Why Do We Keep Choosing Tomorrow Over Today?
We have all been in the position where we push doing the dishes until tomorrow, studying for that exam on Friday, or waiting to clean until the weekend. Most people have experienced setting goals for themselves, only to delay taking any action when the time comes. It is easy to assume that procrastination happens because we may be lazy or unmotivated, but learning theory offers a new perspective on the conversation. After reviewing multiple concepts in learning theory, we find that many self-control issues occur because immediate rewards often feel more fulfilling than delayed rewards. As a result, people frequently decide that what feels positive and fulfilling right now is more important than feeling that gratification or seeing that benefit in the future.
One way to understand this behavior is to think about the process of receiving a smaller, sooner reward and a larger, later reward. An easy example of this is a student deciding that they will spend time later in the evening studying for their upcoming exam. Yet when the time arrives, and their friends ask to go out instead, the decision becomes more about immediate gratification rather than long-term satisfaction. Receiving a good grade is valuable and may hold great significance, but the reward is delayed and therefore has less influence on behavior at the moment. This allows us to see why people often make decisions that conflict with their long-term goals, even when they fully understand that consequences may follow. Taking research by Zentall (2021) into account, we see that procrastination may be influenced by the way people naturally respond to rewards and consequences rather than by laziness or poor self-discipline. This perspective challenges the common belief that procrastination is simply a matter of not trying hard enough.
The idea that draws me into this concept is that it challenges the stigma that procrastination is a result of poor self-discipline, effort, or character. Learning theory shows how the issue is far more complicated and deep-rooted than this. Many people are constantly balancing immediate rewards against future gratification, with a natural tendency to favor the more immediate reward. Learning and understanding these processes may help explain why people often struggle to stay focused on long-term goals when more rewarding options are available at the moment. Rather than asking why people fail to act, we may find it more useful to ask how we can make long-term rewards feel more meaningful in the present.
References
Powell, R. A., Honey, P. L., & Symbaluk, D. G. (2017). Introduction to learning and behavior. Cengage Learning.
Zentall, T. R. (2021). Basic Behavioral Processes Involved in Procrastination. Frontiers in Psychology, 12. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.769928
When it comes to procrastination with me, I am a huge one. Considering this comment right here being due tomorrow, I work best under pressure. Seeing the insight you had on this topic was validating in a way because there is so much more to it then just being unorganized.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who is a huge procrastinator, I found this really interesting. I've never really thought about procrastination as choosing immediate rewards over delayed ones. I have always thought that it is just me being lazy, but your explanation helps a lot.
ReplyDeleteAs someone who struggles with procrastination, I always understood it as working well under pressure -- even though it is extremely stressful. I liked the way you worded it that it is more about the feeling of being rewarded instantly by other things rather than trying to set ourselves up for failure. I hope to make my mindset more aimed toward long-term success and reward as opposed to short-term rewards especially going into graduate school soon!
ReplyDeleteI liked your explanation on how procrastination is more than just being lazy or not trying hard enough, which I agree. The portion you wrote on immediate reward vs. delayed reward makes more sense, especially with the example of choosing to go out rather than to study. Great job on showing how learning theory better explains the why behind people putting things off even when they know the long term outcome matters more. Great post, it was a clear, relatable, and easy to follow!
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