Psychologist claims procrastination tends to make people “less healthy, less wealthy, less happy"

William Atkins
Friday, 12 January 2007 21:13

Science - Biology

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Steel, considered one of the world’s leading experts on procrastination, made his conclusions known in a recent thirty-page article ("The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quintessential Self-Regulatory Failure") in Psychological Bulletin, which is published by the American Psychological Association. He states that 54% of all procrastinators are men while 46% are women. In addition, young people are more likely to procrastinate than older people.

Steel also found within his study that temptation is the major cause of procrastination. Because more temptations and distractions exist in U.S. society to divert people from the task at hand, more procrastination occurs. Other causes of procrastination include the perceived value of performing a job, the aversion of performing a task, impulsiveness, the sense of immediacy, lack of motivation, and the person’s belief in being able to do a job.

On the other hand, Steel claims that procrastinators are not perfectionists as is sometimes claimed in self-help books and other literature. In fact, it is just the opposite. Perfectionists procrastinate less and, thus, perform tasks better because they avoid delays. However, they worry more than procrastinators but have more confidence that they can finish the task.

Steel has come up with a mathematical equation that explains procrastination. The formula Steel calls Temporal Motivational Theory uses the factors of success expectancy (E), completion value (V), availability or immediacy (Ã), task desirability (Utility), and sensitivity to delay (D).

Based on Steel’s study, it may be interesting to make a comparative scientific study on perfectionists. If they are opposites of procrastinators, then do they tend to be ‘more healthy, more wealthy, and more happy’?