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The mediating effect of self-compassion
on the relationship between age and
procrastination.
Gergő A. Németh
10776311
Bachelor Thesis
University of Amsterdam
Faculty of Economics and Business
Supervisor: dr. Wendelien van Eerde
June 27, 2017
Statement of Originality
This document is written by Student Gergő A. Németh who declares to take full responsibility for the contents of this document. I declare that the text and the work presented in this document is original and that no sources other than those mentioned in the text and its references have been used in creating it. The Faculty of Economics and Business is responsible solely for the supervision of completion of the work, not for the contents.
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Abstract
Procrastination is a phenomenon that according to estimations chronically affects 75% of college students and 15%-20% of the general population (Steel, 2007). This big discrepancy between the student and the general population is likely caused by their age as a negative correlation between age and procrastination has been shown in the past (Steel, 2007). There is however a lack of literature that explains the reason behind this. The goal of this study is to find a variable that can explains the relationship between age and procrastination. Self-compassion could be this variable as it has not only been shown to reduce procrastination but also to increase with age (Neff & Davidson, 2016). Thus, this study proposes that self-compassion acts as a mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination. This study uses a cross-sectional survey to gather data and put the obtained data into a series of regression analyses. The results were in line with the literature found during the literature review and managed to confirm self-compassion as a partial mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination.
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Table of Content
Introduction ... 4 Theoretical framework ... 4 Procrastination ... 4 Consequences ... 5 Reasons ... 5The role of age ... 5
Self-compassion ... 6
Effects ... 7
Link with procrastination ... 7
The role of age ... 8
Predictions and Hypothesis ... 8
Method ... 9
Design and Sample ... 9
Measurements ... 9
Age ... 9
Procrastination ... 9
Self-compassion ... 10
Analysis and predictions ... 10
Results ... 12
Reliability and correlations ... 12
Regression Results ... 12
Discussion ... 15
Discussion of the results and a link to the existing literature ... 15
Points of critique ... 16
Recommendations for future research ... 17
Conclusion ... 17
Reference list ... 18
Appendix 1: procrastination scale ... 20
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Introduction
Procrastination is a phenomenon virtually everyone has experienced at some point in their lives. Estimates show that 80%-95% of college students engage in occasional procrastination with 75% of them considering themselves procrastinators and almost half of them procrastinating consistently and problematically (Steel, 2007). Not only college students suffer from this cruel fate as 15%-20% of the general population is also chronically affected by this phenomenon (Steel, 2007). Although this is a big part of the general population most studies concerning procrastination have focused on college students (Van Eerde, 2015). Seeing the big difference between the percentage of procrastinating students and that of the general population brings up the question were this difference comes from. With college students being a very specific age group this raises the question if age has an influence on procrastination. The literature that is available on the correlation between these two variables such as Steel (2007) seems to confirm this relation. There is however a lack of literature that would explain why this relationship exists. This paper seeks to suggest a variable that explains the relationship between age and procrastination. Self-compassion could be this variable as it has been shown to not only reduce procrastination but also increase with age (Neff & Davidson, 2016). Therefore, the goal of this paper will be to answer the question whether self-compassion acts as a mediator between age and procrastination.
Theoretical framework
Procrastination
Although procrastination is a widely occurring phenomenon it does not have a universally agreed definition, with many researchers coming up with their own (Steel, 2007). Most of these definitions do however emphasize the same three core criteria for procrastination: The behaviour must be
counterproductive, needless and dilatory (Shraw, Olafson & Wadkins, 2007). These criteria do however raise the question what needless and counterproductive behaviour entails, as it is hard to objectively judge this (Shraw et al., 2007). Another common criterion is the irrational nature of the delay, as it often leads to negative results and discomfort (Steel, 2007).While some definitions are quite general in nature, simply defining procrastination as the behaviour of postponing tasks (Shraw et al., 2007). Other definitions are more specific such as the one given by Lay (1994), who defines procrastination as a discrepancy between intention and behaviour, in which a delay in behaviour only becomes procrastination if there was genuine intent to complete the task. Van Eerde (2015) uses a similar definition in which procrastination is a delay due to the avoidance of the implementation of an intention. The distinction these two definitions make between delaying an intended action or simply avoiding a task is useful as it separates procrastination from simple decision avoidance (Steel, 2007).
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Consequences
While some studies argue that procrastination can be seen as a positive mechanic as it allows one to delay a decision until further information is available enabling this person to make a better decision, in general procrastination is viewed as a negative form of behaviour (Steel, 2007). Procrastinators are generally seen as lazy and unreliable people (Van Eerde, 2015) who are indifferent to the quality of their work (Schraw et al., 2007). Studies have shown that procrastination results in lost time,
decreased long-term learning, poorer health and lower self-esteem (Schraw et al., 2007). For many it also leads to the feeling of guilt, anxiety, shame or stress which may lead to psychosomatic complaints (Van Eerde, 2015).
Reasons
Despite these negative consequences the number of people procrastinating seems to be increasing (Steel, 2007). Generally, it can be said that procrastination occurs when people see a task as aversive and have a less aversive alternative (Steel, 2007). There are however many other factors that play a role. Past studies have identified many reasons and factors that lead to procrastination. One of such factors that comes into play are genetics. Experiments with identical and fraternal twins have shown that there is a genetic component to procrastination (Steel, 2007). The temporal focus of a person also has an effect with present focusses being positively related to procrastination while future focusses show a negative relation with procrastination (Ferrari et al., 2007). Another reason is fear of failure (Van Eerde, 2015). The fear of failure causes people to procrastinate as this causes stress relief, it should be noted that this relief is only temporary and that procrastination increases stress in the long run (Van Eerde, 2015). This fear of failure can be caused by many things such as low self-efficacy and low self-esteem (Steel, 2007). It can also be caused by perfectionism as many procrastinators struggle with the idea that they need to be perfect (Van Eerde, 2015). When asked in a qualitative study students explained that they procrastinated because it was more efficient as the stress of the deadline not only had a motivating effect but also made them feel more creative (Schraw et al., 2007). They felt a bigger sense of accomplishment at the end and believed that their grades where better or at least the same as if they had not procrastinated (Schraw et al., 2007). Other traits that can lead to
procrastination include low conscientiousness, impulsiveness and low self-discipline (Steel, 2007).
The role of age
Age plays an important role in the behaviour of people on many levels. In the case of procrastination, it has been shown that improvements can be achieved with repeated practice (Steel, 2007).
O’Donoghue and Rabin (1999) argue that many people who do not or only moderately procrastinate do this because they have found schemes to overcome their procrastination. This is in line with research such as Van Eerde (2015) that shows that time management and organization training can help reduce procrastination. According to O’Donoghue and Rabin (1999) whether or not a person can find these schemes to overcome procrastination relies on their ability to foresee their self-control
6 issues. This foresight is obtained by experience, with this experience accumulating as one gets older it stands to reason that older people would procrastinate less. The negative correlation between age and procrastination has also been confirmed by studies such as Steel (2007). This paper seeks as one of its goals to reaffirm this negative relation between procrastination and age.
Self-compassion
Self-compassion is a concept that stems from the Buddhist perspective on happiness, which in contrast to the Western perspective does not see happiness as a positive ratio between pleasant and unpleasant experiences (Neff & Davidson, 2016). Instead it recognizes unpleasant and painful experiences as a part of the human condition that should be embraced instead of being avoided (Neff & Davidson, 2016).
Self-compassion is the compassion that one feels towards themselves. When individuals feel compassion, they open their awareness to the pain and suffering of others (Neff, Hsieg & Dejitterat, 2007). This allows feelings of kindness, an interest in the person’s wellbeing and a desire to alleviate their suffering to arise (Neff, Hsieg & Dejitterat, 2007). Feeling compassion towards someone also means that an open-minded, non-judgemental attitude is taken towards this person instead of an attitude of severe judgment and harsh criticism (Neff et al., 2007). Another part to compassion is the understanding of the shared human condition as well as a willingness to extend this understanding to others (Neff & Davidson, 2016). This is done by stepping out of your usual frame of reference and placing yourself in the others position, doing this will make you see him as an actual human being who is in pain, making you want to ease his pain (Neff & Davidson, 2016). It is possible to extend compassion not only towards others but also towards one’s self, this is self-compassion. It involves being touched by and being open to one’s own suffering, embracing it with feelings of kindness instead of disconnecting from it or avoiding it, regardless whether the suffering resulted from external circumstances or from our own mistakes (Neff & Davidson, 2016). It also involves taking a non-judgemental attitude towards one’s failures and inadequacies and generates the desire to alleviate one’s suffering and to heal oneself with kindness (Neff et al., 2007).
Neff (2003) conceptualized self-compassion and according to his definition self-compassion involves three main components: self-kindness, a sense of common humanity and mindfulness. Self-kindness involves reacting with understanding and Self-kindness towards oneself when experiencing negative events (Inskender, 2011). A self-compassionate person takes the time to reflect on the emotional toll of situations, he does not stoically carry on through the situation but instead offers himself some soothing and comfort (Neff & Davidson, 2016). The common humanity component of self-compassion recognizes that all people experience difficult times, make mistakes, fail and feel inadequate in some way (Neff et al., 2007). It decreases the feeling of isolation people experience when faced with hardships by putting one’s own problems into the broader perspective of the human experience (Neff & Davidson, 2016). Mindfulness involves being aware of the present in a clear and
7 balanced manner, in which thoughts and feelings are nonjudgmentally observed (Neff et al., 2007). This allows one to recognize one’s own suffering without falling for the trap of over-identification (Neff et al., 2007). When over-identifying with themselves, people tend to exaggerate the situation and fixate on negative self-relevant thoughts and emotions, resulting in a more negative image of one’s self (Neff & Davidson, 2016). Mindfulness helps us gain a more balanced perspective on ourselves by neutralizing the negative emotional patterns associated with over-identification (Neff & Davidson, 2016).
In short self-compassion means treating oneself with warmth and understanding during difficult times, forgiving oneself for their failures and recognizing that making mistakes is part of being human.
Effects
Self-compassion has been positively associated with many components of psychological well-being (Inskender, 2011). It has been found to be positively related to greater happiness, life satisfaction, optimism, positive affect, wisdom, curiosity and personal initiative (Breines & Chen, 2012). It gives people the emotional resources necessary to endure painful experiences and softens negative emotions, allowing them to disappear more easily enabling people to bounce back faster (Neff & Davidson, 2016). It has been associated with the use of adaptive coping strategies and has been negatively associated with avoidance-oriented coping strategies (Sirois, 2014). By reducing negative emotions and self-blame, self-compassion plays a role in adaptive self-regulation, decreasing anxiety, stress, depression and rumination (Sirois, 2014). A high compassion also leads to lower levels of self-criticism and perfectionism (Inskender, 2011). This is caused by the fact that self-compassion is not based on the performance evaluation of the self or others and instead circumnavigates the self-evaluation process, instead focusing on understanding and feelings of kindness (Neff et al., 2007). This does not mean that self-compassion leads to a lax attitude, in fact it has been shown to increase improvement tendencies and motivation (Breines & Chen, 2012). In the case of a
self-compassionate person, a lack of self-evaluation does not mean that this person cannot see the quality of his performance, but instead means that he does not personalize the performance evaluation and thus does not value himself according to the outcome of the evaluation (Neff et al., 2007). This nonevaluative characteristic of compassion is also one of the aspects that differentiate it from self-esteem (Breines & Chen, 2012). While people with high self-self-esteem often seek to prove themselves to others, people with high self-compassion are more likely to adopt mastery goals instead of
performance goals (Neff & Davidson, 2016). Meaning that they seek to improving their competence instead of demonstrating it for the sake of avoiding negative judgement.
Link with procrastination
Procrastination can be caused by many things. As previously mentioned two well-known causes are fear of failure and perfectionism. Both have strong ties to self-criticism and negative self-judgment, as
8 well as low self-esteem, which are all causes for procrastination and which are also indicators of low self-compassion (Sirois, 2014). Those who score high on procrastination have been shown to have a higher tendency to make self-deprecating statements than those with lower scores (Sirois, 2014). They also tend to ruminate about past acts of procrastination while displaying high amounts of self-blame (Sirois, 2014). All of these symptoms point towards low levels of self-compassion as they display feelings of low self-worth, low self-forgiveness and harsh self-judgment.
Forgiving oneself reduces the likelihood of repeat offenses as it gives the offender the feeling that there is a way out (Breines & Chen, 2012). A study has shown that students scoring high on self-forgiveness who procrastinated on studying for their midterms reported less procrastination on studying for their next midterm than those with low scores (Sirois, 2014).
It has been shown that self-compassion softens negative emotions and allows people to be more forgiving towards themselves, breaking the cycle of self-blame and ruminative thoughts that lead to procrastination (Sirois, 2014). It also decreases self-criticism and harsh negative self-judgement, lessening the fear of failure and neurotic perfectionism some procrastinators experience.
The role of age
Several studies such as Neff and Vonk (2009) and Hwang et al. (2016) have shown that
self-compassion increases with age. However there is some inconsistency in the results, some studies have found no relationship at al or even a negative relationship between the two variables. An example of this is Bluth et al. (2016) who concluded that there is no significant relationship between age and self-compassion for males, while for females the relationship was significantly negative. It should be noted that this study only looked at people in the adolescent age group, so the results are not representative of the entire age spectrum. Across the performed studies it seems like the ones that found no
correlation where studying a restricted age range, while the studies that did find a positive correlation included the full range of adulthood (Homan, 2016).
This positive relationship can most likely be attributed to the fact that as they age, people learn to better regulate their emotions in ways that will avoid negative experiences (Homan, 2016). As a result, they start to focus less on criticism and shift towards a more gentler and forgiving perspective toward themselves and others (Homan, 2016).
Predictions and Hypothesis
Based on the above, this paper predicts it will reaffirm the negative correlation found in previous studies between (1) age and procrastination and (2) self-compassion and procrastination as well as the positive correlations found between (3) age and self-compassion. Furthermore, this paper proposes the following hypothesis: Self-compassion acts as a mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination.
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Method
Design and Sample
This study makes use of quantitative data obtained by means of a cross-sectional survey. The survey was created with qualtrics, a website which can not only be used to create the survey but also automatically collects all the data from the respondents. Participants were contacted through various means and mainly consisted of acquaintances and colleagues. The participants are of various
nationalities and work in a variety of different countries. The survey contains questions assessing their age, gender, education, work place, procrastination behaviour, self-compassion, empathy, temporal focus, life satisfaction, team work habits and tolerance towards the procrastination of others.
For this study, only the questions about age, procrastination and self-compassion are relevant. There are two reason the survey contained other topics alongside these. The first reason is that multiple people used this survey for their research. By using the same survey, it was possible to increase the number of participants as all participants would provide the necessary data for each researcher’s own study. The second reason is that participants were not told that the topic of this research was about procrastination. This was done to reduce the chance that the answers participants would give would get influenced by the research topic and the contents of the survey.
A total of 132 individuals took part in the survey of which 44,7% male and 55,3% female. The average age of the participants (N=123) was 36,17 years old with the youngest being 18 and the oldest above 67. The modal level of education was a master’s degree accounting for 37,1% of the
participants. The majority, consisting of 83,1% of the participants also indicated to work most of the time in the Netherlands.
Measurements
Age
The independent variable age was measured by asking the participants how old they were. They could answer the question by choosing their age in a drop-down menu ranging from 17 to 67, with the last option being >67. Interestingly ones the data was imported into SPSS the age value labels did not match with the actual age of the participants. A value of 4 equalled age 17, a value of 5 equalled age 18 etc. Although this did not change anything for the main analysis, it did make it impossible to get any meaningful descriptive statistics about the age of the participants. Because of this the variable was recoded to match the value labels with the actual age.
Procrastination
The dependent variable procrastination (α = 0,831) was measured with a 9-item scale that was based on the original 20 item scale from Lays (1986). Participants were asked to what extent they agreed with the statements presented. The scale ranged from 1 to 5 with 1 corresponding to strongly
10 find myself performing tasks that I had intended to do days before” and “Even with jobs that require little else except sitting down and doing them, I find they seldom get done for days”. People whose average score on these 9 items is high will be considered procrastinators. It should also be noted that 3 out of the 9 items must be inversely coded meaning that a 1 will become a 5 and vice versa. This must be done as scoring high on these 3 items would mean that a person did not procrastinate. An example of this is: “I usually take care of all the tasks I must do before I settle down and relax for the evening”.
Self-compassion
The mediator self-compassion (α = 0,751) was measured with the SCS-SF (Self-compassion scale-short form), a 12-item scale developed by Raes et al. (2011) to be a scale-shorter version of the SCS (Self-compassion scale). Participants were asked how often they behaved in the stated manner. The scale ranged from 1 to 5 with 1 corresponding to almost never and 5 to almost always. This scale assesses 6 different aspects of compassion namely kindness, mindfulness, common humanity, self-judgement, isolation and overidentification. Two examples items are: “When something painful happens I try to take a balanced view of the situation” and “When I’m going through a very hard time, I give myself the caring and tenderness I need”. This time 6 items need to be inversely coded once again meaning that a 1 will become a 5 and vice versa. This must be done as scoring high on these 6 items means that a person lacks self-compassion. An example of such an item is: “When I fail at something important to me I become consumed by feelings of inadequacy”.
Analysis and predictions
First the reliability of the used scales was tested with SPSS’s reliability analysis. After the reliability of the scales was found to be satisfactory a bivariate correlation analysis was performed using three variables. The first variable was age while the second and third were the combined mean scores from the individual items from respectively the procrastination scale and the self-compassion scale. In order to test the hypothesis, a total of 4 linear regression analyses will be performed following the method described by Baron & Kenny (1986).
According to Baron & Kenny (1986) in order for a variable to act as a mediator the
following four criteria must be met: (1) the independent variable and the presumed mediator (path a fig. 1) are significantly correlated to each other, (2) the mediator and
the dependent variable (path b fig. 1) must be significantly correlated with each other, (3) the independent variable and the dependent variable (path c fig. 1) must be significantly correlated with each other and if these conditions hold true then (4) the effect of the independent variable on the dependent variable must either become non-significant or it must become weaker after controlling for
11 the mediator than it was in the original path c (figure 1). If the relationship between the independent and dependent variable in the final model becomes non-significant then this indicates perfect
mediation which is the strongest demonstration of mediation and points towards a single dominant mediator (Baron & Kenny, 1986). In case the relationship between the independent variable and dependent variable stays significant but shows a significant decrease in strength, partial mediation is indicated, implying the presence of other mediators (Baron & Kenny, 1986).
In case the results of this last analysis would indicate a partial mediation, an additional test would be needed that could confirm whether the difference in strength between the original path c and path c after controlling for the presumed mediator was significant or not. For this, it was decided to use PROCESS, which is a macro for SPSS for statistical mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis created by Andrew F. Hayes. This test analyses whether the observed change in power is significant or not. It does this by calculating a confidence interval and if zero is contained within this interval then there is no significant difference between the two values, meaning that partial mediation would not be taking place. This confirmation method was chosen as the sample size in this study is relatively small and the bootstrapping approach had been shown to perform better with small sample sizes than product-of-coefficient strategies such as the Sobel test (Preacher & Hayes, 2008).
In line with the presented criteria the first regression will test the relationship between age and procrastination, the second one the relationship between age and self-compassion and the third
regression will test the relationship between self-compassion and procrastination. It is expected that the results of these first three regressions will be in line with the results found during the literature review. Meaning that the negative correlation found in previous studies between (1) age and
procrastination and (2) self-compassion and procrastination as well as the positive correlations found between (3) age and self-compassion will be reaffirmed. If this is indeed the case a fourth regression will test the mediation effect of self-compassion on the relationship between age and procrastination (figure 2) in order the test the hypothesis this study proposes: Self-compassion acts as a mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination.
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Results
Reliability and correlations
Table 1 presents the mean values, standard deviations as well as the reliability of the three variables. The reliability of the scales used to measure procrastination (α = 0,831) and self-compassion (α = 0.751) were both satisfactory. Since Cronbach’s Alpha indicates internal consistency within a scale, multiple items are needed to compute one. In the case of the age variable it was not possible to compute a Cronbach’s Alpha as the measurement of age consisted of only a single item, namely the question how old the person was.
Table 1 also contains the correlation between the three variables. As expected age showed a moderate negative correlation with procrastination, r (122) = -0,336, p< 0,001. As expected age and self-compassion showed moderate positive correlation, r (121) = 0,253, p< 0.01 while self-compassion showed a moderate negative correlation with procrastination, r (130) = -0,287, p< 0.01.
Tablel 1: Descriptives and correlations between the variables (Cronbach’s Alpha on diagonal)
**Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed). ***Correlation is significant at the 0.001 level (2-tailed)
Regression Results
In order to test the this studies hypothesis 4 regression analyses were performed resulting in 4 models as shown in table 2. The first regression model tested the relationship between independent variable age and dependent variable procrastination. This model explained 11% of the variance and confirmed the expected significant effect that age has on procrastination (β = -0,34, p< 0.001, R2 = 0,113). This
negative effect indicates that older people procrastinate less.
The second regression tested the relationship between independent variable age and dependent variable self-compassion. This second model explains a variance of 6,4% and confirms as expected that age has a positive significant effect on self-compassion (β = 0,25, p< 0.01, R2 = 0,064). This
positive effect indicates that older participants have higher levels of self-compassion.
The third regression tested the relationship between the independent variable self-compassion and dependent variable procrastination. This regression analysis confirmed the expected relationship between these variables. Model 3 with an explained variance of 8,2% showed that self-compassion has a negative significant effect on procrastination (β = -0,287, p< 0,01, R2 = 0,082). This negative effect
indicates that participants with higher levels of self-compassion procrastinated less.
The results from these three analyses meet the previously mentioned criteria set by Baron and Kenny (1986) for mediation. This means that the final regression can be performed. This regression
M SD 1 2 3
1. Procrastination 2.7833 0.6919 (0,831)
2. Age 36.1707 15.0097 -0,336*** -
13 tested the hypothesis of this research. This was done by running the regression analysis with all three variables at the same time. Procrastination being the dependent variable, age the independent variables and self-compassion the moderating variable. The fourth and final model explains 15,6% of the variance and shows a negative significant relation between procrastination and both age (β = -0,271, p< 0.01, R2 = 0.156) and self-compassion (β = -0,227, p< 0.05, R2 = 0.156). These results show that
there is no full mediation as the relationship between age and procrastination has stayed significant. But since the strength of the relation in model 4 has decreased in comparison to model 1, it is still possible that self-compassion acts as a partial mediator between age and procrastination. In order to be certain that this change is significant and thus a partial mediation is taking place, an additional test was performed. As mentioned in the methods section a bootstrapping approach named PROCESS was chosen, which is a macro for SPSS. The results of this analysis confirmed that the difference between the two values was significant as the zero was not contained within the calculated confidence interval (B = -0.0027, CI = -0,0067 to -0,0005). This means that self-compassion is indeed a mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination, albeit it only acts as a partial mediator. Thus, the hypothesis: Self-compassion acts as a mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination has been confirmed.
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Table 2: Regression results for all 4 models
Model 1 Model 2 Model 3 Model 4
Dependent
variable Procrastination
Self-compassion Procrastination Procrastination
Coefficient SE Beta Coefficient SE Beta Coefficient SE Beta Coefficient SE Beta
Constant 3,361*** 0,159 2,992*** 0,115 4,107*** 0,393 4,322*** 0,404
age -0,016*** 0,004 -0,336 0,008** 0,003 0,253 -0,013** 0,004 -0,271
self-compassion -0,401** 0,118 -0,287 -0,324* 0,125 -0,227
R^2 0,113 0,064 0,082 0,156
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Discussion
Discussion of the results and a link to the existing literature
This study was designed to contribute to the literature about procrastination and aimed to answer the question whether self-compassion acts as a mediator between age and procrastination. The hypotheses Self-compassion acts as a mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination, was
proposed by building on the already existing literature related to the subject.
As stated in the theoretical framework the negative relationship between age and procrastination has been shown in previous studies such as Steel (2007). The first analysis of this study managed to confirm this as well meaning that the age of a person affects the amount they procrastinate, with older people procrastinating less. These results are thus in line with the existing literature although the found effect was not very strong as can be seen in table 2.
The second relationship that was tested was the one between age and self-compassion. The existing literature is somewhat split on this relationship with some studies showing a positive
relationship while others show no relationship at all (Homan, 2016). According to Homan (2016) the studies that showed no relationship usually analysed a limited range of age whereas studies looking at the full range of adult ages did find a relationship between the two. As the participants of this study were aged across most the adult age spectrum, spanning a range of 50 years it was expected that the relationship between age and self-compassion would be confirmed. In line with the literature this was indeed the case and the second analysis confirmed that older people show higher levels of self-compassion than younger people do.
The third analysis tested whether self-compassion negatively affects procrastination. This relationship was once again confirmed meaning that people with high levels of self-compassion procrastinate less. This was once again in line with the existing literature which showed that many of the causes for procrastination such as ruminative thoughts, self-blame and fear of failure get reduced by higher levels self-compassion, in turn leading to less procrastination (Sirois, 2014).
Finally, the research hypothesis was tested and the results indicated that self-compassion acted as a partial mediator. Although the wording of the hypothesis did not distinguish between partial and full mediation the original expectation was to find full mediation. When the results of the regression analysis indicated partial mediation, this meant an additional test had to be performed to test if the observed difference in power between model 1 and model 4 was significant or not. After some consideration, a bootstrapping method was used and the results confirmed that the change in power after controlling for the presumed mediator was indeed significant. Even though the results were not exactly as expected the hypothesis has in the end been confirmed.
The literature review performed in advance of this study did not find literature related to this exact subject, meaning that this study might be the first one to propose and show the mediating effect
16 of self-compassion on the relationship between age and procrastination. If this is the case, then this study could open the door for new research surrounding this subject.
Points of critique
This study does have some weaknesses and limitations. One possible limitation of this study is that the data consists of self-reports. As people tend to be biased towards themselves it is possible that the provided answers paint a better picture of the person than reality does. However due to the psychological nature of the subject, self-report measurers were deemed appropriate.
Another issue is that the cross-sectional survey design measures only a single point in time. Thus, it is impossible to tell whether someone’s behavior has changed due to their age or that people who are a certain age right now have always acted a certain way. Because of this it is important to have a big sample containing a large range of ages. Even so there is the possibility that the fact that older people procrastinate less has nothing to do with aging but instead with generational factors, such as the way people were brought up in the past or their environment.
Speaking off the sample’s age distributions, this is also a possible weakness of this study. Even though the age of the participants spans a wide spectrum, a little over half of the participants was 30 years or younger with the biggest group being 21 years old, whom accounted for 9,8% of all the participants. A more even distribution of ages could possibly have increased the accuracy of this study. This also brings up the point that the sample was not a-select as most of the participants were either personal acquaintances or acquaintances of these acquaintances. Additionally, it is possible that these acquaintances did the survey out of feelings of obligation rather than the will to contribute to this study. This could have influenced the answers they gave as they might have wanted to just be done with it as quickly as possible. In future studies both these could be avoided in a variety of ways. It is for instance possible to leave the link to the survey on a public website where people can see it, enabling the general population access to the survey. Not only would this lead to a more a-select sample but also to a more motivated sample. It is also possible to buy an a-select sample from services such as qualtrics.com, although the cost of this can be quite high. Other options include the placement of ads on social media sites. Facebook for instance lets you purchase ads that will be displayed for a number of random people or people who meet your criteria. It is possible to distribute a survey this way, although the effectiveness of this is debatable due to the many adblockers and the overall unwillingness of people to click on ads.
Lastly there are some reoccurring points of critique provided by the participants of the survey. A number of the participants noted that they felt like the survey was a bit long, resulting in them losing interest halfway through. Although, as explained in the methods section this was done on purpose, it might be possible to limit the length of the survey by a bit for future studies. Other feedback received from participants also mentioned that some had trouble understanding a few of the question. They felt that some questions could have been more to the point and phrased more clearly.
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Recommendations for future research
As the sample size of this study was quite small and as previously stated not a-select it would be interesting to see if a larger scale study could replicate the results and how these would compare to the results found here. It is possible that the mediating effect found in this study was caused by the
sample, which was small and the age of the participants was unevenly distributed. It is possible that the found mediating effect could differ in a different sample. As a result, this study advises for a second study to be conducted with another bigger sample in order to confirm whether the results found in this study apply more widely.
Furthermore, additional research can be performed to find whether there are other mediating or even moderating variables for the relationship between age and procrastination and to identify what these variables might be.
Conclusion
Since procrastination is a widespread phenomenon it is important to understand how it interacts with other traits and variables. The aim of this study was to contribute to the literature surrounding this subject. The findings of this study managed to contribute to the literature concerning procrastination by providing relevant insight into the mechanisms surrounding this phenomenon. Not only did the results confirm the already known relationships between age and procrastination but they also contributed to the literature by confirming the hypothesis thus proving that self-compassion acts as a partial mediator for the relationship between age and procrastination.
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Reference list
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Appendix 1: procrastination scale
1. I often find myself performing tasks that I had intended to do days before.
2. Even with jobs that require little else except sitting down and doing them, I find they seldom get done for days.
3. I generally delay before starting work I have to do.
4. In preparing for some deadlines, I often waste time doing other things. 5. I often have a task finished sooner than necessary. *
6. I usually buy even an essential item at the last minute. 7. I usually accomplish all the things I plan to do in a day. * 8. I am continually saying I’ll do it tomorrow.
9. I usually take care of all the tasks I have to do before I settle down and relax for the evening. * Note: Reversed-keyed items: 5, 7 and 9.
Appendix 2: Self-compassion scale
1. When I fail at something important to me I become consumed by feelings of inadequacy. 2. I try to be understanding and patient towards those aspects of my personality I don’t like. 3. When something painful happens I try to take a balanced view of the situation.
4. When I’m feeling down, I tend to feel like most other people are probably happier than I am. 5. I try to see my failings as part of the human condition.
6. When I’m going through a very hard time, I give myself the caring and tenderness I need. 7. When something upsets me I try to keep my emotions in balance.
8. When I fail at something that’s important to me, I tend to feel alone in my failure. 9. When I’m feeling down I tend to obsess and fixate on everything that’s wrong.
10. When I feel inadequate in some way, I try to remind myself that feelings of inadequacy are shared by most people.
11. I’m disapproving and judgmental about my own flaws and inadequacies.
12. I’m intolerant and impatient towards those aspects of my personality I don’t like. Note reversed-keyed-items: 1, 4, 8, 9, 11 and 12
