title: Use of an explicit rule decreases procrastination in university students.
abstract: The procrastination behavior of students from a small rural university was decreased by presenting them with a rule indicating that a sooner final due date for a writing assignment would be contingent on procrastination during earlier phases of the paper. A counterbalanced AB BA design was used to measure the effects of the rule-based treatment across 2 introductory psychology classes (N = 33). Overall, participants engaged in less procrastination, missed fewer deadlines, and produced higher quality writing in the treatment condition.
authors.affiliation: University of Maine Presque Isle.
authors.forename: Paul E
authors.initials: PE
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.affiliation: Georgian Court University.
authors.forename: Christopher J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Perrin
authors.affiliation: University of Maine Presque Isle.
authors.forename: Allen
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Salo
authors.affiliation: University of Maine Presque Isle.
authors.forename: Elyssa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Deschaine
authors.affiliation: University of Maine Presque Isle.
authors.forename: Beth
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Johnson
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D019540:Area Under Curve; D001290:Attitude; D001348:Aversive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D001362:Avoidance Learning; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009042:Motivation; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D017748:Time Management; D014495:Universities; D014956:Writing; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: procrastination; rule; self-control; university instruction; writing