Reducing academic procrastination for junior secondary school students : the application of the temporal motivational theory

Abstract

The study examined the effectiveness of a motivational package developed based on the components of the temporal motivational theory on reducing the participants’ tendency to procrastinate. Characteristics of a sample of 308 junior secondary school students (formed 14 groups) were matched and randomly assigned (in group unit) into treatment and control conditions. Through watching a video in a workshop, the treatment group learned the skills to reduce procrastination while the control group learned relaxation skills. Participants then completed an assignment in 10 school days after the intervention workshop to apply the strategies they have learnt. Results indicated that participants who received the intervention package showed significantly less behavioral procrastination than those who did not. Implications of the findings were discussed.