Chu & Choi (2005): Rethinking Procrastination
Chu and Choi's 2005 paper in the Journal of Social Psychology distinguished passive procrastinators, paralysed by indecision who delay against their own intentions, from 'active procrastinators' who claim to prefer time pressure, delay deliberately, and still finish on time with good outcomes. Active procrastinators looked more like non-procrastinators on time use, self-efficacy, coping and grades. The idea became hugely popular, but later psychometric research argues that deliberate, well-managed delay is purposeful scheduling, not procrastination, and that the active procrastination scale measures a mix of other traits.
| Citation | Chu, A. H. C., & Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking procrastination: Positive effects of "active" procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 245–264. |
|---|---|
| Study type | Cross-sectional survey proposing and testing a new construct |
| Sample | 230 Canadian undergraduates |
| Key finding | Self-described active procrastinators resembled non-procrastinators in purposive time use, self-efficacy, coping style and academic performance, unlike passive procrastinators |
What the study found
The authors surveyed undergraduates and split delayers into two groups. Passive procrastinators delayed despite intending to act, felt pressured and pessimistic, and performed worse. Active procrastinators reported choosing to delay because they liked working under pressure, felt confident they would meet deadlines, and usually did. On outcome measures, GPA, purposive use of time, self-efficacy, stress coping, the active group looked closer to non-procrastinators than to passive procrastinators, leading the authors to argue that not all delay is harmful.
Why it matters
The paper forced a useful distinction the field now accepts: delay and procrastination are not the same thing. Deliberately scheduling important work close to a deadline because you have judged that is when you work best is a strategy, and researchers like Chowdhury and Pychyl now call it purposeful delay. Procrastination, by definition, is delay that is voluntary, unnecessary and against your own better judgment. The study's popularity also shows the demand for permission to procrastinate, which is exactly why its caveats matter.
Caveats
The criticisms here are substantial. Psychometric studies, including Chowdhury and Pychyl's 2018 critique, find the Active Procrastination Scale measures a blend of time management, self-efficacy and low trait procrastination rather than a type of procrastination, active 'procrastinators' typically score low on standard procrastination measures, so calling their behaviour procrastination is a category error. The original study was one cross-sectional student sample with self-reported outcomes, and self-described pressure-lovers may simply be misremembering how well last-minute work went. Do not read this study as evidence that your procrastination is secretly the good kind: if the delay is against your own judgment and stresses you, it is the ordinary kind.
Peer-reviewed study in the Journal of Social Psychology; later psychometric critiques include Chowdhury & Pychyl (2018) in Personality and Individual Differences. Verified via Crossref.
Related
Active vs passive procrastination, the full breakdownSteel's meta-analysis and the standard definition
Frequently asked questions
Is active procrastination a real thing?
The behaviour is real, some people deliberately schedule work close to deadlines and perform fine, but most researchers now argue it is mislabelled: it is purposeful delay by people who score low on actual procrastination measures. True procrastination is delay against your own better judgment, and that version has consistently negative outcomes.
How do I know if I am an active or passive procrastinator?
Ask two questions: did you choose the delay in advance as a plan, and are you calm and on time anyway? If yes to both, you are scheduling, not procrastinating. If you intended to start earlier, feel guilt or dread while delaying, and pay for it in stress or quality, that is ordinary procrastination, whatever story the deadline rush tells afterwards.