Abstract
The present paper examines the nature of procrastination-related automatic thoughts by examining the correlates of the Procrastinatory Cognitions Inventory (PCI). The PCI was administered along with numerous other measures to three samples of students (two undergraduate samples and one graduate student sample). Analyses confirmed that the PCI is associated with elevated levels of neuroticism and low levels of conscientiousness but is a unique predictor of distress over and above the variance attributable to these broad personality traits. The PCI was associated significantly with negative automatic thoughts in general as well as automatic thoughts reflecting the need to be perfect. Tests of achievement goal orientation showed that students with high scores on the PCI are focused on performance avoidance goals. Elevated levels of procrastinatory cognitions among graduate students were associated with apprehension about writing, graduate student stress, low self-actualization, and feelings of being an impostor. Overall, the findings suggest that the experience of frequent procrastination-related thoughts contributes uniquely to increased levels of psychological distress and stress. Our findings point to the potential utility of incorporating an emphasis on procrastination cognitions when conducting assessments and when implementing cognitive-behavioral interventions focused on procrastination-related themes.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Basco, M. R. (2010). The procrastinator`s guide to getting things done. New York: Guilford.
Clance, P. R. (1985). The impostor phenomenon: Overcoming the fears that haunt your success. Atlanta, GA: Peachtree.
Conroy, D. E. (2004). The unique psychological meanings of multidimensional fears of failing. Journal of Sport and Exercise Psychology, 26, 484–491.
Conroy, D. E., Willow, J. P., & Metzler, J. N. (2002). Multidimensional fear of failure measurement: The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory. Journal of Applied Sport Psychology, 14, 76–90.
Covington, M. F. (1984). Motivation for self-worth. In R. Ames & C. Ames (Eds.), Learning and motivation in the classroom (pp. 139–164). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.
Daly, J. A., & Miller, M. D. (1975). The empirical development of an instrument to measure writing apprehension. Research in the Teaching of English, 9, 242–248.
Davis, R. A., Flett, G. L., & Besser, A. (2002). Validation of a new scale for measuring problematic Internet use: Implications for pre-employment screening. CyberPsychology and Behavior, 5, 331–345.
Elliot, A. J., & McGregor, H. A. (2001). A 2 × 2 achievement goal framework. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 80, 501–519.
Ferrari, J. R., & Thompson, T. (2006). Impostor fears: Links with self-presentational concerns and self-handicapping behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 341–352.
Flett, G. L., Blankstein, K. R., & Hewitt, P. L. (1991). Factor structure of the short index of self-actualization. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 6, 321–329.
Flett, G. L., Blankstein, K. R., & Martin, T. R. (1995). Procrastination, negative self-judgments, and stress in depression and anxiety: A review and preliminary model. In J. R. Ferrari, J. L. Johnson, & W. G. McCown (Eds.), Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory, research, and treatment (pp. 137–167). NY: Plenum.
Flett, G. L., Hewitt, P. L., Blankstein, K. R., & Gray, L. (1998). Psychological distress and the frequency of perfectionistic thinking. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 75, 1363–1381.
Gold, D. B., & Wegner, D. M. (1995). Origins of ruminative thought: Trauma, incompleteness, nondisclosure, and suppression. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 1245–1261.
Goldberg, L. R. (1992). The development of markers for the Big-Five factor structure. Psychological Assessment, 4, 26–42.
Goldberg, L. R. (2000). International Personality Item Pool: A scientific collaboratory for the development of advanced measures of personality and other individual differences. http://ipip.ori.org/ipip/..
Haghbin, M., McCaffrey, A., & Pychyl, T. A. (2012). The complexity of the relation between fear of failure and procrastination. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. doi:10.1007/s10942-012-0153-9.
Higgins, E. T. (1987). Self-discrepancy: A theory relating self and affect. Psychological Review, 94, 319–340.
Hollon, S. D., & Kendall, P. C. (1980). Cognitive self-statements in depression: Development of an Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 4, 383–395.
Jones, A., & Crandall, R. (1986). Validation of a short index of self-actualization. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 12, 63–73.
Karas, D., & Spada, M. M. (2009). Brief cognitive-behavioral coaching for procrastination: A case series. Coaching: An International Journal of Theory, Research, and Practice, 2, 44–53.
Kazdin, A. E. (1990). Evaluation of the Automatic Thoughts Questionnaire: Negative cognitive processes and depression among children. Psychological Assessment, 2, 73–79.
Lay, C. H. (1994). Trait procrastination and affective experiences: Describing past study behavior and its relation to agitation and dejection. Motivation and Emotion, 18, 269–284.
Lay, C. H. (1997). Explaining lower-order traits through higher-order factors: The case of trait procrastination, conscientiousness, and the specificity dilemma. European Journal of Personality, 11, 267–278.
Lay, C. H., & Schouwenburg, H. C. (1993). Trait procrastination, time management, and academic behavior. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 8, 647–662.
Leahy, R. (2002). Improving homework compliance in the treatment of generalized anxiety disorder. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 58, 499–511.
Lee, B.-J. (2007). Moderating effects of religious/spiritual coping in the relation between perceived stress and psychological well-being. Pastoral Psychology, 55, 751–759.
Martin, L. L., & Tesser, A. (1989). Toward a motivational and structural theory of ruminative thought. In J. S. Uleman & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), Unintended thought (pp. 306–326). New York: Guilford Press.
McGregor, H. A., & Elliot, A. J. (2002). Achievement goals as predictors of achievement-relevant processes prior to task engagement. Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 381–395.
McIntosh, W. D., Harlow, T. F., & Martin, L. L. (1995). Linkers and nonlinkers: Goal beliefs as a moderator of the effects of everyday hassles on rumination, depression, and physical complaints. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 25, 1231–1244.
Palmer, S., & Gyllensten, K. (2008). How cognitive behavioral, rational emotive behavioral, or multimodal coaching could prevent mental health problems, enhance performance, and reduce work-related stress. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 26, 38–52.
Pajares, F., Britner, S. L., & Valiante, G. (2000). Relation between acheivement goals and self beliefs of middle school students in writing and science. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25, 406–422.
Pekrun, R., Elliot, A. J., & Maier, M. A. (2009). Achievement goals and achievement emotions: Testing a model of their joint relations with academic performance. Journal of Educational Psychology, 101, 115–135.
Persons, J. B. (1989). Cognitive therapy in practice: A case formulation approach. New York: Norton.
Radloff, L. S. (1977). The CES-D scale: a self-report depression scale for research in the general population. Applied Psychological Measurement, 1, 385–401.
Ramsay, J. R., & Rostain, A. L. (2005). Girl, repeatedly interrupted: The case of a young adult woman with ADHD. Clinical Case Studies, 4, 329–346.
Rocha-Singh, I. A. (1994). Perceived stress among graduate students: Development and validation of the Graduate Stress Inventory. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 54, 714–727.
Stainton, M., Lay, C. H., & Flett, G. L. (2000). Trait procrastinators and behavior/trait-specific cognitions. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15, 297–312.
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 65–94.
Thompson, T. (1993). Characteristics of self-worth protection in achievement behaviour. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 55, 631–660.
Van Eerde, W. (2003). A meta-analytically derived nomological network of procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 35, 1401–1418.
Van Yperen, N. W. (2006). A novel approach to assessing achievement goals in the context of the 2 × 2 framework: Identifying distinct profiles of individuals with different dominant achievement goals. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 32, 1432–1445.
Watson, D., & Clark, L. A. (1991). The mood and anxiety symptom questionnaire. Unpublished manuscript, Department of Psychology, University of Iowa, Iowa City.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., & Carey, G. (1988). Positive and negative feedback and their relation to anxiety and depressive disorders. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 346–353.
Watson, D., Clark, L. A., Weber, K., Assenheimer, J. S., Strauss, M. E., & McCormick, R. A. (1995). Testing a tripartite model: I. Evaluating the convergent and discriminant validity of anxiety and depression symptom scales. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 104, 3–14.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada awarded to the first and third authors. Gordon Flett was supported by a Canada Research Chair in Personality and Health. We thank Lisa-Marie Coulter for her assistance with the data analyses.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Flett, G.L., Stainton, M., Hewitt, P.L. et al. Procrastination Automatic Thoughts as a Personality Construct: An Analysis of the Procrastinatory Cognitions Inventory. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 30, 223–236 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-012-0150-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-012-0150-z