Relations of Academic Procrastination, Rationalizations, and Performance in a Web Course with Deadlines
Abstract
This study compared students' academic procrastination tendency with the (1) frequency and nature of rationalizations used to justify procrastination, (2) self-regulation, and (3) performance in a web-based study strategies course with frequent performance deadlines. 106 college students completed the 16-item Tuckman Procrastination Scale, a measure of tendency to procrastinate, the Frequency of Use Self-survey of Rationalizations for Procrastination, and a 9-item self-regulation scale. Students' subsequent course performance was measured by total points earned. A linear regression with Academic Procrastination as the criterion variable and Rationalization score and Course Points as the predictor variables suggested academic procrastinators support procrastinating by rationalizing, not self-regulating, and thus put themselves at a disadvantage, with respect to evaluation in highly structured courses with frequent enforced deadlines.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
Academic procrastination is particularly associated with a lack of self-regulation skills.
“This behavior is particularly associated with a lack of self-regulation skills and makes it difficult for students to manage their individual learning processes (Tuckman, 2005;Yamada et al., 2016).”
From You have a notification: the role of push notifications in shaping students’ engagement, self-regulation and academic procrastination (2025) · cites this paper as Tuckman, 2005
Cites
Cohen, J. (1992) · Psychological Bulletin · doi:10.1037//0033-2909.112.1.155 · Cited by 8,771 · see citing works
Journal of social behavior and personality
(1986) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/0191-8869(86)90025-5 · Cited by 6,751 · see citing works
Zimmerman, B. J. (2000) · Handbook of Self-Regulation · doi:10.1016/b978-012109890-2/50031-7 · Cited by 6,069 · see citing works
Self-regulation of learning and performance: Issues and educational applications.
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (1994) · Cited by 1,492 · see citing works
Classroom Applications of Research on Self-Regulated Learning
Paris, S. G., & Paris, A. H. (2001) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1207/s15326985ep3602_4 · Cited by 1,343 · see citing works
Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997) · Psychological Science · doi:10.1111/j.1467-9280.1997.tb00460.x · Cited by 888 · see citing works
The Development and Concurrent Validity of the Procrastination Scale
Tuckman, B. W. (1991) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/0013164491512022 · Cited by 718 · see citing works
Self-citationFerrari, J. R. (2001) · European Journal of Personality · doi:10.1002/per.413 · Cited by 374 · see citing works
Procrastination and personality, performance, and mood
Steel, P., Brothen, T., & Wambach, C. (2001) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(00)00013-1 · Cited by 331 · see citing works
(1993) · University of Groningen research database (University of Groningen / Centre for Information Technology) · Cited by 234 · see citing works
Neenan, M., & Dryden, W. (2010) · Taylor & Francis eBooks · doi:10.4324/9780203362853_chapter_3 · Cited by 227 · see citing works
Beck, B. L., Koons, S. R., & Milgrim, D. L. (2000) · Journal of social behavior and personality · Cited by 185 · see citing works
Effects of Ability, High School Achievement, and Procrastinatory Behavior on College Performance
Wesley, J. C. (1994) · Educational and Psychological Measurement · doi:10.1177/0013164494054002014 · Cited by 120 · see citing works
Using Tests as an Incentive to Motivate Procrastinators to Study
Tuckman, B. W. (1998) · The Journal of Experimental Education · doi:10.1080/00220979809601400 · Cited by 106 · see citing works
Self-citation(1992) · Journal of social behavior and personality · Cited by 80 · see citing works
Ferrari, J. R., Keane, S. M., Wolfe, R. N., & Beck, B. L. (1998) · Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1023/a:1018768715586 · Cited by 69 · see citing works
Wishful thinking and procrastination.
Sigall, H., Kruglanski, A. W., & Fyock, J. (2000) · Journal of social behavior and personality · Cited by 56 · see citing works
Learning and Motivation Strategies: Your Guide to Success
Tuckman, B. W., Abry, D., & Smith, D. R. (2001) · Cited by 31 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
1 of the 19 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Procrastination, participation, and performance in online learning environments
Michinov, N., Brunot, S., Bohec, O. L., Juhel, J., & Delaval, M. (2010) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.07.025 · Cited by 394 · see citing works
Identifying significant indicators using LMS data to predict course achievement in online learning
You, J. W. (2016) · The Internet and Higher Education · doi:10.1016/j.iheduc.2015.11.003 · Cited by 388 · see citing works
Cerezo, R., Sánchez‐Santillán, M., Ruiz, M. P. P., & Núñez, J. C. (2016) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2016.02.006 · Cited by 334 · see citing works
Massive LMS log data analysis for the early prediction of course-agnostic student performance
Riestra-González, M., Ruiz, M. P. P., & Ortín, F. (2020) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2020.104108 · Cited by 178 · see citing works
The effect of motivational scaffolding on procrastinators’ distance learning outcomes
Tuckman, B. W. (2005) · Computers & Education · doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2005.10.002 · Cited by 147 · see citing works
Self-citationValidation of the Short Form of the Academic Procrastination Scale
Yockey, R. D. (2016) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/0033294115626825 · Cited by 160 · see citing works
Mining Educational Data to Predict Students’ Performance through Procrastination Behavior
Hooshyar, D., Pedaste, M., & Yang, Y. (2019) · Entropy · doi:10.3390/e22010012 · Cited by 134 · see citing works
Examining the Effect of Academic Procrastination on Achievement Using LMS Data in E-Learning.
You, J. W. (2015) · Educational Technology & Society · Cited by 133 · see citing works
Ziegler, N., & Opdenakker, M.-C. (2018) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2018.04.009 · Cited by 126 · see citing works
Goda, Y., Yamada, M., Kato, H., Matsuda, T., Saito, Y., & Miyagawa, H. (2014) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2014.11.001 · Cited by 123 · see citing works
Cerezo, R., Esteban, M., Sánchez‐Santillán, M., & Núñez, J. C. (2017) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01403 · Cited by 115 · see citing works
Davis, H. A., DiStefano, C., & Schutz, P. A. (2008) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0013096 · Cited by 98 · see citing works
Akram, A., Fu, C., Li, Y., Javed, M. Y., Lin, R., Jiang, Y., & Tang, Y. Z. (2019) · IEEE Access · doi:10.1109/access.2019.2930867 · Cited by 92 · see citing works
Investigating temporal access in a flipped classroom: procrastination persists
AlJarrah, A., Thomas, M. K., & Shehab, M. (2018) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-017-0083-9 · Cited by 86 · see citing works
Psychometric Properties of the Tuckman Procrastination Scale in a Turkish Sample
Özer, B. U., Saçkes, M., & Tuckman, B. W. (2013) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.2466/03.20.pr0.113x28z7 · Cited by 77 · see citing works
Self-citationBaker, R. B., Evans, B., Li, Q., & Cung, B. (2018) · Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s11162-018-9521-3 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Afzal, S., & Jami, H. (2018) · Journal of behavioural sciences · Cited by 62 · see citing works
Reconsidering active procrastination: Relations to motivation and achievement in college anatomy
Hensley, L. C. (2014) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2014.10.012 · Cited by 57 · see citing works
Yang, Y., Hooshyar, D., Pedaste, M., Wang, M., Huang, Y., & Lim, H. (2020) · Soft Computing · doi:10.1007/s00500-020-05110-4 · Cited by 53 · see citing works
The Effects of Procrastination Interventions on Programming Project Success
Martin, J., Edwards, S. H., & Shaffer, C. A. (2015) · ACM Conference on International Computing Education Research (ICER) · doi:10.1145/2787622.2787730 · Cited by 47 · see citing works
Examining Classroom Interventions to Reduce Procrastination
Edwards, S. H., Martin, J., & Shaffer, C. A. (2015) · ACM Conference on Innovation and Technology in Computer Science Education (ITiCSE) · doi:10.1145/2729094.2742632 · Cited by 33 · see citing works
Self-Directed Learning Online: An Opportunity to Binge
LaTour, K. A., & Noel, H. (2021) · Journal of Marketing Education · doi:10.1177/0273475320987295 · Cited by 27 · see citing works
Harmful Study Habits in Online Learning Environments with Automatic Assessment
Auvinen, T. (2015) · International Conference on Learning and Teaching in Computing and Engineering (LaTICE) · doi:10.1109/latice.2015.31 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Klein, E. M., Beutel, M. E., Müller, K. W., Wölfling, K., Brähler, E., & Zenger, M. (2017) · European Journal of Psychological Assessment · doi:10.1027/1015-5759/a000441 · Cited by 28 · see citing works
Prediction of dilatory behaviour in online assignments
Imhof, C., Bergamin, P. B., & McGarrity, S. (2021) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2021.102014 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Prokrastinasi Akademik Mahasiswa Tingkat Akhir pada Masa Pandemi COVID-19
Khoirunnisa, R. N., Jannah, M., Dewi, D. K., & Satiningsih, S. (2021) · Jurnal Psikologi Teori dan Terapan · doi:10.26740/jptt.v11n3.p278-292 · Cited by 26 · see citing works
(2013) · Journal of interactive online learning · Cited by 26 · see citing works
Yang, Y., Hooshyar, D., Pedaste, M., Wang, M., Huang, Y., & Lim, H. (2020) · Journal of Ambient Intelligence and Humanized Computing · doi:10.1007/s12652-020-02041-8 · Cited by 25 · see citing works
Semmar, Y. (2006) · Journal of Adult and Continuing Education · doi:10.7227/jace.12.2.9 · Cited by 24 · see citing works
Schodl, M. M., Raz, A., & Kluger, A. N. (2018) · Applied Psychology · doi:10.1111/apps.12147 · Cited by 23 · see citing works
Predictors of course outcomes: early indicators of delay in online classrooms
McElroy, B. W., & Lubich, B. H. (2013) · Distance Education · doi:10.1080/01587919.2013.770433 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Supporting Undergraduate Biology Students’ Academic Success: Comparing Two Workshop Interventions
Hensley, L. C., Kulesza, A. E., Peri, J., Brady, A. C., Wolters, C. A., Sovic, D. M., & Breitenberger, C. A. (2021) · CBE—Life Sciences Education · doi:10.1187/cbe.21-03-0068 · Cited by 21 · see citing works
Zhu, M., Berri, S., Huang, Y., & Masoud, S. (2024) · Computers and Education Open · doi:10.1016/j.caeo.2024.100168 · Cited by 22 · see citing works
Leveraging ChatGPT to Support Self-Regulated Learning in Online Courses
Zhu, M. (2025) · TechTrends · doi:10.1007/s11528-025-01075-z · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Past Negative Consequences of Unnecessary Delay as a Marker of Procrastination
Svartdal, F., & Nemtcan, E. (2022) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.787337 · Cited by 17 · see citing works
Boshoff-Knoetze, A., Duminy, L., & du Toit, Y. (2022) · Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education · doi:10.1108/jarhe-08-2021-0305 · Cited by 20 · see citing works
Wieland, L. M., Ebner‐Priemer, U., Limberger, M. F., & Nett, U. E. (2021) · Frontiers in Psychology · doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2021.695927 · Cited by 14 · see citing works
Delaval, M., Michinov, N., Bohec, O. L., & Hénaff, B. L. (2015) · Interactive Learning Environments · doi:10.1080/10494820.2015.1090456 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
Identifying At-Risk Online Learners by Psychological Variables Using Machine Learning Techniques
Chien, H.-Y., Kwok, O., Yeh, Y., Sweany, N. W., Baek, E., & McIntosh, W. A. (2020) · Online Learning · doi:10.24059/olj.v24i4.2320 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Vera, S. T., & Vargas, O. L. (2025) · Contemporary Educational Technology · doi:10.30935/cedtech/16030 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Analyzing Student Procrastination in MOOCs: A Multivariate Hawkes Approach.
Yao, M., Sahebi, S., & Feyzi-Behnagh, R. (2020) · Educational Data Mining · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Karataş, H., & Bademcioglu, M. (2015) · DergiPark (Istanbul University) · Cited by 9 · see citing works
Mumcu, B. B., & Çebi, A. (2025) · International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education · doi:10.1186/s41239-025-00537-x · Cited by 7 · see citing works
“This behavior is particularly associated with a lack of self-regulation skills and makes it difficult for students to manage their individual learning processes (Tuckman, 2005; Yamada et al., 2016).”
Adaptacion de una escala de procrastinacion academica para adolescentes de educacion secundaria
Trías, D., & Arregui, M. C. (2020) · Avances en Psicología Latinoamericana · doi:10.12804/revistas.urosario.edu.co/apl/a.7906 · Cited by 8 · see citing works
Rovan, D., Petričević, E., & Pavlin-Bernardić, N. (2023) · European Journal of Psychology of Education · doi:10.1007/s10212-023-00733-1 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Üniversite Öğrencilerinin Karma Öğrenme Ortamındaki Akademik Erteleme Davranışları
Bayrak, F. (2018) · Ege Eğitim Dergisi · doi:10.12984/egeefd.370025 · Cited by 6 · see citing works
Torrens, G., Swalwell, J. M. R., Welsh, R., Downs, S. T., Asghar, S., & Wang, Y. (2025) · International Journal of Technology and Design Education · doi:10.1007/s10798-025-10003-4 · Cited by 11 · see citing works
Assessing Bedtime Procrastination in Iran: Psychometric Properties and Predictive Value for Insomnia
Rasouli, A., Seraji, H. T., Soumee, Z. N., Jahanbakhsh, S., Javadi, V., & Saed, O. (2024) · Behavioral Sleep Medicine · doi:10.1080/15402002.2024.2423291 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Investigating behavioral patterns of procrastinators in a Wiki-based activity
Garg, A., & Rajendran, R. (2023) · Education and Information Technologies · doi:10.1007/s10639-023-11893-4 · Cited by 5 · see citing works
Effect of Achievement Goals in Procrastination Tendencies of College Students
MORALES, R. A. (2021) · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Reducing procrastination while improving performance: a wiki-powered experiment with students
Balderas, A., Capiluppi, A., Palomo-duarte, M., Malizia, A., & Dodero, J. (2019) · International Symposium on Open Collaboration · doi:10.1145/3306446.3340813 · Cited by 4 · see citing works
Distance Learning Students’ Perspectives of Academic Procrastination: A Qualitative Investigation
Fang, R., & White, R. M. (2024) · The Journal of Continuing Higher Education · doi:10.1080/07377363.2024.2317614 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Combining data from a LMS and a student register for exploring factors affecting study duration
Aunimo, L., Kauttonen, J., Vahtola, M., & Huttunen, S. (2024) · Journal of Computing in Higher Education · doi:10.1007/s12528-024-09414-4 · Cited by 3 · see citing works
Zhang, X., Yu, J., & Feng, T. (2026) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2026.113684 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Revealing the most and the least successful behaviours using two-phase clustering analysis
Akram, A., Fu, C.-Z., Lin, R., Arooj, A., Yuan, C.-Z., Jiang, Y.-C., & Tang, Y. (2021) · Technology, Pedagogy and Education · doi:10.1080/1475939x.2021.1890199 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Plaza, L., Araujo, L., López-Ostenero, F., & Martínez-Romo, J. (2023) · Applied System Innovation · doi:10.3390/asi6050083 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Kennedy, G. J. (2009) · OhioLink ETD Center (Ohio Library and Information Network) · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Research on Academic Procrastination among OEC Students
Feng, Y., Huang, X., & Liu, S.-Z. (2018) · International Conference on Management, Education, Information and Control (MEICI) · doi:10.2991/meici-18.2018.168 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Assessing heterogeneity in MOOC student performance through composite-based path modelling
Davino, C., Lamberti, G., & Vistocco, D. (2023) · Quality & Quantity · doi:10.1007/s11135-023-01760-2 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Sari, A. A., & Kusumaningrum, F. A. (2022) · Espergesia · doi:10.18050/rev.espergesia.v9i2.2327 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Georgiou, G. (2017) · UNC Charlotte electronic theses and dissertations · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Zhu, Y., Zhuang, C. C., & Liu, K. (2024) · SSRN Electronic Journal · doi:10.2139/ssrn.4847379 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Evaluating Active Interventions to Reduce Student Procrastination
Martin, J. (2015)
徐, 俊. (2022) · Advances in Social Sciences · doi:10.12677/ass.2022.113125
Zhou, C., Qu, J., & Ling, Y. (2022) · Lecture notes on data engineering and communications technologies · doi:10.1007/978-981-16-7527-0_24
The Self-Study of University Students under the COVID-19 Pandemic
Bidyuk, N. M. (2022) · Annales Universitatis Mariae Curie-Skłodowska sectio J – Paedagogia-Psychologia · doi:10.17951/j.2022.35.1.45-58
الإسهام النسبى لعادات العقل والأفکار اللاعقلانیة فى التنبؤ بالتلکؤ الأکادیمى لدى طلاب الجامعة.
(2016) · مجلة الدراسات التربوية والإنسانية · doi:10.21608/jehs.2016.97264
Tạ, N. Á., Tạ, M. H., Nguyễn, T. T. U., Nguyễn, G. T., & Trần, N. D. (2023) · VNU Journal of Foreign Studies · doi:10.63023/2525-2445/jfs.ulis.4895
طاهر, ه. م. ا. (2024) · Tobruk University Journal of Social and Human Sciences · doi:10.64516/2nyhjk14
Calle, J. V. Q., Cosentino, A. C., Quito-Calle, L. E., Abril, L. E. C., & Ramírez, A. (2025) · Psicologia Reflexão e Crítica · doi:10.1186/s41155-025-00365-y
Bebek, A., & Karakaş, H. (2026) · Cumhuriyet International Journal of Education · doi:10.30703/cije.1704156 · Cited by 1 · see citing works
Güven, S., & Eğmir, E. (2026) · Discover Education · doi:10.1007/s44217-026-01555-1 · Cited by 2 · see citing works
Procrastinación y logro de aprendizaje en aprendices con diferente estilo cognitivo
López-Vargas, O., Garavito-Martínez, L., & Vallejo, N. G. V. (2026) · Revista Colombiana de Educación · doi:10.17227/rce.num101-21198
- Authors
- Tuckman, B. W.
- Affiliations
- The Ohio State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Tuckman, Bruce W.
- Venue
- Psychological Reports
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2005-06
- Volume
- 96
- Issue
- 3_suppl
- Pages
- 1015-1021
- ISSN
- 0033-2941 (ISSN-L)
- 1558-691X
- OpenAlex
- W1997857832
- Cited by
- 74
- References
- 19
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 6 · 2023: 5 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 7 · 2020: 6 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 3 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 8 · 2014: 2 · 2013: 3
- FWCI
- 1.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Psychological Reports (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Student Stress and Coping
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Outcomes and Influences
- Keywords
- academic procrastination, rationalization, self-regulation, course performance, online courses, deadlines, university students, Tuckman Procrastination Scale, study habits
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Learning, Male, Surveys and Questionnaires, Time Management, Internet
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review