Why do we put off filing income taxes or cleaning? Why do some people “finish” more than others? Studies conducted at Ohio University have found ways to escape “procrastination.” Procrastination, the act of putting everything off until later, is a well-known phenomenon. Many people procrastinate or know someone who puts off important tasks, for example, to do more fun activities. We laugh about it, we share memes, and yet we deliberately ignore the advice not to put off until tomorrow what we can do today. But have you ever wondered why some people are more sensitive to this pattern of behavior?
Russell Fazio, a psychology professor, and his colleague Javier Granados Samayoa, both at Ohio State University, have found some answers. The research, consisting of three studies, was recently published in the scientific journal Personality and Individual Differences, and investigates our attitudes and how these influence our tendency to postpone the inevitable. Researchers have found that people who have a negative outlook on life are masters at procrastination.
Effects of emotional valence
The research focuses on emotional valence, which describes how our negative (aversion) or positive (approach) emotions take control in critical decisions, for example, when we have to do something we don’t want or like, but need . Or, as Fazio points out, the big question is knowing which side will win in the tug of war, between positive and negative momentum, when we have something boring to do, like income tax, for example.
Procrastination is more than just a nuisance and has consequences that can be very unpleasant. Students who delay studying and turning in assignments end the semester with lower grades, more stress, and an increased number of doctor visits.
But not all is doom and gloom, and the research has cast a ray of hope for the “I’ll Do It Tomorrow” team: with a little push, even the most hardened procrastinator can find the path to better productivity.
“We are studying positive and negative considerations in decision making and how these considerations determine the path people take,” Granados Samayoa said.
Research on procrastination
In three studies, Fazio and Granados Samayoa put their theories to the test, from analyzing the tendency to procrastinate to examining how self-control and motivation affect, for example, students. The result was encouraging: those who procrastinate more, pessimists with little self-control, if motivated, can procrastinate less.
“The first study established the effect of negative weighting as a facilitator of procrastination, the second study provides some new details,” says Granados Samayoa: “For people who don’t think much, the tendency is to take direct action, e.g. procrastinate But if there is motivation and you can think more about the topic, this can lead to other considerations that mitigate the influence of the valence effect,” he adds. In other words, if the person who naturally defers income tax until later, if encouraged to think about it or has some incentive, she might change her pattern and file the documents early.
The ideal: neither too optimistic nor too pessimistic
Finally, in the third study, a group of students recruited for procrastination were encouraged to change the valence weighting trend towards a more neutral point, which led to fewer delays in participating in a research experience program. It’s a promising finding, suggesting that a little balance in our evaluation of positives and negatives could be the key to overcoming procrastination.
According to researchers, having a negative bias is not always a bad thing, as it can promote a more realistic assessment of our abilities, offering better preparation for an exam. Therefore, for Fazio, “it is better to be more balanced than to be at the extremes” and that “it is better to be considered than to be extremely optimistic or pessimistic”, he concludes.
Source: Terra
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