TIME, PROCRASTINATION AND TEMPORAL ORIENTATION

Herbert H. Lehman College, New York NY

Investigators

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Abstract

This project focuses on 2 applied domains of people's use of time: procrastination and temporal orientation. Both have only recently emerged as topics of serious empirical study and the project will contribute to the empirical and theoretical knowledge base concerning both. Several recent studies have shown that people's tendencies to procrastinate (i.e., to put off doing something that should be done, often past the optimal time for doing time) can be linked to the development of psychopathology, to delays in seeking needed medical treatments, and to poor academic performance. To date, no systematic study has demonstrated whether procrastination should be conceptualized as a personality trait or as a response to specific situations. By focusing on a population with task responsibilities in many domains, and evaluating their procrastination in those domains with currently available instruments, the project will establish the efficacy of considering procrastination as a trait. At present, almost nothing is known about procrastination among ethnic minorities, although there is some research suggesting that minority students show more academic procrastination than majority students. The project will evaluate differences among ethnic groups. Also addressed is the relation between people's self-reports of procrastination and their actual behaviors. That is, do people who report themselves to be procrastinators actually delay the start and completion of tasks more than self reported non-procrastinators do? Temporal orientation is defined as people's focus on the present or future. One theory suggests that African- Americans as present oriented, while Whites are future oriented, yet the empirical support for this theory is weak. The project will systematically establish whether ethnic-based differences exist and extend the study beyond the 2 groups previously examined. In addition, the effects of people's temporal orientation on their behaviors will be evaluated. to determine the health relevance of this concept. Finally, the project prepares undergraduate students from a minority institution for entry into graduate programs and research careers through work on real research studies. They are encouraged to become collaborators in the research effort, to attend and present their work and regional and national conferences, and to become co-authors on manuscripts.