Abstract

ENUMO, Sônia Regina Fiorim  and  KERBAUY, Rachel Rodrigues. Procrastination: description of behaviors in students and passersby from a brazilian city. Rev. bras. ter. comport. cogn. [online]. 1999, vol.1, n.2, pp. 125-133. ISSN 1517-5545.

The procrastination of tasks or decisions occurs frequently among Brazilian people, but few studies concerning this matter have been made. In order to characterize procrastination in the city of Vitoria/ES, questionnaires, containing questions about procrastination concept and behavior and its consequences, were applied in 50 passersby and 22 Psychology students. As an objective measure, the passersby received a stamped addressed envelope, containing a test with three possible answers, which should be sent back within 15 days. The results show that most people procrastinate. It is a time-based concept - do it later, delay the beginning of some tasks such as home routines, school homework, go to the doctor or dentist. While some people feel guilty and irritated when they procrastinate, others tell that they feel nothing or, depending on the task, they feel a sense of relief. Laziness or unpleasant tasks are mentioned as an attempt to explain their behavior. 54% of the envelopes were sent back. The differences found in the samples demonstrate that obtaining specific data is important to the proposal for educational or clinic intervention procedures.

Keywords : procrastination in daily routines; procrastination of tasks; age and procrastination.

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