Skip to main content

Procrastination and Rational/Irrational Beliefs: A Moderated Mediation Model

Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy volume 37, pages 299–315 (2019)Cite this article

Abstract

The present study focuses on the integrated effect of self-doubt, rational and irrational beliefs, and fear of failure on procrastination in a sample of Turkish undergraduate students (N = 293). The results confirm prior evidence indicating that self-doubt, fear of failure, and rational/irrational beliefs were important predictors of procrastination. The results show that (a) both self-doubt and irrational beliefs have direct and interactive effects on fear of failure, (b) fear of failure mediates the relationship between self-doubt and procrastination, (c) rational beliefs moderated the predictive effect of fear of failure on procrastination, and (d) the indirect effect of self-doubt on procrastination via fear of failure may vary depending on the level of rational and irrational beliefs. These findings suggest that future intervention attempts should focus on modifying irrational beliefs and enhancing rational beliefs to cope with procrastination.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3

References

  • Aftab, S., Klibert, J., Holtzman, N., Qadeer, K., & Aftab, S. (2017). Schemas mediate the link between procrastination and depression: Results from the United States and Pakistan. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-017-0263-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balkis, M. (2013). Academic procrastination, academic life satisfaction and academic achievement: The mediation role of rational beliefs about studying. Journal of Cognitive and Behavioral Psychotherapies, 13(1), 57–74.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balkis, M. (2015). The moderator role of rational beliefs in relation to procrastination, academic achievement and academic satisfaction. Eğitim Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 48(1), 87–107.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2012). The direct and indirect role of self-esteem and procrastination in the relation to fear of failure and self-worth. International Journal of Human Sciences, 9(2), 1075–1093.

    Google Scholar 

  • Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2018a). The protective role of rational beliefs on the relationship between irrational beliefs, emotional states of stress, depression and anxiety. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-018-0305-7.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Balkis, M., & Duru, E. (2018b). Procrastination, self-downing, self-doubt, and rational beliefs: A moderated mediation model. Journal of Counseling & Development, 96(2), 187–196.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baumeister, R. F., Schmeichel, B. J., & Vohs, K. D. (2007). Self-regulation and the executive function: The self as controlling agent. Social Psychology: Handbook of Basic Principles, 2, 516–539.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, M. E. (1990). Validation of General Attitude and Belief Scale. Presented at the World Congress of Mental Health Counselling, Keystone, Colorado.

  • Bernard, M. E. (1995). A rational-emotive mental training program for professional athletes. In A. Ellis & M. E. Berbard (Eds.), Clinical application of rational-emotive therapy (pp. 277–309). Boston: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, M. E. (1998). Validation of the general attitude and belief scale. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 16, 183–196. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024911014579.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bernard, M. E. (2011). Rationality and the pursuit of happiness. The legacy of Albert Ellis. Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell.

    Google Scholar 

  • Beswick, G., Rothblum, E. D., & Mann, L. (1988). Psychological antecedents of student procrastination. Australian Psychologist, 23, 207–217. https://doi.org/10.1080/00050068808255605.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bridges, K. R., & Roig, M. (1997). Academic procrastination and irrational thinking: A reexamination with context controlled. Personality and Individual Differences, 22(6), 941–944. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(96)00273-5.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Burka, J. B., & Yuen, L. M. (1983). Procrastination: Why you do it, what to do about it. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Burka, J. B., & Yuen, L. M. (2008). Procrastination: Why you do it, what to do about it. Cambridge: Da Capo Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Caserta, D. A., Dowd, E. T., David, D., & Ellis, A. (2010). Rational and irrational beliefs in primary prevention and mental health. In D. David, S. J. Lynn, & A. Ellis (Eds.), Rational and Irrational beliefs: Research, theory and clinical practice (pp. 173–194). New York: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Champoux, J. E., & Peters, W. S. (1987). Form, effect size, and power in moderated regression analysis. Journal of Occupational Psychology, 60(3), 243–255. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2044-8325.1987.tb00257.x.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Child, D. (1990). The essentials of factor analysis (2nd ed.). London: Cassel Educational Limited.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cohen, J. (1988). Statistical power analysis for the behavioral sciences (2nd ed.). Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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(2), 76–90. https://doi.org/10.1080/10413200252907752.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • David, D., Lynn, S. J., & Ellis, A. (2010). The role of rational and irrational beliefs in human functioning and disturbances: Implications for research, theory, and clinical practice. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dinnel, D. L., Thompson, T., & Hopkins, J. (2002). Family Environment Variables Related to the Development of Failure-Avoidant Patterns. A poster presented at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Society, New Orleans, LA.

  • Dryden, W., & Neenan, M. (2004). Rational emotive behavioral counselling in action. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.

    Book  Google Scholar 

  • Duru, E., & Balkis, M. (2014). The roles of academic procrastination tendency on the relationships among self-doubt, self-esteem, and academic achievement. Education and Sciences, 39(173), 274–287.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A. (2003). Discomfort anxiety: A new cognitive-behavioral construct (Part I). Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 21(3–4), 183–191.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A., & Dryden, W. (1997). The practice of rational emotive behavior therapy (2nd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ellis, A., & Knaus, W. (1977). Overcoming procrastination. New York: Institute for Rational Living.

    Google Scholar 

  • Evans, M. G. (1985). A Monte Carlo study of the effects of correlated method variance in moderated multiple regression analysis. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 36, 305–323. https://doi.org/10.1016/0749-5978(85)90002-0.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Feick, D. L., & Rhodewalt, F. (1997). The double-edged sword of self-handicapping: Discounting, augmentation, and the protection and enhancement of self-esteem. Motivation and Emotion, 21(2), 147–163. https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1024434600296.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, J. R. (1994). Dysfunctional procrastination and its relationship with self-esteem, interpersonal dependency, and self-defeating behaviors. Personality and Individual Differences, 17(5), 673–679. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(94)90140-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, J. R. (2000). Procrastination and attention: Factor analysis of attention deficit, boredomness, intelligence, self-esteem, and task delay frequencies. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15(5), 185–196.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, J. R., & Díaz-Morales, J. F. (2007). Perceptions of self-concept and self-presentation by procrastinators: Further evidence. Spanish Journal of Psychology, 10(1), 91–96.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, J. R., & Emmons, R. A. (1994). Procrastination as revenge: do people report using delays as a strategy for vengeance? Personality and Individual Differences, 17(4), 539–544. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(94)90090-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ferrari, J. R., Johnson, J. L., & McCown, W. G. (Eds.). (1995). Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory, research, and treatment. New York: Plenum Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • 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.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Flett, G. L., Stainton, M., Hewitt, P. L., Sherry, S. B., & Lay, C. (2012). Procrastination automatic thoughts as a personality construct: An analysis of the procrastinatory cognitions inventory. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 30(4), 223–236. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-012-0150-z.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Froggatt, W. (2005). A Brief Introduction to Rational Emotive Behaviour Therapy (3rd Ed.) New Zealand, Stortford Lodge: Hastings. Retrieved March 16, 2015 from http://www.rational.org.nz/prof-docs/Intro-REBT.pdf.

  • Haghbin, M., McCaffrey, A., & Pychyl, T. A. (2012). The complexity of the relation between fear of failure and procrastination. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 30(4), 249–263. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-012-0153-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harrington, N. (2005). It’s too difficult! Frustration intolerance beliefs and procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 39(5), 873–883. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2004.12.018.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harriott, J., & Ferrari, J. R. (1996). Prevalence of procrastination among samples of adults. Psychological Reports, 78(2), 611–616. https://doi.org/10.2466/pr0.1996.78.2.611.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harriott, J. S., Ferrari, J. R., & Dovidio, J. F. (1996). Distractibility, daydreaming, and self-critical cognitions as determinants of indecision. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 11(2), 337–344.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2009). Beyond Baron and Kenny: Statistical mediation analysis in the new millennium. Communication Monographs, 76(4), 408–420. https://doi.org/10.1080/03637750903310360.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York, NY: Guilford.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyland, P., Shevlin, M., Adamson, G., & Boduszek, D. (2014). The organization of irrational beliefs in posttraumatic stress symptomology: Testing the predictions of REBT theory using structural equation modelling. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 70(1), 48–59. https://doi.org/10.1002/jclp.22009.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Johnson, J. L., & Bloom, A. M. (1995). An analysis of the contribution of the five factors of personality to variance in academic procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 18, 127–133. https://doi.org/10.1016/0191-8869(94)00109-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kline, T. J. (2005). Psychological testing: A practical approach to design and evaluation. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Knaus, W. J. (2006). Frustration tolerance training for children. In A. Ellis & M. E. Bernard (Eds.), Rational emotive behavior approaches to childhood disorders (pp. 133–155). New York: Springer.

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  • Lee, E. (2005). The relationship of motivation and flow experience to academic procrastination in university students. The Journal of Genetic Psychology, 166(1), 5–15. https://doi.org/10.3200/GNTP.166.1.5-15.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • McCown, B., Blake, I. K., & Keiser, R. (2012). Content analyses of the beliefs of academic procrastinators. Journal of Rational-Emotive & Cognitive-Behavior Therapy, 30(4), 213–222. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-012-0148-6.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Oleson, K. C., Poehlmann, K. M., Yost, J. H., Lynch, M. E., & Arkin, R. M. (2000). Subjective overachievement: Individual differences in self-doubt and concern with performance. Journal of Personality, 68, 491–524. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-6494.00104.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Özer, B. U., Demir, A., & Ferrari, J. (2009). Exploring academic procrastination among Turkish students: Possible gender differences in prevalence and reasons. The Journal of Social Psychology, 149(2), 241–257. https://doi.org/10.3200/SOCP.149.2.241-257.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Powers, T. A., Koestner, R., & Zuroff, D. C. (2007). Self–criticism, goal motivation, and goal progress. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology, 26(7), 826–840. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2009.03.012.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Preacher, K. J., & Kelley, K. (2011). Effect size measures for mediation models: Quantitative strategies for communicating indirect effects. Psychological Methods, 16(2), 93–115. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0022658.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Pychyl, T. A., Coplan, R. J., & Reid, P. A. (2002). Parenting and procrastination: Gender differences in the relations between procrastination, parenting style and self-worth in early adolescence. Personality and Individual Differences, 33, 271–285. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0191-8869(01)00151-9.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rorer, L. G. (1983). “Deep” RET: A reformulation of some psychodynamic explanations of procrastination. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 7(1), 1–9. https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01173419.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Senecal, C., Koestner, R., & Vallerand, R. J. (1995). Self-regulation and academic procrastination. The Journal of Social Psychology, 135(5), 607–619.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sirois, F. M. (2015). Is procrastination a vulnerability factor for hypertension and cardiovascular disease? Testing an extension of the procrastination–health model. Journal of Behavioral Medicine, 38(3), 578–589. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10865-015-9629-2.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Solomon, L., & Rothblum, E. (1984). Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31, 503–509. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0167.31.4.503.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133, 65–94. https://doi.org/10.1037/0033-2909.133.1.65.

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Steel, P. (2010). Arousal, avoidant and decisional procrastinators: Do they exist? Personality and Individual Differences, 48, 926–934. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.paid.2010.02.025.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tabachnick, B. G., & Fidell, L. S. (2006). Using multivariate statistics. Boston, MA: Pearson Education.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

This study supported by Pamukkale University Scientific Research Programs (BAP).

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Psychological Counseling and Guidance, Faculty of Education, Pamukkale University, 20070, Kinikli-Denizli, Turkey

    Murat Balkis & Erdinç Duru

Authors
  1. Murat Balkis
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Erdinç Duru
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Murat Balkis.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interests

The authors declare no conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Helsinki declaration and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Balkis, M., Duru, E. Procrastination and Rational/Irrational Beliefs: A Moderated Mediation Model. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 37, 299–315 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-019-00314-6

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-019-00314-6

Keywords

  • Self-doubt
  • Fear of failure
  • Irrational and rational beliefs
  • Procrastination
  • Moderated mediation model