As Andrew announced that around 40% of the class did not participate in the first blog period, I instinctively slouched in my seat and avoided any kind of eye contact with classmates in the room. Yes, I was one of the 40%. I won’t go into details as to why I made this decision, the root of it, as I am sure is the same with all of my other classmates in the 40% category, is procrastination.
Psychology Today, along with numerous other studies, notes that there are many reasons as to why one procrastinates but one of the largest correlations was between procrastination and low self esteem. The physiologists’ at University of Alberta say that one is more likely to procrastinate if they lack in the belief that they can complete this task. They state that self esteem and self efficacy is one of the most common and prominent forms of correlations to procrastination, but due to the class poll I questioned this statement.
When Andrew posted our class poll asking students why they did not participate in blog period one, only 4 students claimed that they did not do the blogs because they did not understand, or lacked the belief that they could complete it. This small scale experiment greatly opposes the claim that scientists made, which also made me look at their experimentation behind this claim. In 2008, Robert Klassen and psychologists from the University of Alberta ran a 465 student study on procrastination and its correlation with self esteem and self efficacy. The study claims that, “Results reveal that although other self variables are related to procrastination, self-efficacy for self regulation is most predictive of the procrastination tendencies”. In the studies they measured the students self efficacy through multiple surveys questioning students on their level of confidence and examining the grade point averages of these students. After thorough experimentation they came to the conclusion that students with low self esteem and self efficacy are more likely to procrastinate.
Although the psychologists do not state that all people with low self esteem are procrastinators, the correlation that they made leaves out a few possible explanations as to why procrastination correlates so heavily to low self esteem. First, there could be many third confounding variables in cases where students with low self esteem, tend to push off work. For example, in the psychologists’ report they did not say whether or not the students remained in good health during the semester. I know that one of the main reasons I did not participate in blog period one was because I was ill and sleep deprived. I believed that I would work on the blogs after being restored to good health, as physical health is a huge factor in whether a student can preform well academically and stay on task. If students who consider themselves to have low self esteem catch a nasty sickness, like the ones traveling around PSU currently, then the direct correlation between self esteem and procrastination can be dismissed. Even if one considers themselves to have very low self esteem, there physical health will be a stronger factor on whether or not they push off doing work.
Second, the study is completely based upon the assumption that all 465 students being observed answered honestly on the survey. The survey consists of hypothetical situations and phrases that the students are asked to rank from 1 to 7. 1 meaning “not at all true of me” and 7 meaning “very true of me”. The phrases and situations created by the psychologists consists of statements such as “I am confident” and “I am confident I can understand the most difficult material presented in the readings in my classes”. This entire experiment is not anonymous, therefore the psychologists know exactly who ranks that they are not confident, and who ranks that they are very confident. This is an issue because it is not likely that all 465 students being observed feel totally comfortable with admitting to their confidence or lack of confidence. The accuracy of the survey is questionable because it is based upon the hope that all of the students ranked themselves truthfully and accurately.
The strong correlation between self-esteem and procrastination continues to be researched, but through our class poll, third confounding variables, and the questionable accuracy of the surveys, I do not believe self esteem directly correlates with procrastination in this particular study.
Work Cited:
http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201204/the-paradox-procrastination
Hi Margaret, I found this blog very fascinating, I think that these studies are probably true because they seem to make a lot of sense. I think that if you have self conflict you are far less likely to be on top of things that are important like school work. If you tend to have low self esteem you are more likely to be scared about making mistakes which could be a reason for why you are procrastinating. I think you would be interested in the paradox of procrastination of psychology today heres the link, http://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/fulfillment-any-age/201204/the-paradox-procrastination