Procrastination and serlf esteem

Self-Esteem and Procrastination

Self-esteem is a primary component of each person's life experiences on a daily basis. Self-esteem may be defined as a person's evaluation of themselves, for example "I am not satisfied with myself as a person" or "I like the way I am." Sometime unconsciously, we evaluate ourselves day after day; this is a not a conscious procedure because only the individual realizes the end result. When an individual experiences an emotional "gut feeling," the individual feels either good or bad about themselves. As human beings, we have a fundamental need for motives of self inclusion (Franzoi 59).

Self-esteem operates as a mechanism to aid individuals to ensure that they are carrying themselves properly in a particular situation. Self-esteem runs the gamut from inclusion and exclusion. Human beings are most susceptible to exclusion, as we tend to measure ourselves on a scale from low to high self-esteem. Those with high self-esteem are viewed from others as confident and successful, but those with low self-esteem are viewed as insecure and have a tendency to give up easily on their goals because of a feeling of inadequacy.

Those who have low self-esteem, tend to self-handicap with their goal in order to minimize the severity of failure. This is a vicious cycle because it continues to maintain a feeling of low-self-esteem.

A study performed by Dianne Tice and Joseph Ferarri's, used an IQ test to gauge each participant's self-esteem level and the likelihood of a self-handicap mentality (76-81). Study participants had the option to choose the tapes they wanted to listen to, then take a test. The study individuals labeled the tapes anywhere from "highly detracting" music to "highly enhancing." The hypothesis of the individuals who chose "detracting" is was a theory of unstable and external attribution for both success or failure.

Rosenberg declared that those with high self-esteem, express feelings that he/she is "good enough," the individual simply feels that he is a person of worth, he respects himself for what he is."

While on the other hand low self-esteem "implies self-rejection, self-dissatisfaction, and self-contempt"(Rosenberg, 1965). He believed that people with low self-esteem, tend to express more difficulty and hesitation in social situations. They also set their goals and aspirations lower because of an inherent feeling they are not worthy. On the flip side, people with high self-esteem are more likely to aspire to extremely significant goals and feel they are capable of reaching them.

Procrastination is interpreted by most as delaying an action until the last minute. In the psychology field, it is viewed as placing greater priority on tasks that are not as crucial, while putting off the higher priority tasks. According to Shraw, Wadkins, and Olafsonin "Doing the things we do: A

grounded theory of academic procrastination" (Journal of Educational Psychology). Their basic concept of procrastination is that of being counterproductive, somewhat useless and delaying some high priority task until the last minute. Evans (2007) states that the prefrontal cortex area of the brain is instrumental in the physiological aspect of procrastination. This area is responsible for everyday human functions like organization, planning, and impulse control.

Amost three decades ago, a review of procrastination revealed that low self-esteem is a characteristic of procrastinators (Burka and Yeun,1983). It is seen as a way to protect those with low self-esteem. "Putting things off acts as a buffer for their shaky sense of self-worth" (Burka and Yeun,

1982, p. 32). These two psychologist believe other reasons for procrastination include; disorganization, poor time management skills, difficulty making firm decisions, a fear of success and less assertiveness.

Another study by Effert and Ferarri in 1989, reflect low self-esteem as an end result of procrastination. Ellis and Knause found in 1977 that procrastination may be an "emotional disturbance stemming from irrational thoughts." A person who has a thought such as, "I am only worthwhile if I

make A's on all of my projects and tests," will lower their self-esteem if they receive a B. Or a C. This

can cause a Catch 22 downward spiral because the student may avoid starting or finishing their next assignment after having received a lower grade than they hoped. They may begin to feel their work is not worthwhile and delay the work to avoid feeling worse about themselves. Some studies of college students revealed interesting data about their levels of procrastination. Here is what the following three studies determined; 95% engaged in procrastination (Ellis and Knaus, 1977), 46% of college students according to another study (Solomon and Rothblum, 1984), and 75% procrastinated in the Potts study in 1987.

There were two scales that were most commonly used to most adequately determine self-esteem and procrastination propensities; The Rosenberg Self- Esteem Scale (Rosenberg, 1965) and Procrastination