The Effects of Task Ambiguity and Individual Differences on Personal Internet Use at Work

The present study investigates the effects of task characteristics and individual differences on personal internet use at work. Borrowing from the procrastination research, four individual differences (i.e., self-efficacy, conscientiousness, impulsiveness, and ambiguity tolerance) and one task characteristic (i.e., task ambiguity) were identified as relevant variables. For this two-part study, 49 participants were recruited. The first study consisted of an online questionnaire measuring the relevant individual differences and demographic information. The second portion included a laboratory study measuring peoples\u27 procrastination behaviors during an online task. Procrastination was operationalized as time spent on off-task activities (i.e., task-unrelated websites/applications) and was tracked by a time tracking software, WorkTime. Results showed that procrastination was only negatively correlated with ambiguity tolerance. Furthermore, task ambiguity was only marginally relevant in people\u27s procrastination behaviors. Although inconclusive, the study underlines the importance of measuring procrastination as behaviors rather than self-report ratings. The implications, limitations, and future directions of the findings are discussed

Tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression mediate the relationship between problematic internet use and procrastination

The current scientific literature lacks studies on the relationship between problematic internet use (PIU) and procrastination, especially regarding the mediating mechanisms underlying this relationship. The present study examined the association between procrastination and PIU, as well as determining the mediating roles of tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression. The conceptual model was tested using data collected from 434 Iranian college students. The participants completed a number of psychometric scales assessing procrastination, PIU, tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression. Structural equation modeling was used to test the hypothesized model. Results showed that PIU, tolerance for ambiguity, and suppression were positively associated with procrastination, and that there was a negative association between reappraisal and procrastination. Moreover, the mediation analysis indicated that tolerance for ambiguity, reappraisal, and suppression fully mediated the association between PIU and procrastination. However, it is also possible to interpret the results as suggesting that PIU is unimportant as a predictor for procrastination once mediators are controlled for

Predicting Procrastination in Everyday Life - From Individual Differences in Procrastination Tendencies to Intraindividual Variability in Momentary Task Appraisal

Procrastination is typically defined as an irrational behavior characterized by unnecessarily delaying the completion of important tasks, contrary to one’s original intention, despite knowing that doing so could be to one’s detriment (cf. Klingsieck, 2013; Simpson & Pychyl, 2009; Steel, 2007). Taking a trait-based perspective, research has consistently shown that students’ self-reported procrastination tendencies are closely related to individual differences in conscientiousness, neuroticism, or impulsivity (Ferrari & Emmons, 1995; Lee et al., 2006; Schouwenburg & Lay, 1995; Watson, 2001). At the same time, procrastination can be understood as a task-specific avoidance behavior resulting from a failure of self-regulation (DeWitte & Lens, 2000; Howell et al., 2006; Steel et al., 2018). An effort to understand the occurrence of procrastination behavior as a failure of self-regulation would require to consider that individuals’ self-regulatory capacities — their motivational and volitional determinants — may change over time depending on task- or context-specific influences (see Dietrich et al., 2017; Martin et al., 2015; Vancouver & Kendall, 2006; Wäschle et al., 2014). Accordingly, research that seeks to identify the conditions that result in a failure to act in line with one’s intentions (i.e., the conditions that lead to the occurrence of an intention-action gap; Sheeran & Webb, 2016) will need to go beyond the examination of individual differences in procrastination tendencies. Accounting for individual differences in students’ procrastination behavior that can be attributed to trait-based determinants, the primary purpose of the present dissertation was to determine intra-individual mechanisms that affect the actual occurrence of procrastination behavior in real-life academic situations. To capture momentary changes (i.e., within-person changes) in motivational and volitional determinants that precede the occurrence of procrastination behavior, an event-based experience sampling approach was developed and implemented in a total of three studies. Study 1 (Chapter 2) set out to examine whether the occurrence of behavioral delays (the occurrence of an intention-action gap) would be predicted by withinperson changes in students’ cognitive-affective appraisals of tasks that arise between successive stages of goal-directed action. For one week, N = 75 students used an electronic diary (e-diary) to indicate their intentions to work on academic tasks (582 tasks planned) and their task-related appraisals (expectation to realize their intention, task value, and task aversiveness, and the effort required) each evening. For each intended task, a second assessment requested the next day determined whether students’ task-related appraisals changed, and whether they realized their intention on time or delayed working on the task (21.2% delays based on 501 completed task-specific measurements). Stepwise two-level logistic regression analyses revealed that lower expectations of success (i.e., ratings falling below an individual’s average) predicted an increased probability for task-specific delays. The risk that a task was delayed increased significantly when within-person changes in students’ appraisals indicated a devaluation (i.e., decreases in task-value, and increases in taskaversiveness). Students’ general procrastination tendencies that have been assessed at baseline have not significantly contributed to explain their individual delay behavior. To more accurately determine whether the occurrence of a behavioral delay should to be interpreted as procrastination behavior, a new 5-item short scale (the ecological Momentary Assessment of Procrastination Scale, e-MAPS) was developed and tested for its psychometric properties in Study 2 (Chapter 3). The applicability of the e-MAPS was tested in an experience sampling study with N = 80 students who were instructed to schedule at least two tasks they intended to work on for each of 17 days. At the time they intended to realize their intentions (2651 tasks planned), students were asked whether they worked on their task, or delayed working contrary to their original intention. If they had delayed working on their task (231 delays reported by 65 participants), participants were asked to complete the e-MAPS. An exploratory factor analysis revealed that the e-MAPS items covered two latent components, supporting the preconception that both situational and cognitive-affective determinants were relevant to classify a delay as procrastination behavior (25.5% of the delays classified as procrastination). A confirmatory factor analysis indicated that individual differences in delay patterns were assessed reliably. Associations between individuals’ aggregate frequencies of procrastination behavior captured by the e-MAPS, and their procrastination tendencies captured at baseline using two established self-report scales, support the convergent validity of the new scale. Study 3 (Chapter 4) extended the findings presented in Study 1 using the eMAPS to examine the influence that students’ perceptions of task-related ambiguity (i.e., uncertainty about actions or means required to successfully accomplish a task) had on the occurrence of procrastination behavior in studying for an exam. Questionnaires assessing students’ (N = 88) procrastination tendency and conscientiousness at baseline were combined with an adaptive experience sampling approach to assess students’ task-related perceptions of ambiguity and their situation-specific procrastination behavior during exam preparation six times a day for seven days (3581 measurements completed). Results revealed that 30% of 2286 intended study sessions were procrastinated. Study sessions were significantly more likely to be procrastinated when the momentary task-related ambiguity perception exceeded an individual’s average ambiguity perception (i.e., averaged across all intended study sessions). Students with pronounced procrastination tendencies were more likely, while more conscientious students were less likely to procrastinate study sessions. However, students’ conscientiousness explained virtually no variance in their procrastination behavior that was not explained by their general procrastination tendency. There was no indication for individual differences in the effect of ambiguity perceptions on the risk for procrastinating study sessions that could have been explained by students’ general procrastination tendency or conscientiousness. Two main conclusions can be drawn from the studies presented: First, it seems pertinent to consider trait-based determinants and more task- or contextspecific fluctuations in students’ self-regulatory capacities as complementary in their influence on the occurrence of procrastination behavior. Second, our findings highlight the ongoing imperative to examine procrastination behavior not only in terms of a general trait-based behavioral tendency, but also as a behavior that unfolds over time. Moreover, the latter requires to account for the fact that not every delay of an intended action should be considered an instance of procrastination. The use of trait- and state-based measurement approaches represents a major strength of the studies included in this dissertation. The implementation of an innovative experience sampling approach provided insights into the temporal instability of students’ intentions to initiate taskrelated actions, thus extending the available knowledge about intra-individual mechanisms that contribute to the occurrence of procrastination behavior. Further implications for research and practice will be discussed (Chapter 5)

The Welfare Economics of Default Options in 401(k) Plans

Default contribution rates for 401(k) pension plans powerfully influence workers’ choices. Potential causes include opt-out costs, procrastination, inattention, and psychological anchoring. We examine the welfare implications of defaults under each theory using the framework for behavioral welfare economics developed by Bernheim and Rangel (2009). We show how the optimal default, the magnitude of the welfare effects, and the degree of normative ambiguity depend on the behavioral model, the scope of the choice domain deemed welfare-relevant, the use of penalties for passive choice, and other 401(k) plan features. In some settings, non-participation emerges as the optimal default, contrary to common wisdom.

Worry, procrastination, and perfectionism: Differentiating amount of worry, pathological worry, anxiety, and depression

This study investigates features that differentiate worry from somatic anxiety and depression. Theoretical models of the worry process suggest that worry is closely related to procrastination. In addition, research on worry and elevated evidence requirements proposes a relationship between worry and perfectionism. Perfectionism, however, is multidimensional in nature. Moreover, previous research has linked procrastination and perfectionism mainly to anxiety and depression. Therefore, the relationship among worry, procrastination, and dimensions of perfectionism was investigated irt a sample of 180 students, controlling for anxiety and depression. Results show that worry had substantial correlations with procrastination and perfectionism, particularly with perfectionist concern over mistakes and doubts. Moreover, worry was related to parental criticism and expectations, but unrelated to excessively high personal standards. instead high-worriers reported to lower standards under stress. Partial correlations indicated that these correlations were specific for amount of worry, thus differentiating amount of worry, pathological worry, anxiety, and depression

Regulation for Conservatives: Behavioral Economics and the Case for "Asymmetric Paternalism"

Regulation by the state can take a variety of forms. Some regulations are aimed entirely at redistribution, such as when we tax the rich and give to the poor. Other regulations seek to counteract externalities by restricting behavior in a way that imposes harm on an individual basis but yields net societal benefits. A good example is taxation to fund public goods such as roads. In such situations, an individual would be better off if she alone were exempt from the tax; she benefits when everyone (including herself) must pay the tax

Classical Logical versus Quantum Conceptual Thought: Examples in Economics, Decision theory and Concept Theory

Inspired by a quantum mechanical formalism to model concepts and their disjunctions and conjunctions, we put forward in this paper a specific hypothesis. Namely that within human thought two superposed layers can be distinguished: (i) a layer given form by an underlying classical deterministic process, incorporating essentially logical thought and its indeterministic version modeled by classical probability theory; (ii) a layer given form under influence of the totality of the surrounding conceptual landscape, where the different concepts figure as individual entities rather than (logical) combinations of others, with measurable quantities such as 'typicality', 'membership', 'representativeness', 'similarity', 'applicability', 'preference' or 'utility' carrying the influences. We call the process in this second layer 'quantum conceptual thought', which is indeterministic in essence, and contains holistic aspects, but is equally well, although very differently, organized than logical thought. A substantial part of the 'quantum conceptual thought process' can be modeled by quantum mechanical probabilistic and mathematical structures. We consider examples of three specific domains of research where the effects of the presence of quantum conceptual thought and its deviations from classical logical thought have been noticed and studied, i.e. economics, decision theory, and concept theories and which provide experimental evidence for our hypothesis.Comment: 14 page

Now or Never: Environmental Protection under Hyperbolic Discounting

In this paper, we extend the well known result that hyperbolically discounting agents tend to postpone costs into the future. In a simple model we show that, without commitment to the ex ante optimal plan, no investment in environmental protection is undertaken over the whole time horizon, no matter whether the decision makers are naive or sophisticated, although investment seems optimal in the long run from every generations point of view. This result questions the application of hyperbolic discounting in cost-benefit analysis and gives rise to concern, as it is consistent with unsatisfactory policy performance in solving long-term environmental problems.environmental policy, environmental protection, hyperbolic discounting, intertemporal decision theory, procrastination, time-(in)consistency

Experimental Methods and the Welfare Evaluation of Policy Lotteries

Policies impose lotteries of outcomes on individuals, since we never know exactly what the effects of the policy will be. In order to evaluate alternative policies, we therefore need to make some assumptions about individual preferences, even before social welfare functions are applied. Instead of making a priori assumptions about those preferences that are likely to be wrong, there are two broad ways in which experimental methods are used to evaluate policy. One is to use experiments to estimate individual preferences, valuations and beliefs, and use those estimates as priors in the evaluation of policy. The other approach is to undertake deliberate randomization, or exploit accidental or natural randomization, to infer the effects of policy. The strengths and weaknesses of these approaches are reviewed, and their complementarities identified.

Behavioral Economics: Past, Present, Future

Behavioral economics increases the explanatory power of economics by providing it with more realistic psychological foundations. This book consists of representative recent articles in behavioral economics. This chapter is intended to provide an introduction to the approach and methods of behavioral economics, and to some of its major findings, applications, and promising new directions. It also seeks to fill some unavoidable gaps in the chapters’ coverage of topics