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Chronic procrastinators may have a fear of how others may judge them, also called evaluation apprehension. Worried about how others perceive them, chronic procrastinators may be motivated to change their behavior in an effort to be viewed in a positive light. In contrast, the same people would not perform as well if they were not required to be evaluated. Self-handicapping procrastination is where a person makes excuses, such as being too weak or distracted, to allow them to avoid an unpleasant task.
In a study where participants were told that poor performance on a task would indicate low intellectual ability, high self-handicappers claimed a lot more handicaps, even before the participants were given the task or received any feedback. By claiming more handicaps the high self-handicappers can blame any negative feedback on other reasons besides low intellect. Self- handicapping behaviors may help people to buffer failure. Active procrastinators use time pressure to their advantage. They cope with he stress of approaching deadlines by focusing on the task at hand.
On the other hand, passive procrastinators focus on their emotions during stressful times. There is indication that active procrastination can actually be helpful for some people. Personally, this is the form of procrastination that I seem to practice the most. For example, with this assignment I woke up at 2:00 am Thursday morning knowing that I needed to have this assignment turned in that evening. I researched and found the article on which I would base my essay the day fore, so I was ready to write.
Waking up in the middle of the night was completely focused and able to complete my rough draft within a couple of hours. After reviewing the three different types of procrastination, Chronic Procrastination, Self-handicapping Procrastination, and Active Procrastination, I can think of times that I have used each in my own life. Realizing in which situations I procrastinate, and consciously admitting to myself the reasons why I am procrastinating, will allow me to discover specific lotions to overcome these challenges.