Being Precrastination or Active Procrastination? The Dominance/ Prestige Based Social Status Strategies and Construal Level Decided

Abstract

When carrying out a task, some people start working on it early, while others plan well in advance but begin working only when the deadline is close. The former behavior is defined as precrastination, while the latter behavior is defined as active procrastination. The current study was piloted to examine whether the individual’s dominance based or prestige based social status would influence the choice between precrastination and active procrastination behavior, and the role of individual cognitive style – construal level – in this relationship. Study 1 examined whether individuals’ precrastination and active procrastination behavior can be affected by their dominance-prestige strategy orientation at the trait level (Study 1a) and primed at the state level (Study1b). The results found that participants in the dominance-oriented strategies group and the dominance-primed strategies group both tended to choose procrastination, while the participants in the prestige-oriented strategies group and the prestige-primed strategies group both tended to choose active procrastination. Study 2 utilized experimental designs to establish a causal relationship to investigate the role of construal level in the influence of the dominance/prestige strategies on individuals’ choice between precrastination and active procrastination. Study 2a examined the type of individuals’ construal level (high/low) when participants with no obvious tendency to dominate or prestige strategies but under the dominance/prestige strategies state by priming through situational manipulation. The results revealed that the priming of dominance strategies prompted individuals to engage in low construal level representation, while the priming of prestige strategies prompted individuals to perform high construal level representation. Study 2b further investigated individuals’ choice between precrastination and active procrastination in the high/low construal level primed state. The results indicated that low construal level representation enhanced individuals’ tendency to choose behaving precrastination, whereas high construal level representation enhanced individuals’ tendency to choose behaving active procrastination. Study 3 used mediation design to investigate the role of construal level in the influence of the dominance/prestige strategies on individuals’ choice between precrastination and active procrastination, and results revealed that construal level played the partial mediating effect. Three studies firstly indicated that individuals who tend to adopt the dominance strategies to acquire or maintain their social status are more likely to represent events with low construal level, which in turn motivates them to behaving more precrastination; whereas individuals who tend to adopt the prestige strategies to acquire or maintain their social status are more inclined to represent events with high construal level, which in turn is more likely to lead to active procrastination.