Abstract
The present study assessed a short-term group treatment program using cognitive interventions focused on students’ procrastination. A structured 90-min session program was used with 10 students (5 female, 5 male; M age = 21.8, SD = 3.2) across 5 weeks. In the first and last session of the program participants completed a two reliable and valid procrastination scales, and then 8 weeks later in the follow up sessions filled out the same questionnaires. During the group sessions, participants identified their irrational thoughts as well as cognitive distortions associated with their procrastination tendencies. Results of a non-parametric Friedman Test revealed a significant decrease in participants’ academic procrastination score and general procrastination scores from the pre-test to follow-up test suggesting that the program was deemed to be successful.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Balkıs, M. (2006). Öğretmen adaylarının davranışlarındaki erteleme eğiliminin düşünme ve karar verme tarzları ile ilişkisi [The Relationships Between Student Teachers’ Procrastination Behaviors, Thinking and Decision Making Styles]. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, Dokuz Eylül University, İzmir.
Beck, A. T. (1975). Cognitive therapy and the emotional disorders. Baltimore: Penguin Books.
Brownlow, S., & Reasinger, R. D. (2000). Putting off until tomorrow what is better done today: Academic procrastination as a function of motivation toward college work. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 15(5), 15–34.
Burka, J. B., & Yuen, L. M. (1983). Procrastination: Why do you do it, what to do about it. Mountain View: Addison-Wesley Publishing Company.
Carden, R., Bryant, C., & Moss, R. (2004). Locus of control, test anxiety, academic procrastination, and achievement among college students. Psychological Reports, 95(2), 581–582.
Cassady, J. C., & Johnson, R. E. (2002). Cognitive test anxiety and academic performance. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 27(2), 270–295.
Chabaud, P., Ferrand, C., & Maury, J. (2010). Individual differences in undergraduate student athletes: The roles of perfectionism and trait anxiety perception of procrastination behavior. Social Behavior and Personality: An International Journal, 38(8), 1041–1056.
Choi, J. N., & Moran, S. V. (2009). Why not procrastinate? Development and validation of a new active procrastination scale. Journal of Social Psychology, 149(2), 195–212.
Chu, A. H. C., & Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking procrastination: Positive effects of “Active” procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance. Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 245–264.
Corey, M. S., & Corey, G. (1997). Groups: Process and practice. Monterey: Brooks/Cole Publishing Company.
Dryden, W. (2012). Dealing with procrastination: The REBT approach and a demonstration session. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 30, 264–281.
Ellis, A., & Knaus, W. (1977). Overcoming procrastination. New York: Signet.
Ferrari, J. R. (1989). Reliability of academic and dispositional measures of procrastination. Psychological Reports, 64, 1057–1058.
Ferrari, J. R. (1991). Self-handicapping by procrastinators: Protecting self-esteem, social-esteem, or both? Journal of Research in Personality, 25(3), 245–261.
Ferrari, J. R. (2001). Procrastination and attention: Factor analysis of attention deficit, boredomness, intelligence, self-esteem, and task delay frequencies. Journal of Social Behavior and Personality, 16, 185–196.
Ferrari, J. R. (2010). Still procrastinating? The no regrets guide to getting it done. New York: Wiley.
Ferrari, J. R., Johnson, J. L., & McCown, W. G. (1995). Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory research, and treatment. New York: Plenum Press.
Flett, G. L., Blankstein, K. R., & Martin, T. R. (1995). Procrastination, negative self-evaluation, and depression: A review and preliminary model. In J. Ferrari, J. Johnson, & W. McCown (Eds.), Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory, research, and treatment (pp. 137–167). New York: Plenum Press.
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 and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 30, 223–236.
Goldfield, M. R. (1991). Transtheoretical ingredients in therapeutic change. In R. C. Curtis & G. Stricker (Eds.), How people change inside and outside therapy (pp. 29–37). New York: Plenum Press.
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(1), 127–133.
Klassen, R. M., Krawchuk, L. L., & Rajani, S. (2008). Academic procrastination of undergraduates: Low self-efficacy to self-regulate predicts higher levels of procrastination. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 33(4), 915–931.
Kutlesa, N. (1998). Effect of group counseling with university students who complain of procrastination. Unpublished Master’s Thesis, University of Western Ontario, London.
Lay, C. H. (1986). At least my research article on procrastination. Journal of Research in Personality, 20, 474–495.
Lay, C. H. (2004). Some basic elements in counseling procrastinators. In H. C. Schouwenburg, C. H. Lay, T. A. Pychyl, & J. R. Ferrari (Eds.), Procrastination and task avoidance: Theory, research, and treatment (pp. 43–58). New York: Plenum Press.
Lee, E. (2005). The relationship of motivation and flow experience to academic procrastination in university students. Journal of Genetic Psychology, 166(1), 5–14.
Mandel, H. P. (2004). Constructive confrontation: Cognitive behavior therapy with one type of procrastinating underachiever. In H. C. Schouwenburg, C. H. Lay, T. A. Pychyl, & J. R. Ferrari (Eds.), Counseling the procrastinator in academic setting (pp. 119–131). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Milgram, N., Marshevsky, S., & Sadeh, A. (1994). Correlates of academic procrastination: Discomfort, task aversiveness, and task capability. The Journal of Psychology, 129(1), 145–155.
Mohsen, H., McCaffrey, A., & Pychyl, T. A. (2012). The complexity of the relation between fear of failure and procrastination. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 30, 249–263.
Pychyl, T. A., & Flett, G. L. (2012). Procrastination and self-regulatory failure: An introduction to the special issue. Journal of Rational-Emotive and Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy, 30, 203–212.
Schubert, W., Lilly, J., & Stewart, D. W. (2000). Overcoming the powerlessness of procrastination. Guidance and Counseling, 16(1), 39–43.
Solomon, L. J., & Rothblum, E. D. (1984). Academic procrastination: Frequency and cognitive-behavioral correlates. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 31(4), 503–509.
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94.
Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal study of procrastination, performance, stress, and health: The cost and benefits of dawdling. Psychological Science, 8(6), 454–458.
Uzun Özer, B., Demir, A., & Ferrari, J. R. (2009). Exploring academic procrastination among Turkish students: Possible gender differences in prevalence and reasons. Journal of Social Psychology, 149(2), 241–257.
Van Essen, T., Ven Den Heuvel, S., & Ossebaard, M. (2004). A student course on self-management for procrastinators. In H. C. Schouwenburg, C. H. Lay, T. A. Pychyl, & J. R. Ferrari (Eds.), Counseling the procrastinator in academic settings (pp. 59–74). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Van Horebeek, W., Michielsen, S., Neyskens, A., & Depreeuw, E. (2004). A cognitive-behavioral approaching in group treatment of procrastinators in an academic setting. In H. C. Schouwenburg, C. H. Lay, T. A. Pychyl, & J. R. Ferrari (Eds.), Counseling the procrastinator in academic settings (pp. 105–118). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Wadkins, T. (1999). The relation between self-reported procrastination and behavioral procrastination. Unpublished Doctoral Dissertation, University of Nebraska, Nebraska.
Walker, L. S. (2004). Overcoming the patterns of powerlessness that lead to procrastination. In H. C. Schouwenburg, C. H. Lay, T. A. Pychyl, & J. R. Ferrari (Eds.), Counseling the procrastinator in academic settings. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Uzun Ozer, B., Demir, A. & Ferrari, J.R. Reducing Academic Procrastination Through a Group Treatment Program: A Pilot Study. J Rat-Emo Cognitive-Behav Ther 31, 127–135 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-013-0165-0
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10942-013-0165-0