Purposeful delay and academic achievement: A critical review of the Active Procrastination Scale

A plethora of studies have shown that procrastination is associated with deleterious consequences. Recently, some authors argued that for some students, purposefully delaying tasks might be a beneficial strategy that is positively related with desired outcomes. To measure purposeful delay, the Active Procrastination Scale (APS), developed by Choi and Moran (2009), discriminates between four subcomponents (i.e., outcome satisfaction, preference for pressure, intentional decision and ability to meet deadlines). The objective of the present study is threefold: (1) to corroborate the factor structure of the original APS instrument; (2) to empirically examine whether purposeful delay is associated with better achievement; and (3) to identify a subpopulation of students for whom purposefully delaying tasks is an effective strategy. Using a large sample of 1605 science and engineering students, exploratory factor analysis (EFA) supported a three-factor rather than a four-factor structure of the APS. Furthermore, results of the regression analyses showed no evidence for the beneficial effect of purposeful delay on student achievement. Finally, we were unable to identify a particular type of student for whom purposefully delaying tasks resulted in increased achievement. Critical considerations on the construct validity of the APS are discussed in greater detail.

Jaar van publicatie:2019

BOF-keylabel:ja

IOF-keylabel:ja

BOF-publication weight:1

CSS-citation score:1

Authors from:Higher Education

Toegankelijkheid:Open