Relationship Between Academic Procrastination and Achievement Motivation Among Research Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between academic procrastination and achievement motivation among research students and to identify the major reasons associated with procrastinating academic tasks. A quantitative approach with a correlational research design was employed. The sample consisted of 250 MPhil and PhD research students selected through purposive sampling from universities in Lahore and Faisalabad. Data were collected through a survey using two adapted instruments: the Procrastination Assessment Scale–Student (PASS) developed by Solomon and Rothblum (1984) and the Achievement Motivation Scale developed by Lang and Fries (2006). The reliability of the instruments was established through Cronbach’s alpha, with coefficients of .90 for the PASS and .76 for the Achievement Motivation Scale, indicating acceptable to high internal consistency. Descriptive and inferential statistical techniques were used to analyze the data, including frequencies, percentages, means, standard deviations, independent-samples t-test, and Pearson product-moment correlation. The findings revealed a significant positive relationship between academic procrastination and fear of failure (r = .76, p < .001), indicating that higher levels of fear of failure were associated with greater academic procrastination. The findings also showed that task aversiveness was the most prominent reason for academic procrastination, whereas risk-taking received the lowest mean score. Furthermore, male research students reported significantly higher levels of academic procrastination than female students. Overall, the study concludes that academic procrastination among research students is closely associated with achievement-related motivational factors, particularly fear of failure and perceptions of academic tasks. The findings highlight the importance of strengthening students’ motivation, self-regulation, persistence, and effective management of research-related academic responsibilities to reduce procrastinating behavior and support successful research completion.