The behavior of procrastination is one closely associated with mental concerns with the affected individual. It recognized that the habit occurs where an individual puts off taking immediate action believing that it can be done at a later time. In this regard, mental health specialist believe that procrastination is indeed a learned behavior that is intended to serve a particular mental or emotional purpose (Lukas & Berking, 2018). However, it is through understanding the various influences and prerequisites of learning this behavior that one is able to conquer and potentially overcome it. Procrastination usually begins with lies that the affected individual tells oneself including, “It will be uncomfortable”, “the task is too difficult”, or “I’m afraid” (Lukas & Berking, 2018). While most are not always good reasons, they are reasonable and prompt the brain to believe that the things meant to be done are unpleasant.
As human beings, the primary intention is to avoid all things that may be unpleasant and instead opt for that which brings pleasure. This is a basic action of the primitive parts of the brain as it avoids pain and seeks pleasure (Fernie et al., 2017). In this regard, Operant conditioning as developed by B. F. Skinner is the primary learning model of procrastination. In this case, the consequences of current behavior have significant impact on the future behavior (Fernie et al., 2017). Once something good is able to follow an action that we take, it is highly likely that we will perform the same behavior in future. For instance, if we avoid working on a mathematical problem and instead choose to play video games, the pleasure from the latter behavior is likely to arise the next time one encounters a similar scenario. Therefore, if an action is followed by something bad, we are not likely to repeat the behavior (Lukas & Berking, 2018). In procrastination, with every time one avoids something unpleasant, it reinforces the behavior of avoidance as procrastinating in itself is a reward. As a result, the behavior may be difficult to break.
Delegate your assignment to our experts and they will do the rest.
References
Fernie, B. A., Bharucha, Z., Nikčević, A. V., Marino, C., & Spada, M. M. (2017). A Metacognitive model of procrastination. Journal of Affective Disorders, 210 , 196-203.
Lukas, C. A., & Berking, M. (2018). Reducing procrastination using a smartphone-based treatment program: A randomized controlled pilot study. Internet Interventions, 12 , 83-90.
