Student Name: Matthew D.

George

Due Date: 11/5/2021

Article Assignment: 11

Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal Study of Procrastination, Performance,

Stress, and Health: The Costs and Benefits of Dawdling. Psychological Science, 8(6), 454–458.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40063233

Stress and illness are commonly attributed to those who procrastinate and are overwhelmed

when the due date arrives. Is this a true assumption though? The article I chose to look at for this

week tries to explain why that may or may not be true. The article opens up giving a brief

overview of procrastination and how it is viewed in society. It mentions the iconic phrase “I

work better under pressure.” Or the fact that most people who criticize procrastination are the

ones who think they are blameless of the deed. It also mentions how a lot of studies do not look

at the long-term effects of procrastination which can lead to muddied data. This is because if a

procrastinator is interviewed nowhere near the deadline, they will be entirely stress free while the

student is who always working will not be. A long-term study will show the balance between the

two throughout an entire semester and will hopefully be able to answer the questions raised. The

article supports the theory that procrastination could potentially be linked to health issues

through a serries of unpublished studies data and published studies data. Some of these studies

show that there is a consistent feeling of dejection throughout most procrastinators that creeps

into their life outside of school. This mixed with various other factors leads some to believe that

it can cause issues physically. The article looks into the possibility that procrastinators and

nonprocrastinators suffer equally. The difference may simply be that procrastinators suffer later

in the year than their counterparts. The article even ventures out to say that they could potentially

suffer less than that of their counterparts because they only worry at the last minute. The article
looks on the quality of work side of the argument as well. The article suggests that regardless of

when the work gets done the work is done. However, there are some that believe that if a person

underestimates how long a task will take they could be caught unawares and not have time to do

a good job. Or even if they predicted properly that things may prevent them from being on time

or having a good project due to factors out of their control. However, these experiences are not

universal, and some individuals may strive under some circumstances. This makes it hard to

decern or read how procrastinators truly fair against their counterparts. The article describes two

studies that they conducted and the results that came from them. The article said that the two

studies showed compelling arguments for both sides of the debate and that a compromise may

have to be found between the critics and the optimists. The article goes on to say that early health

for procrastinators is greater than non-procrastinators. Later however, the role is swapped and the

procrastinators take a plummet dive in mental health and stress. The overall stress ends up

outweighing the early carefree feelings. They also felt more stressed throughout the semester

than the non-procrastinators. The studies also showed that procrastinators produced inferior work

and got lesser grades than their peers. There were many other side effects that could be read into

and explored through other studies and I feel as if they should be. This study says itself that it did

not find enough evidence to support either side fully, however, I think that with a little more data

it could show the true downside to procrastination.

Agree/Disagree

I agree with this article, as there is not much to disagree with. The majority of the article is more

empirical facts and data more so than opinions and subjectivity. I do think that they provided substantial

evidence against procrastination though. So that is one thing I may disagree on is that they felt as if their

findings were even sided, they were not in my opinion. I personally agree with the stance that
procrastination is detrimental to an individuals mental and physical state throughout the semester or

year even.

Article Usefulness

This article is useful, as it can give you a slight insight into your students minds and why some may be

underperforming. If some students are known to be getting lower grades and are showing signs of high

anxiety close to the due dates, it may be due to the fact that they are procrastinating. You can try to

address the issue and have them work on things earlier. However, at the end of the day it is ultimately

their decision whether they are going to listen or not. I think that this article can provide useful insight

into students thought processes to an extent, however I do not think it can answer all questions when it

comes to procrastination.

Workes Cited

Tice, D. M., & Baumeister, R. F. (1997). Longitudinal Study of Procrastination, Performance,

Stress, and Health: The Costs and Benefits of Dawdling. Psychological Science, 8(6), 454–458.
http://www.jstor.org/stable/40063233