Behavioral Modification: Procrastination (Essay Sample)

Behavior Modification
Student’s Name
University
Course
Professor
Date
Abstract
Procrastination involves a delay in engaging in a particular course of action or delaying them till past the deadline or last minute. A review of the literature revealed that procrastination levels are higher in men than women, in younger people than older ones and, among college students than undergraduates. Also, this paper reveals that procrastination is caused by lower self-efficacy, self-control, and self-esteem. The discussion showed that anxiety and health are some of the impacts of procrastination. Procrastination is then examined using classic conditioning, cognitive behavioral, psychodynamic, and psychoanalytic theories. The paper identifies personal resistance due to attitudes against change and, low self-efficacy and social environment, and cognition are barriers to change. The study revealed that psychologists could use positive reinforcement to encourage behavioral change when working with clients struggling with addiction. By using positive reinforcement, psychologists motivate their clients to go out of their way to change their behavior resulting in improved well-being.
Behavior Modification
Introduction of the behavior
Procrastination entails postponing engaging in a particular task or delaying them till past the deadline or last minute. When procrastination is viewed from a delayed discounting perspective, the individual chooses minute rewards such as extra rest time over the larger rewards coming later. For instance, university students may delay doing their assignments during the first few weeks of the semester and, thus, create a pleasant and stress-free scenario. Nevertheless, the short-term benefits they enjoyed became costly towards the end of the semester. Also, procrastination can be perceived from the Sidman avoidance perspective, whereby an animal gets a mild electric shock without warning (unmet deadline) if an interval passes in the absence of a particular response (task completion) (Svartda et al., 2018). Once the animals know the interval, they often delay until it almost lapses before responding. During procrastination, the individual realizes that the delay would be costly and still chooses to delay engaging in the tasks. As a result, it is irrational behavior that has a serious impact on a person’s capability to succeed. Studies have linked procrastination to various drivers, such as anxiety, an absence of structure, low self-esteem, and an inability to motivate oneself to perform certain tasks. Thus, when individuals have anxiety, they use procrastination as a coping mechanism. Therefore, people learn the behavior due to different reasons. As a result, people can unlearn procrastination and improve their well-being. Procrastination is dominant among college students and interferes with their academic life and physical well-being. Ultimately, a detailed examination of procrastination will provide useful insight into modifying the behavior for better outcomes.
Literature Review
Understanding Procrastination
Sociodemographic
Zhou (2020) demonstrated that men procrastinated more than