STUDY OF ADOLESCENTS’ PERSONAL FACTORS OF TENDENCY FOR PROCRASTINATION

Abstract

Objective. The objective of the research is to study the psychological content of the phenomenon of procrastination in the context of different theoretical approaches, the peculiarities of its impact on the activity of the individual from the standpoint of emotional, cognitive and behavioral manifestations and empirically establish the relationship of behavioral patterns to the procrastination of adolescents. The study involved 20 fourth-year students of Kherson State University majoring in Psychology.

Methods. The following methods and research methodologies were used for achievement of the objective: theoretical analysis of scientific literature sources, generalization of psychological data on the problem under study, C. Ley's General Procrastination Scale, questionnaire «Hewitt-Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale», Spielberger-Hanin Test Anxiety Inventory, «Motivation to Approach Success and to Avoid Failure» questionnaire by А. A. Rean.

Results. The theoretical review of the problem of procrastination has enabled to clarify the factors that affect the frequency and intensity of procrastination manifestations. The work contains consideration of basic theoretical approaches to understand the phenomenon of postponement from the standpoint of psychodynamic, behavioral and cognitive approaches. The empirical study has shown that the average level of procrastination is more prevalent among the studied subjects. Such respondents tend to occasionally demonstrate action and decision making postponement in behavioral patterns.

Conclusions. The results suggest that there is a direct link between situational anxiety and procrastination. As the level of anxiety, both personal and situational, increases, the postponement increases as well, affecting all spheres of life. That is, when a student is not sure of the effectiveness of the task, worries about a particular work, there is a high probability of postponement of the planned action. The study has also established the reverse causality between situational anxiety and motivation. The obtained data suggest that increasing person’s anxiety causes decrease in motivation, and therefore delay and postponement of the resolution of planned tasks becomes inevitable.