A meta-analytically derived nomological network of procrastination

1404 W. van Eerde / Personality and Individual Differences 35 (2003) 1401–1418
1.6. Motives
Fear of failure and perfectionism have been proposed as motives to avoid certain tasks. In other
words, procrastinators do not want to be confronted with negative feedback on their performance.
This may even result in so-called self-handicapping, the creation of impediments to successful
performance (cf. Urdan & Midgley, 2001). That is, procrastination is helpful to create the
idea that one could have done better, if only one had started earlier. Now, performing worse can
be attributed to the delay and not to one’s own ability, a so-called ego-defensive strategy.
1.7. Affect
How is procrastination related to affect? Not all individuals appear to be concerned about their
procrastination, but some may realize they have not adhered to their obligation. Attributions of
the procrastination and resulting time pressure will play a role in the experience of outcomes, that
is, when the time pressure is seen as exceeding one’s resources, and is self-attributed, it may
increase feelings of guilt, anxiety, and depression. When the time pressure is still seen as manageable,
and if it can be attributed to sources outside oneself, negative psychological outcomes
need not occur. Time pressure may even lead to positive outcomes, such as increased stimulation,
especially for tasks that are experienced as boring (Freedman & Edwards, 1988).
In previous research, procrastination has been viewed as a dysfunctional tendency only, and it
has been examined in combination with low affective well-being, in particular anxiety and
depression, which was also a claim in the case of neuroticism, which includes both. Although
these two variables are just as likely to be antecedents as outcomes of procrastination—when
depressed or anxious, one procrastinates, or procrastination leads to depression or anxiety—there
is no indication from previous studies whether to consider them as antecedents or consequences.
1.8. Performance
As procrastination is defined as postponing or delay on performing a task or decision, it can be
assumed to influence performance, as the time pressure caused by the delay can decrease punctuality
or accuracy. Not only task performance, but broader functioning may be affected by
procrastination as well, depending on the task or context (see Van Eerde, 2000). However, there
may be positive effects of delay, whether it was purposely or not, for example, more information
or thinking can improve the quality of a decision. One of the important moderators can be
assumed to be the difficulty of the task. Increasing time pressure in difficult tasks is likely to lead
to decreased quality and/or punctuality, but time pressure in performing easy tasks may lead to
increased efficiency. Here it may be important to consider how general someone’s tendency to
procrastinate is. Whereas procrastinating occasionally in a particular context may not be dysfunctional,
performance may be affected negatively when procrastination is so general that it
occurs with any task.
Most studies in the literature are concerned with academic procrastination of students, i.e.
related to studying and behaviour in school or university. The performance measures included
grades, grade point average, missing deadlines, the time spent on preparing a task, and completing
tasks, such as assignments.