["Better late than never". Studying procrastination among students]

Psychiatr Hung. 2017;32(2):158-167.
[Article in Hungarian]

Abstract

Introduction: The purpose of the study is to investigate dispositional procrastination, procrastination types, and an operative measurement of this behavior in academic environment. Procrastination is a common and problematic phenomenon that explains the need for a comprehensive and complex approach of this behavior. The main focus of the study was to investigate the incidence and incidence of the different types of procrastination. Furthermore, we aimed to test the correspondence between dispositional procrastination and the operative measurement.

Methods: The sample consisted of 131 participants. Lay's Procrastination Scale was used to measure dispositional procrastination and the Types of procrastination questionnaire was applied to assess the frequency of its different types. Furthermore an operative measurement was gained by assigning a deadline for returning the paper and pensil form of the questionnaire. Participants received a message informing them that the deadline had been extended by three more days on the last night before the deadline.

Results: Based on the empirical results 63% of the participants can be classified as procrastinator. In regards of the different types of procrastination, "perfectionist" and "crisis-maker" types were the most frequent. A positive correlation was found between dispositional procrastination and the operative measurement of procrastination.

Conclusions: The results proved the common presence of procrastination, as well as the close connection between its dispositional and operative measure. Besides, they raise attention to the perfectionist and crisis-maker types of procrastination.

MeSH terms

  • Behavior*
  • Humans
  • Perfectionism*
  • Personality*
  • Students / psychology*
  • Surveys and Questionnaires
  • Test Taking Skills / psychology*