Procrastination and Self-Esteem Literature Review Chapter

Self-Esteem and Procrastination

Self-esteem is a primary component of each person's life experiences on a daily basis. Self-esteem may be defined as a person's evaluation of themselves, for example "I am not satisfied with myself as a person" or "I like the way I am." Sometime unconsciously, we evaluate ourselves day after day; this is a not a conscious procedure because only the individual realizes the end result. When an individual experiences an emotional "gut feeling," the individual feels either good or bad about themselves. As human beings, we have a fundamental need for motives of self inclusion (Franzoi 59).

Self-esteem operates as a mechanism to aid individuals to ensure that they are carrying themselves properly in a particular situation. Self-esteem runs the gamut from inclusion and exclusion. Human beings are most susceptible to exclusion, as we tend to measure ourselves on a scale from low to high self-esteem. Those with high self-esteem are viewed from others as confident and successful, but those with low self-esteem are viewed as insecure and have a tendency to give up easily on their goals because of a feeling of inadequacy.

Those who have low self-esteem, tend to self-handicap with their goal in order to minimize the severity of failure. This is a vicious cycle because it continues to maintain a feeling of low-self-esteem.

A study performed by Dianne Tice and Joseph Ferarri's, used an IQ test to gauge each participant's self-esteem level and the likelihood of a self-handicap mentality (76-81). Study participants had the option to choose the tapes they wanted to listen to, then take a test. The study individuals labeled the tapes anywhere from "highly detracting" music to "highly enhancing." The hypothesis of the individuals who chose "detracting" is was a theory of unstable and external attribution for both success or failure.Rosenberg declared that those with high self-esteem, express feelings that he/she is "good enough," the individual simply feels that he is a person of worth, he respects himself for what he is."

While on the other hand low self-esteem "implies self-rejection, self-dissatisfaction, and self-contempt"(Rosenberg, 1965). He believed that people with low self-esteem, tend to express more difficulty and hesitation in social situations. They also set their goals and aspirations lower because of an inherent feeling they are not worthy. On the flip side, people with high self-esteem are more likely to aspire to extremely significant goals and feel they are capable of reaching them.

Procrastination is interpreted by most as delaying an action until the last minute. In the psychology field, it is viewed as placing greater priority on tasks that are not as crucial, while putting off the higher priority tasks. According to Shraw, Wadkins, and Olafsonin "Doing the things we do: A

grounded theory of academic procrastination" (Journal of Educational Psychology). Their basic concept of procrastination is that of being counterproductive, somewhat useless and delaying some high priority task until the last minute. Evans (2007) states that the prefrontal cortex area of the brain is instrumental in the physiological aspect of procrastination. This area is responsible for everyday human functions like organization, planning, and impulse control.

Amost three decades ago, a review of procrastination revealed that low self-esteem is a characteristic of procrastinators (Burka and Yeun,1983). It is seen as a way to protect those with low self-esteem. "Putting things off acts as a buffer for their shaky sense of self-worth" (Burka and Yeun,

1982, p. 32). These two psychologist believe other reasons for procrastination include; disorganization, poor time management skills, difficulty making firm decisions, a fear of success….....