1. Shad Valley Abstract: Procrastination
By: Jessica Liu
Everyone is different: from their personalities, to their appearances, to their likes and interests. However,
humans, as a species, have some similar behaviors that can be found in most people, and an example of one of
them would be: procrastinating. Unfortunately, many of us, like I, do not have enough ‘self-control’, which is one
of the reasons why I decided to research about procrastination. I will be going through the reasons why people
procrastinate, the science behind it all, and what steps can be taken to ensure that your life is more or less,
procrastination free.
There are three common types of procrastinators: the thrill seekers, the avoiders, and the decisional
procrastinators. The thrill seekers wait until that very last minute, for the euphoric rush. The avoiders are usually
avoiding the task because of the fear of failure. They also feel overwhelmed and don’t know where to start. The
decisional procrastinators, are just those who simply cannot make a decision and end up spending tons of time
idling around to ‘make’ the decision. The end result for all though, is that nothing gets done, and you can’t enjoy
anything with that guilt hanging over your head. Now let’s talk about the science behind all this. Humans are
motivated through pain and pleasure, but more so by pain. The inability to over or under estimate the value of a
reward based on its temporal proximity is called temporal discounting. Human motivation is highly influenced by
how imminently the reward is perceived to be; meaning the further away the reward is, the more you discount its
value. This is referred to as present bias, or hyperbolic discounting. Also, every time something enjoyable
happens, you get a dose of Dopamine in your brain, and this modifies the neurons in your brain, making you more
likely to repeat the behavior. Doing small things you enjoy, such as browsing the internet or playing a video game
provide small, quick doses of Dopamine, which seems to be more rewarding than working on that essay that will
give you a one-time future reward. In our body, we have what is similar to the angel and the devil sitting on our
shoulders, except it’s in our brain. We have what’s called the prefrontal cortex, which is the part of your brain that
wants to work and understands the importance of getting things done. However, the limbic system, which is the
other part of your brain, wants you to play, and procrastinate. So then, if we have both sides in our heads, why
does the limbic system tend to win? The Amygdala is a part of your brain that controls fear and anxiety. When we
procrastinate, we are actually experiencing a mild anxiety response, which happens to be an essay, a project, or
studying for a test. The anxiety is from feeling that the task is overwhelming, and you don’t know where to start.
In conclusion, procrastination is not a disease, you’re not born with it, and it is definitely possible to
overcome. It’s all in the decisions you make. Because it is a natural instinct within us to procrastinate, most
people do. Understanding the different types of procrastinators, why people procrastinate, and the different
reactions in your body that causes procrastination, are all important steps on the recovering journey as a
procrastinator.