Procrastination involves needlessly delaying decisions or actions. Take the scenario where someone delays working on an assignment until the last minute, even though they had planned to start earlier. This behavior is commonly known as procrastination.
This article presents a compilation of intriguing and valuable statistics about procrastination. It aims to provide insights into the individuals impacted by procrastination, the ways in which it affects them, and the underlying reasons behind its occurrence.
Rest assured, the statistics provided are backed by reliable sources, including peer-reviewed research articles that are conveniently linked within the text. It’s crucial to keep in mind that a variety of factors, such as the sample and calculation methods, can affect statistics. Therefore, it’s crucial to interpret and apply these statistics with caution.
Information on the frequency of procrastination
- Research indicates that approximately 20% of adults have a tendency to procrastinate on a regular basis.
- Research indicates that a significant number of college students have a tendency to delay tasks on a regular basis. A majority of students identify themselves as procrastinators, while a large percentage of college students engage in procrastination.
- According to a study conducted on a group of adults, a significant majority of participants (74%) reported going to bed later than intended at least once a week, without any specific external factors influencing their decision.
Furthermore, a study conducted in 2001 on a diverse group of participants (with an average age of 29.4 and a standard deviation of 12.0) revealed the following findings:
- Around half of the individuals surveyed mentioned that they often use the internet for procrastination purposes.
- Among all participants, individuals spent a significant portion (47%) of their online time engaging in procrastination. On average, this amounted to approximately 1.59 hours of internet procrastination per day. However, there was considerable variation among individuals, with some procrastinating more or less than the average.
- When it comes to procrastinating using the internet in specific domains, people tend to procrastinate the most when they are at home. On average, they spent 1.12 hours out of 1.96 hours on the internet for procrastination purposes. The second most common place for procrastination was school, where people spent 0.26 hours out of 0.65. Lastly, work was also a common place for procrastination, with people spending 0.24 hours out of 0.75.
In addition, with the increasing prevalence of digital devices and the internet in our daily lives, it seems that people are spending more time procrastinating online. This trend is concerning, as general procrastination rates continue to rise instead of decline.
It’s worth mentioning that the frequency of procrastination can differ depending on the task at hand. Take a look at the findings of a study conducted on students in an introductory psychology course. It revealed that a significant portion of them tend to delay their tasks. Specifically, around 46% of students admitted to always or nearly always procrastinating on writing term papers. Similarly, approximately 30% procrastinated on reading weekly assignments, while about 28% delayed studying for exams. Attendance tasks were also subject to procrastination, with around 23% of students admitting to putting them off. 11% of students procrastinated on administrative tasks, and 10% of students did the same for other school activities.
Information on the risks associated with procrastination
- According to a survey, a large majority of people expressed that procrastination has a significant impact on their overall happiness, with a notable percentage describing this impact as particularly detrimental.
- After procrastinating, the majority of students expressed negative feelings when asked about their experience.
- According to a study conducted on students, a significant number of participants reported facing consistent challenges with procrastination in relation to different academic tasks. For instance, approximately 24% of students expressed difficulties with writing term papers and completing weekly readings, while around 21% struggled with studying for exams. In addition, this study revealed that a significant number of students expressed a desire to decrease their tendency to procrastinate when it comes to writing term papers (approximately 65%), studying for exams (around 62%), and completing weekly readings (about 55%).
- Many students discover that procrastination, which can take the form of activities like sleeping, watching TV, or playing video games, consumes a significant portion of their day.
- Research has shown that procrastination has a detrimental impact on academic performance. Several studies have found negative correlations between procrastination and various aspects of academic performance. For example, procrastination is associated with lower performance on assignments, final exams, grade point average (GPA), and overall academic performance.
- According to a large-scale study, a slight increase on a 5-point scale measuring the tendency to procrastinate is linked to a significant decrease of approximately $15,000 in salary.
- According to a large-scale study, a significant portion of the unemployed population, about 57%, falls into the category of procrastinators.
Information on the reasons behind procrastination
- There is a significant correlation (.64) between procrastination and agreement with the statement, “No matter how much I try, I still put things off.”. This indicates that procrastination is frequently involuntary.
- A meta-analysis was conducted on studies comparing procrastination with self-reported work intentions. The findings revealed that these two variables are mostly unrelated, with a correlation of -.03 and a 95% confidence interval of [-.13,.08] across 8 studies. This suggests that procrastinators often have similar or even greater work intentions compared to non-procrastinators.
- Research has shown that there is a connection between procrastination and a difference between what people plan to do and what they actually do. This is known as the intention-action gap. Procrastinators tend to work less than they originally intended, as indicated by a correlation of.29 across 6 studies. The meta-analysis highlights that the disparity typically increases as the time between the intention and the action lengthens, indicating that it is more pronounced for actions that are distant in the future. As the deadline for an intended action approaches, the gap tends to narrow and sometimes even reverse. This means that procrastinators often end up doing more work than they originally intended when finishing tasks right before the deadline.
- According to a study, about half of the participants mentioned that they tend to procrastinate because of certain aspects of the tasks they have to complete. Two commonly mentioned aspects that contribute to procrastination are finding the task uninteresting or unpleasant and the presence of delayed rewards or punishments.
- According to a study, a small percentage of individuals identified low confidence as a contributing factor to procrastination.
- Research has shown that there is a clear link between procrastination and self-efficacy. A meta-analysis of 39 studies revealed a negative correlation (-.38) between these two factors. Self-efficacy refers to an individual’s confidence in their ability to take the necessary steps to accomplish their objectives. The meta-analysis also discovered a correlation, albeit less strong (-.27, across 33 studies), between procrastination and self-esteem.
- A meta-analysis revealed a correlation between procrastination and depression, indicating a positive relationship across 56 studies.
- Research indicates that fatigue ranks among the top three factors that students cite for delaying their work, with around 28% of students stating that they lacked the energy to start the task, leading to procrastination.
- Research has found that various aspects of perfectionism can have distinct impacts on procrastination. More specifically, concerns about perfectionism, which involve being overly focused on what others think, having negative self-evaluations, and struggling to feel satisfied even after achieving success, have been found to be positively linked to procrastination. This correlation of 23 was found across 43 different studies. On the other hand, there is a negative correlation between procrastination striving and procrastination. This means that individuals who set high personal standards and strive for perfection tend to procrastinate less.
- Many individuals often delay tasks because they have an underlying apprehension of not succeeding. For instance, in two studies that utilized an open-ended questionnaire, a small percentage of individuals (7%–16%) cited fear of failure as a contributing factor to their procrastination. Additionally, a meta-analysis conducted across 57 studies revealed a positive correlation of 0.18 between fear of failure and procrastination.
- A study revealed that rebellion and resentment can often lead to procrastination among middle-school students. Interestingly, 26% of these students expressed their displeasure towards people who set deadlines for them. However, a separate study discovered that this particular cause of procrastination is relatively uncommon among college students, with less than 5% of students reporting the same sentiment.
- Procrastination can sometimes be attributed to a desire for new and exciting experiences. In a particular study, a small percentage of students expressed enthusiasm for completing tasks at the last minute. In addition, a meta-analysis revealed a positive correlation of.17 between procrastination and sensation seeking, based on findings from 11 studies.
Check out the dedicated article on the topic for more information about why people procrastinate.
Information on the genetics of procrastination
Findings from a comprehensive study on twins revealed the following:
- Procrastination has a significant genetic component, accounting for 46% of the variation in procrastination tendencies. This implies that, rather than being solely a product of our environment, our tendency to procrastinate is a result of our genetic makeup.
- At the phenotypic level, there is a significant correlation (.65) between procrastination and impulsivity. This suggests that 42% of the phenotypic variation in procrastination is shared with impulsivity. In addition, there is a strong positive correlation between procrastination and impulsivity at the genetic level. This indicates that the genetic variation in procrastination is completely shared with impulsivity. When we consider all the information, it becomes clear that there are no specific genetic factors that solely impact procrastination or impulsivity. Instead, the correlation between these traits is mainly attributed (73%) to shared genetic influences.
- Out of the 42% of shared phenotypic variation between procrastination and impulsivity, a significant 74% is also shared with goal-management failure. This refers to the tendency to struggle with setting and pursuing both short- and long-term goals. In addition, it is worth noting that a significant portion (68%) of the genetic variation that is common to both procrastination and impulsivity is also shared with the genetic variation in goal-management failure. This finding suggests that there are substantial shared genetic influences on procrastination, impulsivity, and goal-management failure.
This is consistent with other research that has discovered a connection between genetics and procrastination. It also applies to related factors like self-control and conscientiousness.
It’s important to approach the statistics found here with caution, as there can be significant differences in findings on the genetics of procrastination across studies that use different samples and methods. As an illustration, a study revealed that genetic factors account for only 22% of the variation in procrastination, instead of the previously believed 46%. Additionally, another study discovered that the genetic correlation between procrastination and impulsivity was approximately.3, rather than the assumed 1.0.
Information on individuals who tend to procrastinate
- Studies have found a slight difference in procrastination tendencies between genders, with men showing a slightly higher likelihood of procrastination compared to women. This observation is based on a meta-analysis and several large-scale studies. Interestingly, one study even found that around 54% of procrastinators are men.
- Based on a comprehensive global study, it has been found that individuals who tend to procrastinate are more inclined to be single than married. The study also reveals that procrastinators are more likely to get divorced or separated than to stay married. These correlations hold true even after accounting for age.
- According to one study on the topic, procrastinators can be divided into five major subgroups. These include mild procrastinators, average procrastinators, severe procrastinators, primarily depressed procrastinators (who procrastinate primarily due to underlying depression), and well-adjusted procrastinators. Each subgroup represents a different percentage of people.
- Procrastination is most closely linked to conscientiousness among the personality traits in the “Big Five” model, which include openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. In particular, there is a clear connection between procrastination and conscientiousness. Based on a comprehensive analysis of 20 studies, it was found that individuals who have lower levels of conscientiousness tend to be more inclined towards procrastination.
- According to a meta-analysis of 10 studies, there is a significant relationship between trait procrastination and task aversiveness. This suggests that individuals who tend to procrastinate are more likely to view tasks as unpleasant or boring, which could be a contributing factor to their procrastination habits.
- Most people tend to view procrastination in a negative light, and a significant majority of individuals who procrastinate express a desire to minimize it.
