academic Procrastinators: The 10-Session

Structured Model ....................................... 204 Individual Therapy for Procrastination ........................ 208 A Two-Session Intervention .................................. 209

Chapter 10

Treating Adult and Atypical Procrastination ....................... 211

Relevant Theoretical Orientation .............................. 212 "Typical" and '~typical" Adult Procrastination: The Critical

Distinction ............................................. 212 Group Treatment ............................................ 215 The Length of rreatment for "Typical" Adult Procrastination ..... 216 Case Study: A Treatment Plan for Typical Adult Procrastination 217 Integrating the rreatment of Typical Procrastination into General

Psychotherapy .......................................... 218 Psychopharmacology and Procrastination? ..................... 219 Assessment: The Need for a Full History ...................... 221 Stress and Procrastination: An Often Overlooked Link .......... 224 '~ddiction" to Procrastination and Concurrent Substance Abuse 225 Atypical Procrastination ..................................... 226

Psychodynamic rreatment for Atypical Procrastination ........ 228 Family rreatment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Conclusion ................................................. 233

xx CONTENTS

Chapter 11

Epilogue as Prologue

Considerations for Future Research .......................... . Specific Areas of Future Interest ............................. .

Neuroscience and Biopsychology .......................... . Developmental and Educational Research ................... . Industrial/Organizational Psychology ...................... . Personality Psychology ................................... . Social Psychology ........................................ . Clinical/Counseling Psychology ........................... . Experimental Psychology and Experimental Psychopathology:

The Need for a Return to Basic Research ................. . Conclusion

References .................................................. .

Index ...................................................... .

235

235 236 236 237 239 240 241 242

243 245

247

265