STUDY OF PROCRASTINATION AMONG STUDENTS IN RELATION TO THEIR

PERSONALITY, STRESS AND ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT

Each one of us is a unique person. Their experiences,

situations, attitudes, abilities and value seem to be the same

but the way they react and perform is different. Every person

deals every situation in a different way. So at every step of

life individual need to make adjustments according to their

personality traits to enhance performance in different aspects

like academic achievement, social adjustment, emotional

stability, psychological elements etc. These elements affect

the performance of an individual, which are considered

valuable assets for an individual. Performance plays a pivot

role in education of individual. Performance’s concern is

rooted on the potential impact on the future of both the

students and the country in the world's global economy.

Students are the estates who can understandably looking for

ways to bolster the nation's educational system. It is in the

hand of students to make performance measures more crucial

parts of evaluating whether schools and students itself are up

to the task of improving educational outcomes. That strategy

would be a powerful incentive for institutions to focus on how

well they are educating our young adults and supporting the

students' success rather than simply focusing on how many

students they can get in their classrooms.

Institutional performance is remained a centre

area for the researchers. Human elements have been studied

from time to time by various researchers, directly or

1

indirectly related to institutional performance. The human

behaviour elements play an important role in a student’s life.

Various studies are evident that behaviour elements like

personality, attitude, motivation, procrastination, stress

effect performance of an individual.

Procrastination is a prevalent and complex

psychological phenomenon that has been defined as the

purposive delay in beginning or completing a task.

Procrastination has been the subject of research mainly in

educational and clinical/counselling fields. Procrastination

is common in general populations, and is almost universal

among university students (Steel, 2007). Procrastination

refers to the act of replacing high-priority actions with

tasks of lower priority, or doing something from which one

derives enjoyment, and thus putting off important tasks to a

later time. The Latin origins o f pro, meaning “forward, forth,

or in favour of,” and crastinus, meaning “of tomorrow” (Klein,

1971). Oxford English Dictionary (1966), “Procrastination as a

postponement often with the sense of deferring though

indecision, when early action would have been preferable," or

as "deferring action, especially

without good reason.” The American Heritage Dictionary (2004),

“Procrastination as to put off doing something, especially out

of habitual carelessness or laziness.”

It is obvious that all conceptualizations of procrastination

recognize that there must be a postponing, delaying, or

putting off of a task or decision. Baumeister and Scher

2

(1988) depicted that procrastination as a lazy, self-indulgent

habit of putting things off for no reason. Procrastination

contains the self-defeating behavior pattern marked by short-

term benefits and long-term costs. The concept of

procrastination is the delaying of a task that was originally

planned despite expecting to be worse off for the delay (Van

Eerde, 2003). Because the delay is irrational, people end up

voluntarily choosing a course of action that they know will

not maximize their physical, psychological and material well-

being. The definition of procrastination holds a decidedly

negative denotation and connotation. Procrastination in the

academic realm holds many negative consequences including lost

time, increased stress, lower grades, poorer health, decreased

long-term learning and lower self-esteem (Hoover, 2005).

Procrastination is most often considered to be the irrational

delay of behavior. Procrastination is the delaying of actions

or tasks to a future time. Procrastination is said to be a

behavioral condition that affects a wide range of people from

college students to professionals.

Bestwick, et al. (1988) explained procrastination appears

to be troubling phenomenon. A large percentage of students

suffered from academic procrastination and the negative

consequences related to this dilatory behaviour. For instance,

academic procrastination is associated with poor academic

performance. Academic procrastination is regarded as a

dispositional trait that could particularly have some

consequences on students whose lives are characterized by

frequent deadlines. Researchers have shown that there are some

3

evidences that procrastination is associated with poor

academic performance (Beck, et al. 2000). Academic

procrastination is typically defined as an irrational tendency

to delay in the beginning and/or completion of an academic

task. Students may have the intention to perform an academic

activity within the desired or expected time frame, yet

failing to motivate themselves to do so (Ferrari, 1998). It is

estimated that 80%–95% of college students engage in

procrastination, approximately 75% considering themselves

procrastinators (O’Brien, 2002). Academic procrastination is

defined as putting off academic assignments until the last

minute if at all (Milgram, et al.1998).

Personality is a patterned body of habits,

traits, attitudes and ideas of an individual as these are

organized externally into roles and statuses and as they

relate internally to motivation, goals and various aspects of

selfhood. Personality is the particular combination of

emotional, attitudinal, and behavioural response patterns of

an individual."Personality" can be defined as a dynamic and

organized set of characteristics possessed by a person that

uniquely influences his or her cognitions, emotions,

interpersonal orientations motivations, and behaviours in

various situations. The word "personality" originates from the

Latin persona, which means mask. Personality may also refer to

the patterns of thoughts, feelings, social adjustments, and

behaviours consistently exhibited by an individual over time

that strongly influence our expectations, self-perceptions,

values and attitudes, and predicts our reactions to people,

4

problems and stress. So personality is a sum of the ideas,

attitudes and values of a person which determine his role in

society and form an integral part of his character. Allport

(1948), “Personality is a dynamic organization within the

individual of that psychophysical system that determines his

unique adjustment to his environment.” Cattell (1970),

“Personality which permits a prediction of what a person will

do in a given situation.” Personality is the set of

psychological traits and mechanisms within the individual that

are organized and relatively enduring and that influence his

or her interactions with, and adaptations to, the intra

psychic, physical, and social environments (Larsen and Buss,

2005).

Stress may be defined as a state of psychological

and / or physiological imbalance resulting from the disparity

between situational demand and the individual's ability and /

or motivation to meet those demands. Stress is a normal part

of life that can help us learn and grow. Stress word derived

from Middle English ‘distress’, or partly from Old French

‘estresse’ 'narrowness, oppression', based on Latin strictus

'drawn tight'. In general words, stress has been used to

describe hardship, affliction, force, pressure, strain or

strong efforts. It has been recognized as an external lead or

pressure supplied on the individual and viewed as person’s

response to a disturbance. Stress is defined as the response

to events that threaten or challenge a person (Brown and

Mcgill, 1989). Stress is a feeling that's created when we

react to particular events. It's the body's way of rising to a

5

challenge and preparing to meet a tough situation with focus,

strength, stamina, and heightened alertness. Stress is simply

a fact of nature - forces from the inside or outside world

affecting the performance of an individual. Pfeiffer (2001)

examined too much stress can interfere student’s preparation,

concentration, and performance but positive stress can be

helpful to students by motivating them to peak performance.

Because of the over abundance of stress in our modern lives,

we usually think of stress as a negative experience, but from

a biological point of view, stress can be a neutral, negative,

or positive experience. Tehan (2001) studied that students who

can overcome the level of stress may have differing coping

mechanisms from other students who perform poorly. These can

reveal both positive and negative outcomes when compared with

academic performance. In general, stress is related to both

external and internal factors. When people feel stressed by

something going on around them, their bodies react by

releasing chemicals into the blood. These chemicals give

people more energy and strength, which can be a good thing if

their stress is caused by physical danger. But this can also

be a bad thing, if their stress is in response to something

emotional and there is no outlet for this extra energy and

strength. There are different causes of stress, how stress

affects you, the difference between 'good' or 'positive'

stress and 'bad' or 'negative' stress, and some common facts

about how stress affects people today. Angela Marrow, (2011),

“Stress is the body's reaction to a change that requires a

physical, mental or emotional adjustment or response.” Stress

6

is a mental or physical phenomenon formed through one’s

cognitive appraisal of the stimulation and is a result of

one’s interaction with the environment. The existence of

stress depends on the existence of the stressor ( Lazarus &

Folkman (1984).

Our country needs waking up to the problems of education in a

wider sense. The world is becoming more and more competitive.

Quality of performance has become the key factor personal

progress. In fact, it appears as if the all system of

education revolves around the academic achievement of students

though various other outcomes are also expected from this

system.Academic achievement is the pivot and centre of

educational growth and development. It is the most important

goal of education. Academic achievement or (academic)

performance is the outcome of education - the extent to which

a student, teacher or institution has achieved their

educational goals. Generally speaking academic achievement is

something that students achieve at school, college or

university in class, laboratory, library or field work. It

does not include other achievements in sports and music.

Academic achievement become evident as a student evolves into

a resourceful and enthusiastic learner who is ultimately

capable. It requires dedication, sacrifice, self discipline,

motivation and relationship with parents, peers and teachers.

Sharma, et al. (2011), “Academic achievement is the outcome of

the training imparted to students by the teacher in school

situation.” Academic achievement of the pupil refers to the

knowledge attained and skills developed in the subjects who

7

are asserted by the educational authorities with the help of

achievement tests which may be standardized or teachers made.

“Academic success is determined by their success in annual

examination including all the subjects or whole of the

curriculum (Mathur and Poonam, 2010).”

REVIEW OF THE RELATED LITERATURE

The relevant literature is studied in order to finalize the

research problem. Various libraries and institutes were

visited. Various online journals are studied in order to get

insight knowledge of the variables. It also helps in drawing

objectives of study and methodology for research. Some

relevant studied are briefly discussed below:

Johnson, et al. (1995) examined contribution of

the five factors of personality to variance in academic

procrastination. The results of the study showed that

procrastination was inversely related to conscientiousness and

was also significantly correlated with neuroticism. The

factors of Extraversion, Openness to Experience, and

Agreeableness were not significantly correlated with

procrastination scores. Conscientiousness and neuroticism

factor facets indicated that lack of self-discipline and

impulsiveness accounted for most of the variance of

procrastination scores.

Tice, et al. (1997) investigated longitudinal

study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: the

costs and benefits of dawdling. The study examined two

8

longitudinal studies of procrastination among students. The

sample size of the study 40 and 60 was taken. Procrastinators

reported lower stress and less illness than non-

procrastinators early in the semester, but they reported

higher stress and more illness late in the term, and overall

they were sicker. Procrastinators also received lower grades

on all assignments. Procrastination thus appears to be a self-

defeating behaviour pattern marked by short-term benefits and

long-term costs.

Milgram, et al. (1998) studied on

procrastination in college students and their parents. The

findings of the study revealed that avoidant procrastination

is a generalized behavioural disposition to postpone doing

things across academic assignments and non-academic life

routines, and were consistent with an appraisal-anxiety-

avoidance model of procrastination. Parents were more involved

in regulating their children's behaviour at home than at

school. Mothers were more involved than fathers and their

involvement was associated with their adult children

procrastinating less in life routines. The absence of any

relationship between parental involvement scores reported by

parents and their adult children raises serious questions

about research studies that assume equivalence of children's

perceptions of parental behaviour and the behaviour in

question.

Milgram and Tenne (2000) investigated

personality correlates of decisional and task avoidant

9

procrastination. The data was collected from 130 students. The

study was correlated each dimension of personality with task

and decisional procrastination. The findings of the study was

that neuroticism accounted for most of the explained variance

of decision time in minor matters and all of the explained

variance in major and conscientiousness accounts for the

explained variance of task avoidance in academic assignments

and life routines. Further study found that extroversion was

associated with swifter decision time in reaching minor

matters; and openness to experience with more task avoidance

in academic assignments.

Onwuegbuzie (2000) examined the relationship

between academic procrastination and library anxiety. This

study investigated the relationship between academic

procrastination and library anxiety at the graduate level. The

findings of the study revealed that academic procrastination

was significantly positively related to the following

dimensions of library anxiety: affective barriers, comfort

with the library, and mechanical barriers. Further results

revealed that academic procrastination resulting from both

fear of failure and task evasiveness was related significantly

to barriers with staff, affective barriers, comfort with the

library, and knowledge of the library.

Ferrari, et al. (2000) investigated behavioural

processes in decisional procrastination and decision-making

style. The results provided convergent evidence with

descriptive studies suggesting that rather than being

10

unsystematic and easily distracted in their information

searches, people higher in decisional procrastination were

systematic and strategic but search for more information

specifically about chosen alternatives.

Steel (2001) investigated procrastination and

personality, performance, and mood. This study addressed this

situation by creating scales based on both observed behaviours

and a theoretical self-reports, and using these scales to

determine procrastination’s performance, mood, and personality

correlates. Results showed that procrastination is an

excellent predictor of performance, though some final-hour

catching-up is possible. Further procrastination correlated

with mood and personality, result indicated that self-report

procrastination likely reflects a self-assessment influenced

by actual behaviour but also significantly contaminated by

self-concept.

Watson (2001) examined procrastination and the

five-factor model: a facet level analysis. The aim of this

study was to investigate some of the antecedents of

procrastination in terms of the five factors of personality.

The study found that when the procrastination antecedents were

considered, task aversiveness had a strong relationship to

both low conscientiousness and neuroticism. Further study

found that fear of failure, difficulty making decisions, and

dependency had a smaller relationship to several of the

conscientiousness and neuroticism facets. Results also

indicated that risk-taking was negatively related to

agreeableness and the openness to experience factor, there was11

a significant correlation between procrastination and fantasy,

which suggests that people may fantasize to escape from the

negative states elicited by the task or work project.

Chamorro- and Premuzic and Furnham (2003) studied

on personality predicts academic performance. The purpose of

the study was to find out that personality had an influence on

an individual’s academic performance and the extent to which

different personality traits predicted academic performance. A

longitudinal study did on university students in Britain to

find out the relationship between personality traits and

academic performance. Results of the study showed that some

personality traits were significantly related to academic

performance.

Senecal,C., et al. (2003) examined role con ictfl

and academic procrastination: a self-determination

perspective. The purpose of the present study was to propose

and test a model of role con ict and academicfl procrastination.

The sample of study was 292 university students. This model

posits that non-self-determined motivations toward school and

interpersonal relationships are positively related to role

con ict between these two life domains. fl The study revealed

that role con ict between school and interpersonalfl

relationships was expected to be positively related to

academic procrastination. The results of the study also showed

that self-determination and role con ict are importantfl to

foster our understanding of academic procrastination.

12

Chu (2005) examined rethinking

procrastination: positive effects of active procrastination

behaviour on attitudes and performance. In the present study,

the authors proposed that not all procrastination behaviours

either were harmful or lead to negative consequences. The

present results showed that although active procrastinators

procrastinate to the same degree as passive procrastinators.

They were more similar to non procrastinators than to passive

procrastinators in terms of purposive use of time, control of

time, self-efficacy belief, coping styles, and outcomes

including academic performance.

Lee, et al. (2006) studied the relationships among

trait procrastination, neuroticism, and conscientiousness.

This study investigated that the relationships among trait

procrastination and two big five personality factors,

neuroticism and conscientiousness. The present study

investigated the mechanism that related trait procrastination

to neuroticism and conscientiousness. The results of the study

showed that higher procrastination was associated with higher

negative emotions and psychological distress. Results also

indicated that higher procrastination was related to lower

persistence in pursuing goals and organization. This present

study suggested that higher levels of negative emotions were

associated with lower levels of goal-directedness and

organization.

Zhi (2006) studied relationship between

procrastination behaviours and bad personality disposition.

This study explored the relationship between procrastinate13

behaviour of college students and bad personality disposition.

The results of the study showed that male and female college

students did not have remarkable difference in terms of

procrastination. High level procrastinators had a higher level

of scores on bad personality disposition. Results also

indicated that college students' procrastination had close

relationship with bad personality disposition.

Diaz-Morale (2008) studied an integrated view of

personality styles related to avoidant procrastination. It was

given that personality aspects of procrastinators were a

consequence of their coping with environmental and social

demands. The study examined the extent that avoidant

procrastination was related to personality styles from the

Millon’s personality model. Regression analysis indicated that

avoidant procrastination was positively predicted by a

passively accommodating motivational style, outgoing and

unconventional behavioural styles, but negatively predicted by

a conforming behavioural style. The avoidant procrastinator’s

cognitive style revealed a low preference for concrete

information and as high tendency to transform new information

in a known way.

Tan, et al. (2008) studied on self efficacy for self regulated

learning leads to decreased procrastination. The sample of the

study was 226 undergraduates at Nanyang Technological

Institute. The study showed that self efficacy for self

regulated learning was strongly and negatively related to

procrastination. Further study found that as self efficacy for

self regulated learning increases, procrastination decreases14

as there was an inverse relationship between self efficacy and

procrastination.

Williams (2008) investigated the relationships

among self-compassion, motivation, and procrastination.

Individuals with low, moderate, and high levels of self-

compassion were compared on measures of motivation anxiety,

achievement goal orientation, and procrastination tendency.

The study revealed that individuals with high self-compassion

reported dramatically less motivation, anxiety and

procrastination tendency than those with low or moderate self-

compassion.

Arthur and Poropat (2009) examined a meta-

analysis of the five-factor model of personality and academic

performance. This study reported a meta-analysis of

personality–academic performance relationships, based on the

5-factor model. The study revealed that academic performance

was significantly correlated with agreeableness,

conscientiousness, and openness. The correlations between

conscientiousness and academic performance were largely

independent of intelligence. Further study found that academic

level, average age of participant, and the interaction between

academic level and age significantly moderated correlations

with academic performance.

Pychyl (2009) found the relationship between

emotional intelligence and procrastination. This study

demonstrated that emotional intelligence could be enhanced

with a short, empirically-derived training program. The major

15

finding of the study was that the training group scored

significantly higher on trait emotional intelligence after the

training. Further results showed that all positive changes

remained significant 6 months after the intervention. Above

results suggested that some emotional abilities and habits

might be effectively improved, even using a relative short

training.

Deniz (2009) investigated the effects of emotional

intelligence on the academic procrastination and locus of

control tendencies of a group of university students. Research

findings showed that emotional intelligence stress was highly

correlated with the students’ academic procrastination.

Results also found that emotional intelligence could

significantly predict the students’ locus of control. Lastly

results found a negative correlation between emotional

intelligence skills and both academic procrastination and

locus of control.

Grant (2009) examined the relationship between

procrastination and intrapersonal intelligence in college

students. The purpose of this study was to investigate the

relationships between procrastination and intrapersonal

intelligence as well as the other dimensions of multiple

intelligence among students in higher education in order to

illuminate possible solutions to the problem of

procrastination. The results of the study revealed that

college students usually procrastinate because they have task

aversion, they feel overwhelmed, they have difficulty making

decisions, and they are lazy. Further results also indicated16

that students with high intrapersonal intelligence were less

likely to procrastinate on studying for exams than a student

with low intrapersonal intelligence. In addition, a student

with high intrapersonal intelligence is less likely to display

overall procrastination than a student with low intrapersonal

intelligence.

Eric (2010) studied the relations between

emotional intelligence and procrastination. The purpose of the

study was to explore the relations between the components of

Trait Emotional Intelligence which defined the effective

appraisal and utilization of emotions, and various forms of

procrastination. First, a self-report study showed that the

Emotional Intelligence component of self-control was the only

component to predict combined procrastination scores, however

the Emotional Intelligence components of emotionality,

sociability, and well-being were predictors of academic and

Internet procrastination. Second study examined how Trait

Emotional Intelligence related to the amount of breaks taken

during the completion of a reading and writing task as well as

task performance in an experimental context. Results indicated

that there were no significant relations between Trait

Emotional Intelligence components, total breaks, and task

quality.

Liu and Keqiao (2010) revealed relationship

between academic procrastination and academic achievement in

Chinese University students. This study aimed to examine

academic procrastination and its relationship with academic

achievement among 91 Chinese university students in a city at17

the Southern part of China. The study found that participants

in the study exhibited moderate procrastination tendency and

academic procrastination was significantly negatively

correlated with academic achievement. Gender variable had no

impact on academic procrastination tendency, but it had

influence on the relationship between academic procrastination

and academic achievement.

Wohl (2010) studied how self-forgiveness

for procrastinating could reduce future procrastination. The

present study examined that the association between forgiving

the self for a specific instance of procrastination and

procrastination on that same task in the future. Results of

the study revealed that among students who reported high

levels of self-forgiveness for procrastinating on studying for

the first examination, procrastination on preparing for the

subsequent examination was reduced. This relationship was

mediated by negative effect, such that increased self-

forgiveness reduced procrastination by decreasing negative

effect.

Kagan , et al. (2010) investigated the

explanation of the academic procrastination behaviour of

university students with perfectionism, obsessive – compulsive

and five factor personality traits. The present research

explained the procrastination behaviour of students affecting

their learning process facilitates their skills to cope with

academic procrastination behaviour associated with

perfectionism, obsessive – compulsive and five factor personal

traits. The result of the study indicated that perfectionism,18

obsessive- compulsive and five factor personality traits were

important variables that explained the academic

procrastination behaviour.

Hussain and Sultan (2010) investigated an

analysis of procrastination among university students. The

present study focused on analyzing the factors of

procrastination and its effects on learning of university

students. The sample size of the study was 500 students and 40

teachers of the Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

through survey approach. The results of the study showed that

procrastination effects on the academic performance of

students in terms of classroom learning and participation in

activities, submission of their assignments, preparing for the

examinations and achievement. Likewise, the work load of

assignments’ and improper time management by the students

caused procrastination.

Freeman, et al. (2011) established positive

correlation between extraversion and arousal procrastination.

The purpose of this paper was to examine the relationship

between extraversion and arousal procrastination. Results

indicated that extraversion significantly predicted the

engagement in this type of procrastination. The present study

supports previous research in that it connects the lower-order

trait of procrastination with a higher-order personality

factor.

Faruk (2011) examined Academic

Procrastination among Undergraduates Attending School of

19

Physical Education and Sports: Role of General

Procrastination, Academic Motivation and Academic Self-

Efficacy.The aim of this study was to investigate whether

general procrastination, academic motivation and academic

self-efficacy can act as predictors of academic

procrastination among undergraduates attending different

departments (physical education and sport teaching, trainer

education, sport management and recreation) at school of

physical education and sports. The sample of the study was 774

students attending school of physical education and sports at

Selçuk University, Samsun University, and Nide University in

Turkey. The results show a significant positive correlation

between academic procrastination and general procrastination,

while the relationship between academic procrastination and,

academic motivation, academic self-efficacy was not

statistically significant. Furthermore, general

procrastination was determined to be a significant predictor

of academic procrastination. The results also show a

significant difference in academic procrastination in terms of

departments and grade though levels of academic

procrastination did not differ in terms of students’

departments and grade though levels of academic

procrastination did not differ in terms of gender.

Aremu (2011) studied the influence of academic

procrastination and personality types on academic achievement

and efficacy of the in- school adolescents. Multiple

regression analysis was employed to determine the relationship

among the variables as well as the joint and relative

20

contributions of the independent variables to the prediction

of the dependent variables. The results showed that there were

positive relationship between extraversion, openness,

agreeableness, conscientiousness and academic achievement of

the students. This study also found that conscientiousness,

openness, extroversion and agreeableness contributed

relatively to the prediction of academic achievement and

efficacy of the in- school adolescents.

Haghbin (2012) investigated the relationship

between fear of failure and procrastination. This study

investigated that there were indirect and conditional relation

between fear of failure and procrastination. The study found

that the relation between fear of failure and procrastination

was moderated by perceived competence. The results showed that

the relation was positively significant for students with low

levels of competence and negatively significant for those with

high level of competence. However, in the latter group, fear

of failure negatively affected satisfaction of the need for

autonomy, which in turn increased the likelihood of

problematic delay on academic and everyday-life tasks.

Emergence of the study

Today, procrastination is a more common phenomenon among

students than ever. Because they have lots of thing to do but

they have limited time. Procrastination is the disease eating

away at student productivity. Typically, procrastination has

been seen as problem when it interrupts some areas of human

nature. It is a strange phenomenon; initially it leads to

21

short term pleasure but long term poor performance and

frequently failure. Procrastination is a purposeful delay of

the start or completion of a task. It is acknowledged that

procrastination is a common and at times, serious problem.

This complex phenomenon is manifested in both the general

public and the academic environment (Ferrari, 1995). Students

have been found to have high procrastination and this tendency

seems to increase in higher education. Most research on

procrastination that had been carried out has focused

primarily on college students (McCown and Roberts, 1994).

Academic procrastination is to be quite prevalent among

college students.

After going through the review of related

literature it has come to light that various studies have been

conducted on procrastination with certain cognitive variables

a wide array of studies link procrastination i.e. Academic

procrastination, locus of control, and emotional intelligence

(Deniz,2009), academic procrastination perfectionism,

obsessive – compulsive and five factor personality traits

(Kagan,2010), procrastination and intrapersonal intelligence

(Grant,2009), academic procrastination and library anxiety

(Onwuegbuzie,2000), procrastination and personality,

performance, and mood (Steel, 2001), role con ict and academicfl

procrastination (senecal,2003), self-forgiveness and

procrastination (Wohl,2010), Academic procrastination, general

procrastination, academic motivation and academic self-

efficacy (Faruk,2011), self efficacy for self regulated

learning and procrastination (Tan,2008),self-compassion,

22

motivation, and procrastination (Williams,2008),

procrastination ,unsatisfactory academic performance and

higher levels of stress and anxiety (Ferrari,

2005),stress ,motivation and performance (Pfeiffer, 2001),

stress coping mechanisms and academic performance

(Tehan,2001), extraversion and arousal procrastination

(Freeman, 2011), academic procrastination and personality

types, academic achievement and efficacy (Aremu,2011), fear of

failure and procrastination (Haghbin,2012).

It may be summed up that many studies have been conducted

on procrastination with other variables. Most of these

research endeavours have focused on procrastination in terms

of pupil performance, emotional intelligence, anxiety, and

self efficacy. No doubt, these studies have been conducted on

students at college level, school level and university level.

But the researcher found few studies related to

procrastination academic achievement coupled with personality,

stress among students. As procrastinations is a phenomena that

effects the academic performance of students. Personality,

stress and academic achievement are also responsible factor

for a student’s performance. It is evident that all variable

procrastination, personality, stress and academic achievement

are contributing to performance, which is pivot round of

research in present time. So it will be interesting to know

the dynamics of procrastination how it correlate to student’s

personality, stress among students and their academic

achievement. The study of relationship among procrastination,

personality, stress and academic achievement is an attempt to

23

create harmonization by which the performance can be

determined by relevant contribution of relationship which will

exit in these variables.

The study of selected variables and their

interrelationship will contribute to find out various other

reasons which might be responsible for student or

institutional growth failure. The study is necessary to

determined deferent parameters of personality, stress,

procrastination which influence the performance of an

individual. Further, the study will be influential in

determining the relationship among different factors of

variable which might be helpful in reducing institutional

deficiency in future. It is also necessary to find various

attributes of personality and stress in order to enhance

student’s academic achievement. The study will contribute to

find out those attributes of personality which are necessary

for a bright future of students to reduce the stress. Finally,

the study will be contributed to coping strategy against to

avoid negative impact of these variables. Keeping in view the

above facts, it is proposed to undertake the procrastination

act as one of the essential ingredient which affects students

along with personality, stress and academic achievement.

STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM

Study of Procrastination among Students in Relation to their

Personality, Stress and Academic Achievement.

OBJECTIVES

24

1. To study the procrastination among students.

2. To study the relationship between procrastination and

personality among students.

2.1 To study the relationship between procrastination and

openness among students.

2.2 To study the relationship between procrastination and

conscientiousness among students.

2.3 To study the relationship between procrastination and

extraversion among students.

2.4 To study the relationship between procrastination and

agreeableness among students.

2.5 To study the relationship between procrastination and

neuroticism among students.

3. To study the relationship between procrastination and

stress among students.

4. To study the relationship between procrastination and

academic achievement among post graduate students of Arts,

Commerce and Science streams.

5. To study the interaction effect between procrastination and

personality, stress, academic achievement among students.

HYPOTHESES

1. There will be a significant relationship between

procrastination and personality among students.

25

2. There will be no significant relationship between

procrastination and stress among students.

3. There will be no significant relationship between

procrastination and academic achievement among post graduate

students of Arts, Commerce and Science streams.

4. There will be a significant interaction effect between

procrastination and personality stress and academic

achievement among students.

DELIMITATIONS

The study will be limited to professional students of

Arts, Commerce and Science streams affiliated to three

universities of Punjab i.e. Panjab University, Chandigarh,

Punjabi University Patiala and Guru Nanak Dev University,

Amritsar only.

OPERATIONAL DEFINITIONS OF TERMS

a) Procrastination

Procrastination is defined as to be measured frequency of

cognitive behavioural antecedents. Procrastination is an

irrational tendency to delay in the beginning and

completion of a task. Students delay in their academic

tasks like writing a paper, studying for exams, reading

assignments and so on due to fear of failure, arousal and

task avoidance. This is to be measured by this scale.

b) Personality

26

Personality is the particular combination of emotional,

attitudinal, and behavioural response patterns of an

individual. Personality includes five major dimensions, or

domains, or facets like openness, conscientiousness,

extraversion, agreeableness and neurotic as mention in the

scale.

c) Stress

Stress can be thought of as a response, as a stimulus and as

intervening variable emphasizing upon the interaction between

individual and environment. So stress connotes individual

reactions (both positive and negative) to environment stimuli

as measured by stress scale.

d) Academic Achievement

Academic achievement or (academic) performance is the outcome

of education - the extent to which a student, teacher or

institution has achieved their educational goals.

METHOD AND PROCEDURE

Descriptive method of research will be used to conduct the

present study.

SAMPLING DESIGN

The sample of 600 students from selected colleges of Punjab by

stratified random sampling technique will be used.

RESEARCH TOOLS

1. Procrastination scale will be self-constructed.

27

2. Neo Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI)- Costa, P.T. and

McCrae, R.R. (1991)

3. Singh Personal Stress Source Inventory (SPSSI)-Singh, A.K.,

SINGH, A.K. and SINGH, A. (2004)

4. Academic achievement- Academic achievement of students of

previous class.

STATISTICAL TREATMENT OF DATA

The statistical techniques to be used to test the hypotheses

will be mean, median S.D., Correlation and ANOVA.

PURPOSED CHAPTER SCHEME

Chapter 1 Conceptual Framework

Chapter 2 Review of Literature

Chapter 3 Methods and Procedure

Chapter 4 Analysis and Interpretation of Data

Chapter 5 Conclusion, Educational Implications and

Suggestions for Further Research

Bibliography

Appendices

28

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Angela Hsin Chun Chu (2005) Rethinking Procrastination:

Positive Effects of “Active” Procrastination Behavior on

Attitudes and Performance. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3):245–

264.

Aremu, A.O. (2011) Influence of Academic Procrastination and

Personality Types on Academic Achievement and Efficacy of In-

29

School Adolescents in Ibadan. Retrieved November, 5, 2012 from

Http://www.readperiodicals.com/201103/2288643151.html#ixzz29wqfj2ts.

Arthur E, and Poropat (2009) A meta-analysis of the five-

factor model of personality and academic performance.

Psychological Bulletin, 135(2):322-338.

Baumeister R.F. and Scher, S.J. (1988) Self-defeating Behavior

Patterns among Normal Individuals: Review and Analysis of

Common Self-Destructive Tendencies. Psycho- logical Bulletin, 104:3-

22.

Beck, B.L., Koons, S.R. and Migram, D.L. (2000) Correlates and

Consequence of Behavioural Procrastination: The Effects of

Academic Procrastination, Self- Consciousness, Self-Esteem,

and Self-Handicapping. Journal of Social Behaviour and Personality, 15:3-

13.

Bestwick, G., Rothblum, E.D., and Mann, L. (1988)

Psychological Antecedents of Student Procrastination. Australian

Psychologist, 23:207-217.

Brown, J.D. and McGill, K.C. (1989) The Cost of Good Fortune,

When Positive life Events Produce Negative Health

Consequences. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 57:1103-1110.

Chamorro-Premuzic,T. and Furnham, A. (2003) Personality

Predicts Academic Performance. Evidence from Two Longitudinal

University Samples. Journal of research in personality, 7:319-338.

30

Costa, P.T. and McCrae, R.R. (1991) Professional Manual of Neo Five

Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Psychological Assessment Resources, Inc.

Florida.

Deniz, M. E., Ctraş, Z. and Aydoğan, D. (2009) An

Investigation of Academic Procrastination, Locus of Control,

and Emotional Intelligence. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 9

(2):623-632.

Díaz-Morales, J. F., Cohen, J. R., and Ferrari, J. R. (2008)

An integrated view of personality styles related to avoidant

procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(6):554-558.

Eric, H. (2010) An Examination of the Relations between

Emotional Intelligence and Procrastination. Ph.D Dissertations &

Theses, Carleton University, Canada: 181-342.

Faruk, S. E. (2011) Academic Procrastination among

Undergraduates Attending School of Physical Education and

Sports: Role of General Procrastination, Academic Motivation

and Academic Self-Efficacy. Educational Research and Reviews,

6(5):447-455.

Ferrari, J. R. (1995) Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research,

and Treatment. New York: Plenum Press.

Ferrari, J.R. (1998) Procrastination. Encyclopaedia of Mental

Health: 5-1.

Ferrari, J.R., O'Callaghan, J. and Newbegin, I. (2005)

Prevalence of procrastination in the United States, United31

Kingdom, and Australia: Arousal and Avoidance Delays among

Adults. North American Journal of Psychology, 7:1–6.

Freeman,E.K., Cox-Fuenzalida, L. and Stoltenberg,I. (2011)

Extraversion and Arousal Procrastination: Waiting for the

Kicks. Curr Psychol, 30:375-382.

Grant, C. (2009) Relationship between Procrastination and

Intrapersonal Intelligence in College Students. Proquest LLC,

Ph.D. Dissertation, University of North Dakota: 107.

Haghbin, M., Mccaffrey, A. and 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.

Hoover, E. (2005) Tomorrow I Love Ya. Chronicle of Higher Education,

52(16):30-32.

Hussain, I. and Sultan, S. (2010) Analysis of Procrastination

among University Students. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences,

5:1897–1904.

Ferrari, J.R., and John F. D. (2000) Behavioral Processes in

Indecision: Decisional Procrastination and Decision-Making

Style. Journal of Research in Personality, 34 (1):127-137.

Johnson, A., Judith L. and Michael, B. (1995) An analysis of

the contribution of the five factors of personality to

32

variance in academic procrastination. Personality and Individual

Differences, 18(1):127–133.

Kagan, M. (2010) The Explanation of the Academic

Procrastination Behaviour of University Students with

Perfectionism, Obsessive – Compulsive and Five Factor

Personality Traits. Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences, 2(2):2121–

2125.

Klein, E. (1971) A Comprehensive Etymological Dictionary of the English

language. New York : Elesvier.

Larsen, R. J. and Buss, D. M. (2005) Personality Psychology: Domains

of Knowledge about Human Nature. (2nd Ed.), New York: McGraw Hill.

Lazarus, R. S. And Folkman, S. (1984) Stress, Appraisal, and Coping.

New York: Springer.

Lee, D., Kevin, R. K. and Jodie, K. E. (2006) A closer look at

the relationships among trait procrastination, neuroticism,

and conscientiousness. Personality and Individual Differences, 40

(1):27–37.

Liu and Keqiao (2010) The Relationship Between Academic

Procrastination and Academic Achievement in Chinese University

Students. State University of New York At Buffalo, 48(6):61.

Mangal, S.K. (2010) Advanced Education Psychology, 2:392-393.

33

Mathur, G. and Poonam, B. (2010) Effect of Sleep Deprivation

on Health and Academic Achievement of Adolescents. Journal of

Community Guidance and Research, 27(1):15-20.

McCown, W.G. and Roberts, R. (1994) A Study of Academic and

Work Related Dysfuctioning Relevant to the College Version of

an Indirect Measure of Impulsive Behaviour. Integra Technical

Paper 94-98, Radnor, PA: Integra, Inc.

Milgram, N., Mey-Tal, G., & Levision, Y. (1998)

Procrastination, Generalized or Specific, in College Students

and Their Parents. Personality and Individual Differences, 25(2):297-

316.

Milgram,N. and Tenne,R.(2000) Personality correlates of

decisional and task avoidant procrastination. European Journal of

Personality, 14(2):141-156.

Morrow. A. R. (2011) Stress Definition. Retrieved 27 December

2012, from http://dying.about.com/od/glossary/g/stress.htm.

Norman, M., Gil, M. And Yuval, L. (1998) Procrastination,

generalized or specific, in college students and their

parents. Personality and Individual Differences, 25(2):297–316.

O’ Brien, W.K. (2002) Applying the Transtheoretical Model to

Academic Procrastination. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation,

University of Houston.

Onwuegbuzie, A. J. And Jiao, Q. G. (2000) I will Go to the

Library Later: The Relationship between Academic

34

Procrastination and Library Anxiety. College & Research Libraries,

61:45-54.

Oxford English Reference Dictionary (2nd ed.) (1996) New York:

Oxford University Press.

Oxford Dictionary (2000) Origin and Meaning of Stress.

Retrieved January, 21,2013 from

http://oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/stress.

Pfeiffer, D. (2001) Academic and Environmental Stress among

Undergraduate and Graduate College students: A Literature

review. Retrieved on March 10, 2006, from

http://www.uwstout.edu/lib/thesis/2001/2001pfeifferd.pdf.

Pychyl, T.A. (2009) Increasing Emotional Intelligence,

Decreasing Procrastination. Retrieved December, 15, 2012, from

http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dont-delay/200904/increasi

ng-emotional-intelligence-decreasing-procrastination.

Senecal,C., Julien, E., Guay, R. F.(2003) Role Con ictfl and

Academic Procrastination: A self-Determination Perspective.

European Journal of Social Psychology, 33:135–145.

Sharma.A, Kartar.ST., Poonam.S. and Dalip.M.(2011) Prediction

of Different Streams in Academic Achievement through Verbal

and Non-Verbal I-Test. Journal of Community Guidance and Researc,28

(1):48-55.

35

Singh, A.K., Singh, A.K. and Singh, A. (2004) Personal Stress Source

Inventory (PSSI-sss). National Psychological Corporation, Bhargava Bhawan,

4/230, Kacheri Ghat, Agra (India).

Steel, P., Brothen, T. and Wambach, C. (2001) Procrastination

and Personality, Performance, and Mood. Personality and Individual

Differences, 30:95-106.

Steel, P. (2007) The Nature of Procrastination: A Meta-

Analytic and Theoretical Review of Quest essential Self-

Regulatory Failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1): 65.

Tan, C., Ang, R., Klaseen, R., Yeo, L., Wong, I. and Huan, V.

(2008) Self Efficacy for Self Regulated Learning Leads to

Decreased Procrastination. Current Psychology, 27(2):135-144.

Tchen (2001) What Is the Relationship between Indications of

Stress and Academic Performance in First Year University

Students: A Prospective Study. Journal of Institutional Research: 1-12.

Tice, D.M. and Baumeister, R.F. (1997) Longitudinal Study of

Procrastination, Performance, Stress, and Health: The Costs

and Benefits of Dawdling. Psychological Science, 8 (6): 454-458.

The American Heritage Dictionary (4th ed.). (2004) Procrastination

Definition. New York: Bantam Dell.

Van, E. W. (2003) A Meta-Analytically Derived Nomological

Network of Procrastination. Personality & Individual Differences, 35

(6):1401-1418.

36

Watson. C. D. (2001) Procrastination and The Five-Factor

Model: A Facet Level Analysis. Personality and Individual Differences,

30(1):149-158.

Williams. J. G. (2008) The Relationships among Self-

Compassion, Motivation, and Procrastination. American Journal of

Psychological Research, 4 (1):35-44.

Wohl, M.J.A., Pychyl, T.A. and Bennet, S.H. (2010). I

forgive myself, now I can study: How self-forgiveness for

procrastinating can reduce future procrastination. Personality and

Individual Differences, 48:803-808. 

Zhonghua Liu Xing Bing Xue Za Zhi (2006) Relationship Study on

the Relationship between Procrastination Behaviors and Bad

Personality Disposition. Taizhou University Department of

Education, Linhai, China, 27(1):29-32.

37