Perceived Task Difficulty and Procrastination in College Students

The present study examined the potential effects of task difficulty on the level of procrastination in college students. I hypothesized that an increase in the perceived difficulty of a task would increase procrastination. Participants were randomly separated into two groups. While both groups took the same “test”, each group received a different description of the test prior to being sent the link through e-mail. One group received a description of an easy task, while the other group received a description of a difficult task. Procrastination was measured as time taken to initiate the test (Time A), time taken to complete the test (Time B), and Total Time. Time A was significantly longer for participants in the “difficult” group, t(41)=-2.286, p=.027, r^2=.1182. Total Time was also significantly higher for this group, t(41)=-3.028, p=.039, r^2=.1903