Procrastination and its mechanisms & Inducing procrastination in the lab: An exploratory study

Abstract

When procrastinating, an individual fails to regulate his behaviour towards achieving an intended goal. This common and prevailing phenomenon can occur in almost all domains of life and on a wide variety of tasks. However, it is highly personal what tasks people procrastinate on, and whether dilatory behaviour is in fact procrastination depends on individual reasons. As such, it is often measured with self-reports. Given that there is no uniform theory on what exactly constitutes procrastination, this thesis aims to establish a theoretical framework based on philosophical and psychological literature. By looking at underlying mechanisms of procrastination, this thesis lays the groundwork for an experimental study that aims to induce procrastination in a lab setting. To achieve this, firstly a notion of what behaviour we want to observe is created. Specifically, cases of delay that may or may not be called procrastination are discussed. Secondly, in approaching procrastination as a self-regulatory failure, the psychological mechanisms that can be influenced to induce procrastination are discussed.