Procrastination Research

Abstract

Time perspective, the way we partition time into past, present, and future, was examined in relation to academic motivation style (amotivation, extrinsic motivation, and intrinsic motivation on a self-determination continuum) and procrastination. The responses of 305 undergraduate students to scales assessing their time perspective, motivation style, and procrastination tendency were analyzed. Results indicated that (a) there is a positive relationship between the Future time perspective and intrinsic motivation, (b) future-oriented students are more intrinsically motivated for their academic work than students with bleak temporal outlooks (Past Negative and Present Fatalistic), (c) there is a positive relationship between the Present-Fatalistic orientation and amotivation, and (d) present- oriented students tend to procrastinate more than future- oriented students. The implications of these results are examined.