The Effects of Procrastination amongst Senior High School Students

of Diplahan National High School

A Research Project
Presented to the
Faculty of the Secondary School
Diplahan National Senior High School
Diplahan Zamboanga Sibugay

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirement for the

Practical Research
(STEM)

by:
Alparito, Lovely Angelle T.
Andujar, Althea Faith A.
Baltazar, Sitti Rhyfa J.
Besueño, Cherry Ann C.
Calib-og, Charis Q.
Castañeros, Marry Ann M.
Guillermo, Kenneth Robert D.
Omandam, Harold Liu Gene C.

April 2023
 CHAPTER 1

THE PROBLEM AND ITS BACKGROUND

Introduction

According to Kendra Cherry (2022) Procrastination is the act of delaying or putting

off tasks until the last minute, or past their deadline. Some researchers define procrastination

as a “form of self-regulation failure characterized by the irrational delay of tasks despite

potentially negative consequences.” The conceptualizations of procrastination imply inaction,

or postponing, delaying, or putting off a decision, in keeping with the Latin origins of the

term “pro-,” meaning “forward, forth, or in favor of,” and “-crastinus,” meaning “tomorrow”

(Klein, 1971).

According to Dr. Itamarshatz (2014), Academic procrastination is a phenomenon

where students unnecessarily postpone academic assignments, like studying for a test or

working on a school project. This is a common problem, which can lead to issues like poor

academic performance, stress, etc. Procrastinators are conscious that postponing their tasks

will cause them subjective discomfort (Solomon & Rothblum, 1984), but they continue to

delay their tasks despite expecting to feel worse (Steel, 2007).

Procrastination is a significant problem that has a negative impact on academic

performance. Students who procrastinate tend to have lower grades and exam scores, and are

more likely to drop out of courses or fail classes (e.g. Aremu et al., 2011, Balkis, 2013). The

negative impact of procrastination is greater for complex tasks or assignments, where time

pressure can reduce accuracy and punctuality, negatively influencing performance (Van

Eerde, 2003). While self-reported measures of procrastination are only weakly correlated

with actual procrastination, task procrastination is associated with lower task performance

even after controlling for student quality (Rotenstein et al., 2009).

Factors contributing to the relationship between procrastination and academic performance

have been investigated, including the choice of procrastination measure and academic

performance indicator (Jackson et al., 2003). However, inconsistent results have been

obtained in studies investigating the association between procrastination and academic

performance, which might be due to the use of small samples (Ferrari, 1991).

Nonetheless, a meta-analysis has shown that procrastination is negatively correlated

with academic performance, with a significant proportion of unintentional procrastination

variance explained by the metacognitive model of procrastination (Bahrick et al., 1996).

This model proposes that interventions targeting metacognitions may help to tackle

procrastination and optimize academic performance (Zimmerman et al., 2002).

Beyond stress, procrastination has been linked to impaired general health and, specifically,

reduced sleep quality. (Sirois et al., 2015) found higher levels of procrastination to be

correlated with increased sleep latency, daytime dysfunction, and use of sleep medication as

well as reduced sleep duration. Two processes, beyond heightened stress levels, may explain

this link: first, procrastinators tend to report increased worry (Stöber and Joormann, 2001),

rumination (Stainton et al., 2000), and guilt (Pychyl et al., 2000). Constant cognitive-affective

preoccupation with one’s own daily dilatory behavior and its potential detrimental

consequences may easily extend to the late evening hours and impede falling asleep. Second,

emerging research finds bedtime procrastination that is, “failing to go to bed at the intended

time, while no external circumstances prevent a person from doing so” (Kroese et al., 2014,

p. 1) to be a frequent problem for many individuals. Overall, this research points to a

detrimental effect of procrastination on sleep quality. Finally, there is some evidence hinting

at the negative effects of procrastination in the interpersonal domain. Frequent

procrastination impairs performance in work and academic environments (Tice and

Baumeister, 1997; Kim and Seo, 2015), which can result in lower salaries or even
unemployment (Nguyen et al., 2013) and may thus compromise personal relationships with

family, friends, fellow students, and coworkers. (Ferrari et al., 1999) investigated the social

support networks of procrastinators and indeed found that frequent procrastinators suffered

from poorer family relations and experienced their interpersonal relationships as less

satisfying, indicating a negative effect of procrastination-related interpersonal conflict.

Among adolescents, such interpersonal troubles may become particularly salient in the family

domain. Repeatedly procrastinating homework or exam preparations is likely to be noticed by

parents eventually. This may spark homework-related conflict between adolescents and their

parents (Dumont et al., 2012).

Many students are suffering from the effects of procrastination. Among adolescents,

such interpersonal troubles may become particularly salient in the family domain. Repeatedly

procrastinating homework or exam preparations is likely to be noticed by parents eventually.

This may spark homework-related conflict between adolescents and their parents (Dumont et

al., 2012). Students who procrastinate are the main reason why this study is conducted. This

study wants to help those students who procrastinate.

Many students are procrastinating and some of them are not aware of its effect.

This study desired to make awareness of the effects of procrastination amongst senior high

school students.
Statement of the Problem

The study seeks answer to the following questions:

1. Who often procrastinates?

2. How often do students procrastinate?

3. What are the effects of procrastination in senior high school students?

4. Does procrastination help you in dealing with your studies?

Significance of the Study

This study is an embodiment of the profound desire to unveil the experiences of the

Senior High School Students in Diplahan National High School hopefully anticipates the

following benefits to:

Parents. With the results parents may be more aware about the academic performance

of their children. Moreover, this may serve as a reminder that their children are having a hard

time in managing their academics. This may encourage them to help them with their studies

and stuff.

Community. The contact of this study may help the people in community to have

knowledge and at the same time concern towards the students who procrastinate. Moreover,

this may encourage them to have a positive perspective or impression about procrastination.

Also, this may warn them about the effects of procrastination to the students.

Teachers. It hopes to provide insights for them to know about their students

performances in academic and be willing to help their students in dealing with their studies.

This may add knowledge for them to be sensitive and effective in giving their students some

task or activities that may drain the learners.

 Students. This study may help in the development of the competency of Senior High

School Students in their academic performances which are necessary for every students to

value their time in doing their school activities and performances.

Future Researchers. The yield of this study may serve as their references for other

researches who would like to study about procrastination. This may provide them a

comprehensible understanding about the effects of procrastination to students. Moreover, this

study may inspire them to explore about how procrastination can affect the students and their

studies.

Scope and Delimitation of the Study

This study aims to know what procrastination is and determine the effects of

procrastination amongst the senior high school students of Diplahan National High School. It

gives awareness about the effects of procrastination. To know the reasons behind

procrastination and it helps to understand why senior high school students procrastinate.

This is a qualitative research which will use a phenomenological research design.

Utilizing a phenomenological design, data will be collected using survey questionnaires,

focus groups and individual interviews. Understanding the effects of procrastination will

provide valuable information for senior high school student’s preparation programs.

The locale of the study is limited only for one secondary public school in district 1;

Diplahan National High School (DNHS). The respondents for the questionnaires are twenty

(20) senior high school students, five (5) from ABM 11, five (5) from ABM 12, five (5) from

HUMMS 11, and five (5) from HUMMS 12.

Theoretical Framework

The present study was conceptualized from the theories advocated by Piaget’s (2022)

Social Cognitive Theory and Steel and Konig’s (2022) Temporal Motivation Theory.

According to Jean Piaget (2022). Social cognitive theory, students who report

frequent procrastination may also have lower levels of academic self-efficacy resulting in

lower academic achievement. Academic self-efficacy is specific to certain environments or

situations. Cognitive Behavioral Theory.

For example, one study suggests that someone’s motivation to learn helps determine

how often their mind wanders during a lesson. Participants who felt more motivated to learn

experienced less mind wandering than those who said they were less motivated. The Theory

of Cognitive Development by Jean Piaget, the Swiss psychologist, suggests that children’s

intelligence undergoes changes as they grow. Cognitive development in children is not only

related to acquiring knowledge, children need to build or develop a mental model of their

surrounding world (Miller, 2011). Piaget divided children’s cognitive development in four

stages, each of the stages represent a new way of thinking and understanding the world. He

called them (1) sensorimotor intelligence, (2) preoperational thinking, (3) concrete

operational thinking, and (4) formal operational thinking. Each stage is correlated with an age

period of childhood, but only approximately. According to Piaget, intellectual development

takes place through stages which occur in a fixed order and which are universal (all children

pass through these stages regardless of social or cultural background). Development can only

occur when the brain has matured to a point of “readiness”. Jean Piaget’s theory of cognitive

development suggests that intelligence changes as children grow.

A child’s cognitive development is not just about acquiring knowledge, the child has

to develop or construct a mental model of the world. Cognitive development occurs through
the interaction of innate capacities (nature) and environmental events (nurture), and children

pass through a series of stages.

Piaget’s theory of cognitive development proposes 4 stages of development. Sensorimotor

stage: birth to 2 years

Preoperational stage: 2 to 7 years

Concrete operational stage: 7 to 11 years

Formal operational stage: ages 12 and up

The sequence of the stages is universal across cultures and follows the same invariant

(unchanging) order. All children go through the same stages in the same order (but not all at

the same rate).

The sensorimotor stage typically takes place within the first two years of a child’s life.

It is marked by the child discovering the difference between themselves and their

environment. At that point, they will use their senses to learn things about both themselves

and their environment. The preoperational stage is the second stage in Piaget’s theory of

cognitive development. This stage begins around age 2, as children start to talk, and lasts

until approximately age 7. 1 During this stage, children begin to engage in symbolic play and

learn to manipulate symbols.The concrete-operational stage depicts an important step in the

cognitive development of children (Piaget, 1947). According to Piaget, thinking in this stage

is characterized by logical operations, such as conservation, reversibility or classification,

allowing logical reasoning. The formal operational stage is characterized by the ability to

formulate hypotheses and systematically tests them to arrive at an answer to a problem. The

individual in the formal stage is also able to think abstractly and to understand the form or

structure of a mathematical problem.

 Cognitive theory says the same thing and shares the same thoughts of our research

title which is “The Effects of procrastination amongst the senior high students of Diplahan

National High School (DNHS)”. This theory supports this study.

According to Peirs Steel and Cornelius J. König (2022). Temporal motivation theory

(TMT) is an integrative motivational theory developed by Piers Steel and Cornelius J. König,

the theory emphasizes time as a critical and motivational factor. The argument for a broad,

integrative theory stems from the absence of a single theory that can address motivation in its

entirety. Thus, it incorporates primary aspects of multiple major theories, including

expectancy theory, hyperbolic discounting, need theory and cumulative prospect theory.

According to Schmidt, Dolis, and Tolli, Temporal Motivation Theory “may help further the

understanding of the impact of time, and particularly deadlines, on dynamic attention

allocation.” The Temporal Motivation Theory formula can be applied to human behavior,

procrastination and to goal setting. According to Lord, Diefenforff, Schmidt, and Hall, the

theory "models the motivating power of approaching deadlines, arguing that the perceived

utility of a given activity increases exponentially as the deadline nears. These and similar

ideas have been applied to the pervasive phenomenon of procrastination”.

Temporal Motivation Theory (TMT) has a long history. It is rooted in Ainslie and

Haslam work in 1992, which was named Picoeconomics or Hyperbolic Dis-counting (cited in

Ferrari, Johnson, and McCown, 1995). This theory tried to explain selection processes of

someone’s decision making or behavior. TMT suggests that any person always prioritise

activities which promise highest utility, at least in the perspective of that person for that

certain time. In other words, people tend to procrastinate when they think the utility of doing

the task is low. As a derivation of picoeconomics, TMT maintains picoeconomics

components, such as utility, expectancy, value, sensitivity to delay, and time delay (Steel,

2007; Steel & König,). The expectancy and value serve as numerator, while sensitivity to
delay and time delay serve as denominator. Expectancy indicating perceived probability of

success. Value indicating preferences toward activities. Sensitivity to delay representing

inclination to short term reward. Time delay representing duration to obtain results. Steel and

König findings about TMT (2006) were in concord with procrastination grounded theory

coined by Schraw, Wadkins and Olafson (2007). Their research found three conditions that

could affect procrastination, which are unclear directions, lack of incentives, and deadlines.

When it is connected with TMT, unclear directions equivalent with expectancy, lack of

incentive equivalent with value, and deadlines equivalent with sensitivity to delay. Blurred

task purposes, method, or expected results may turn up to lack of self confidence to complete

the task. Incentives or rewards from a task can become a particular satisfaction which can

increase desire to do the task. Less or unattractive incentive could initiate a task

postponement, because that task has no possessed equivalent proportion, whereas deadlines

become external self-management to negate postponement. This evaluation or calculation is

subject to change. An activity which is considered useless in the first place could change into

priceless as the time goes by. One of the main reasons is human inclination to discount future

reward and overestimating current enjoyment.

For example, people are first motivated to fulfill basic biological needs for food and

shelter, then to progress through higher needs like safety, love, and esteem. Once these needs

have been met, the primary motivator becomes the need for self-actualization, or the desire to

fulfill one’s individual goals. The Temporal motivation theory (TMT) was also relatable to

the students, because most students nowadays were procrastinating in their studies. One of

the reasons why students procrastinate is because of the lack of motivation. Lack of

motivation is essentially lack of passion. There are no goals, desire, or willingness to work.

You simply don’t do anything, there is no faking it like laziness does. Lack of motivation is

usually a deeper psychological problem and could have some elements of depression. Being
procrastinated was a problem nowadays that needs to be cured. Also distractions have been

identified as one of the major causes of procrastination among students. The internet which

remains one of man’s greatest inventions has also become one of man’s biggest distractions.

Social media pervades our daily lives and often robs us of that precious study time.

Our research title "the effect of procrastination amongst the senior high school

students of Diplahan National High School (DNHS)" was related to the theory, Temporal

Motivation Theory, because both of it tells the same thing about the procrastination and how

the students procrastinate and it supports this study.

Conceptual Framework

This study focused on the Effects of Procrastination Amongst Senior High School Students

Figure 1
Paradigm of the Study
 Figure 1 presents the conceptual framework of the study. The effects of

procrastination as an independent variable while the senior high school students in Diplahan

NHS as the dependent variable.

Independent Variable

According to Baumeister, PhD (2010), examined procrastination among students in a

health psychology class. They found that early in the semester, procrastinators reported lower

stress and less illness than non-procrastinators, but that late in the term, procrastinators

reported higher stress and more illness (Psychological Science, Vol.) Feeling directionless

and unfocused can often cause people to lose their wills to do their jobs. This leads to

procrastination. Sometimes the lack of goals and objectives is also the reason a person loses

their focus. Since they do not have an end-goal in mind, they end up wasting energy in other

useless tasks.

Dependent Variable

According to our observations, Most of the students of DNHS always do

procrastination. Even we, as students of DNHS also experience procrastination, when there

are a lot of activities we don't answer because there is so much time before the deadline that's

why we put off doing it later which leads to feelings of stress, anxiety, and guilt. For students,

procrastination is associated with a wide range of academic issues, such as worse exam

scores, worse grades, having to repeat assignments, increased course failures, increased

course withdrawals, longer study duration, and an increased likelihood of dropping out

(rather than graduating). The Cause of Procrastination in students is Perfectionism and Fear

of Failure. The fear of failure and not doing well in an assignment can paralyze some students

and can put them off their work. Having no clue how to start writing an essay is often a good
excuse to put it off until some kind of inspiration comes or until "the time is right". The

Senior High School Students in DNHS.

Definition of Terms

Procrastination. The act of delaying or putting off tasks until the last minute, or past

their deadline.

Academic procrastination. Is a phenomenon where students unnecessarily postpone

academic assignments, like studying for a test or working on a school project.

Procrastinator. A person who habitually puts off doing things.

Social Cognitive Theory (SCT). Describes the influence of individual experiences, the

actions of others, and environmental factors on individual health behaviors.

Temporal motivation theory. Is an integrative motivational theory developed by Piers

Steel and Cornelius J. König, the theory emphasizes time as a critical and motivational factor.

Academic performance. Is the extent to which a student, teacher, or institution has attained

their short or long-term educational goals.