Contents
Many today are familiar with the problem of procrastination: how to focus on business if every five minutes you need to check your email, page on a social network and read the news? ..
One of the scientific definitions of procrastination sounds like “an irrational delay in the execution of planned actions.” There are many psychological explanations for this phenomenon. It is believed, for example, that the desire to always do everything perfectly and the fear of making even a small mistake can paralyze a person, forcing them to put off starting work (although perfectionism does not always lead to procrastination). Neuroscientists at the University of Colorado Boulder conducted a study to learn more about the genetic roots of procrastination.
The participants in the study were 368 pairs of twins of the same sex (206 identical twins, which share the entire set of genes, and 179 non-identical twins, which share approximately half of the genes). Some couples dropped out of the experiment after preliminary testing, and 350 men and 401 women remained in the final sample (mean age 23 years). To understand how likely the twins are to procrastinate, they were asked to answer questionnaire questions (for example, do they agree with statements like “I constantly promise myself that I will do something tomorrow” or “How often do you forget what purchases you came to to the shop?”). Using the responses, the scientists determined the “inability to achieve the goals” of each of the participants in the study.
Pass the tests
- Are you a perfectionist?
Participants also underwent testing, which assessed the so-called executive functions of the brain (they provide the ability to purposeful, volitional actions). In the self-control test, they were required to resist the temptation to look at the box that appeared on the computer screen, but to look the other way. They also tested their ability to “switch thinking” (for example, it was necessary to quickly arrange various figures on a colored background according to their shape, then the task changed dramatically and it was necessary to arrange by color already) and memory speed.
Comparing how identical and non-identical twins resembled each other in tests and surveys, the researchers determined the degree of influence of genetic factors. If identical twins are significantly more similar to each other in some of the comparison parameters than non-identical twins, it is highly likely that this parameter is largely determined genetically.
Read more:
- I want to get everything at once
- How to stop controlling everything?
The researchers concluded that 28% of the differences in the tendency to procrastinate are explained by genetic factors and about the same by the influence of environment and life experience.
Procrastination also correlated with underdeveloped executive functions. They found that the same genetic factors may be associated with the presence or absence of procrastination, executive functions, and the ability to set and achieve goals.
Interestingly, procrastination-prone participants scored high on tests that required them to switch quickly. This is probably due to the flexibility of their thinking, which at the same time can prevent them from focusing on one thing.
Подробнее см. D. Gustavson et al. «Understanding the cognitive and genetic underpinnings of procrastination: Evidence for shared genetic influences with goal management and executive function abilities», Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, September 2015.