Executive functions in active, passive and non-procrastinators: Who thrives and who struggles?

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory among active, passive, and non-procrastinators using a quantitative methodology and a causal-comparative design. A total of 177 university students (59 active procrastinators, 59 passive procrastinators, and 59 non-procrastinators) participated in the study. The structured clinical interviews, the Active Procrastination Scale, and Tuckman's Procrastination Scale were utilized to categorize the participants. The Tower of London Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Go/No-Go Task, and the 1-back Task were used to evaluate problem-solving, cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory, respectively. The results of the one-way MANOVA indicated significant differences between the groups regarding problem-solving (p < 0.001) and cognitive flexibility (p = 0.04). Active procrastinators exhibited the best performance in these domains. However, no significant differences were observed in inhibition (p = 0.15) and working memory (p = 0.38). This study demonstrated that the type of procrastination significantly impacts cognitive abilities. These findings can be applied to the design of educational and psychological interventions to enhance cognitive abilities and improve the management of procrastination. Encouraging individuals to adopt more active procrastination strategies may improve their cognitive performance and mitigate the negative effects of passive procrastination.