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)

Kurzmanual für einen Workshop zur Förderung günstiger Bedingungen für die Selbstregulation im Rahmen universitärer Lehrveranstaltungen : Zur Förderung der Emotionsregulation bei Studierenden

Der Workshop zur Förderung der Emotionsregulation bei Studierenden baut auf aktuellen Forschungsbefunden auf und bezieht insbesondere Erkenntnisse zur situationsspezifischen Wirksamkeit bestimmter Emotionsregulationsstrategien im Lern-/Leistungskontext mit ein, die aus einem vierjährigen Forschungsprojekt zur Selbstregulation im Alltag von Studierenden (SriAS, gefördert vom BMBF 2014-2018) hervorgegangen sind. Die Vermittlung des Wissens über die Entstehung und die Auswirkungen von Lern-/Leistungsemotionen ist zentrales Element des Workshops und schafft die Basis zur Vermittlung von Maßnahmen, die darauf abzielen, das Erleben förderlicher Leistungsemotionen im Rahmen der Lehre zu erhalten bzw. zu stärken und die Entstehung hinderlicher Leistungsemotionen zu vermeiden. Das Manual zu diesem Workshop enthält Hinweise zu den Zielen, Inhalten und dem Ablauf des entwickelten modularen Online-Workshops. Präsentiert wird ein halbtägiges Qualifizierungsangebot für Personen, die in der Lehre und Beratung von Studierenden tätig sind sowie ein Kurzformat zur Schulung studentischer Mentor*innen und Tutor*innen. Die modulare Struktur ermöglicht Erweiterungen und Anpassungen des Angebots (exemplarisch dargestellt wird ein erweitertes Ganztagesformat)

Predicting Delay in Goal-Directed Action: An Experience Sampling Approach Uncovering Within-Person Determinants Involved in the Onset of Academic Procrastination Behavior

Academic procrastination involves the delayed implementation of actions required to fulfill study-related tasks. These behavioral delays are thought to result from momentary failures in self-regulation (i.e., within-person processes). Most previous studies focused on the role of trait-based individual differences in students’ procrastination tendencies. Little is known about the within-person processes involved in the occurrence of procrastination behavior in real-life academic situations. The present study applied an event-based experience sampling approach to investigate whether the onset of task-specific delay behavior can be attributed to unfavorable changes in students’ momentary appraisals of tasks (value, aversiveness, effort, expectations of success), which may indicate failures in self-regulation arise between critical phases of goal-directed action. University students (N = 75) used an electronic diary over eight days to indicate their next days’ intentions to work on academic tasks and their task-specific appraisals (n = 582 academic tasks planned). For each task, a second query requested the next day determined whether students’ task-related appraisals changed and whether they implemented their intention on time or delayed working on the respective task (n = 501 completed task-specific measurements). Students’ general procrastination tendency was assessed at baseline using two established self-report questionnaires. Stepwise two-level logistic regression analyses revealed that within-person changes in task-related appraisals that reflected a devaluation of the study-related tasks increased the risk for an actual delay. The risk to delay decreased when students maintained a positive attitude toward the task. Students’ general procrastination tendency did not predict individual differences in their task-specific delay behavior. We discuss these findings in light of the growing effort to understand the within-person processes that contribute to induce procrastination behavior under real-life academic conditions and illustrate how this knowledge can benefit the design of tasks and instructions that support students’ self-regulation to their best

Assessing affect in adolescents with e-diaries: multilevel confirmatory factor analyses of different factor models

In the last two decades, e-diary studies have gained increasing interest, with a dominant focus on mood and affect. Although requested in current guidelines, psychometric properties are rarely reported, and methodological investigations of factor structure, model fit, and the reliability of mood and affect assessment are limited. We used a seven-day e-diary dataset of 189 adolescent participants (12–17  years). The e-diary affect assessments revealed a considerable portion of within-person variance. The six-factor model showed the best model fit compared to the less complex models. Factor loadings also improved with the complexity of the models. Accordingly, we recommend that future e-diary studies of adolescents use the six-factor model of affect as well as reporting psychometric properties and model fit. For future e-diary scale development, we recommend using a minimum of three items per scale to enable the use of confirmatory multilevel factor analyses

Impairment of Bone Health in Pediatric Patients with Hemolytic Anemia

Introduction Sickle cell anemia and thalassemia result in impaired bone health in both adults and youths. Children with other types of chronic hemolytic anemia may also display impaired bone health. Study Design To assess bone health in pediatric patients with chronic hemolytic anemia, a cross-sectional study was conducted involving 45 patients with different forms of hemolytic anemia (i.e., 17 homozygous sickle cell disease and 14 hereditary spherocytosis patients). Biochemical, radiographic and anamnestic parameters of bone health were assessed. Results Vitamin D deficiency with 25 OH-vitamin D serum levels below 20 ng/ml was a common finding (80.5%) in this cohort. Bone pain was present in 31% of patients. Analysis of RANKL, osteoprotegerin (OPG) and osteocalcin levels indicated an alteration in bone modeling with significantly elevated RANKL/OPG ratios (control: 0.08+0.07; patients: 0.26+0.2, P = 0.0007). Osteocalcin levels were found to be lower in patients compared with healthy controls (68.5+39.0 ng/ml vs. 118.0+36.6 ng/ml, P = 0.0001). Multiple stepwise regression analysis revealed a significant (P<0.025) influence of LDH (partial r2 = 0.29), diagnosis of hemolytic anemia (partial r2 = 0.05) and age (partial r2 = 0.03) on osteocalcin levels. Patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia were more frequently and more severely affected by impaired bone health than patients with hereditary spherocytosis. Conclusion Bone health is impaired in pediatric patients with hemolytic anemia. In addition to endocrine alterations, an imbalance in the RANKL/OPG system and low levels of osteocalcin may contribute to this impairment

Ambulatory assessment for physical activity research. State of the science, best practices and future directions

Technological and digital progress benefits physical activity (PA) research. Here we compiled expert knowledge on how Ambulatory Assessment (AA) is utilized to advance PA research, i.e., we present results of the 2nd International CAPA Workshop 2019 "Physical Activity Assessment - State of the Science, Best Practices, Future Directions" where invited researchers with experience in PA assessment, evaluation, technology and application participated. First, we provide readers with the state of the AA science, then we give best practice recommendations on how to measure PA via AA and shed light on methodological frontiers, and we furthermore discuss future directions. AA encompasses a class of methods that allows the study of PA and its behavioral, biological and physiological correlates as they unfold in everyday life. AA includes monitoring of movement (e.g., via accelerometry), physiological function (e.g., via mobile electrocardiogram), contextual information (e.g., via geolocation-tracking), and ecological momentary assessment (EMA; e.g., electronic diaries) to capture self-reported information. The strengths of AA are data assessment that near real-time, which minimizes retrospective biases in real-world settings, consequentially enabling ecological valid findings. Importantly, AA enables multiple assessments across time within subjects resulting in intensive longitudinal data (ILD), which allows unraveling within-person determinants of PA in everyday life. In this paper, we show how AA methods such as triggered e-diaries and geolocation-tracking can be used to measure PA and its correlates, and furthermore how these findings may translate into real-life interventions. In sum, AA provides numerous possibilities for PA research, especially the opportunity to tackle within-subject antecedents, concomitants, and consequences of PA as they unfold in everyday life. In-depth insights on determinants of PA could help us design and deliver impactful interventions in real-world contexts, thus enabling us to solve critical health issues in the 21st century such as insufficient PA and high levels of sedentary behavior. (DIPF/Orig.

New genetic loci link adipose and insulin biology to body fat distribution.

Body fat distribution is a heritable trait and a well-established predictor of adverse metabolic outcomes, independent of overall adiposity. To increase our understanding of the genetic basis of body fat distribution and its molecular links to cardiometabolic traits, here we conduct genome-wide association meta-analyses of traits related to waist and hip circumferences in up to 224,459 individuals. We identify 49 loci (33 new) associated with waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for body mass index (BMI), and an additional 19 loci newly associated with related waist and hip circumference measures (P < 5 × 10(-8)). In total, 20 of the 49 waist-to-hip ratio adjusted for BMI loci show significant sexual dimorphism, 19 of which display a stronger effect in women. The identified loci were enriched for genes expressed in adipose tissue and for putative regulatory elements in adipocytes. Pathway analyses implicated adipogenesis, angiogenesis, transcriptional regulation and insulin resistance as processes affecting fat distribution, providing insight into potential pathophysiological mechanisms

Predicting delay in goal-directed action: an experience sampling approach uncovering within-person determinants involved in the onset of academic procrastination behavior

Academic procrastination involves the delayed implementation of actions required to fulfill study-related tasks. These behavioral delays are thought to result from momentary failures in self-regulation (i.e., within-person processes). Most previous studies focused on the role of trait-based individual differences in students’ procrastination tendencies. Little is known about the within-person processes involved in the occurrence of procrastination behavior in real-life academic situations. The present study applied an event-based experience sampling approach to investigate whether the onset of task-specific delay behavior can be attributed to unfavorable changes in students’ momentary appraisals of tasks (value, aversiveness, effort, expectations of success), which may indicate failures in self-regulation arise between critical phases of goal-directed action. University students (N = 75) used an electronic diary over eight days to indicate their next days’ intentions to work on academic tasks and their task-specific appraisals (n = 582 academic tasks planned). For each task, a second query requested the next day determined whether students’ task-related appraisals changed and whether they implemented their intention on time or delayed working on the respective task (n = 501 completed task-specific measurements). Students’ general procrastination tendency was assessed at baseline using two established self-report questionnaires. Stepwise two-level logistic regression analyses revealed that within-person changes in task-related appraisals that reflected a devaluation of the study-related tasks increased the risk for an actual delay. The risk to delay decreased when students maintained a positive attitude toward the task. Students’ general procrastination tendency did not predict individual differences in their task-specific delay behavior. We discuss these findings in light of the growing effort to understand the within-person processes that contribute to induce procrastination behavior under real-life academic conditions and illustrate how this knowledge can benefit the design of tasks and instructions that support students’ self-regulation to their best