The Procrastination Equation
Page 21
McClure, S. M., Laibson, D. I., Loewenstein, G., & Cohen, J. D. (2004). Separate neural systems value immediate and delayed monetary rewards. Science, 306(5695), 503–507.
5 Ainslie, G., & Monterosso, J. (2004). A marketplace in the brain? Science, 306, 421–423.
Banich, M. T. (2009). Executive function: The search for an integrated account. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(2), 89–94.
Bechara, A. (2005). Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: A neurocognitive perspective. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 1458–1463.
Rudebeck, P. H., Walton, M. E., Smyth, A. N., Bannerman, D. M., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2006). Separate neural pathways process different decision costs. Nature Neuroscience, 9(9), 1161–1168.
Spinella, M., Yang, B., & Lester, D. (2004). Prefrontal system dysfunction and credit card debt. International Journal of Neuroscience, 114, 1323–1332.
Walton, M. E., Rudebeck, P. H., Bannerman, D. M., & Rushworth, M. F. S. (2007). Calculating the cost of acting in frontal cortex. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1104, 340–356.
Wood, J. N., & Grafman, J. (2003). Human prefrontal cortex: Processing and representational perspectives. Nature Reviews, 4, 139–147.
6 Carver, C., Johnson, S., & Joormann, J. (2008). Serotonergic function, two-mode models of self-regulation, and vulnerability to depression: What depression has in common with impulsive aggression. Psychological Bulletin, 134(6), 912–943.
Fudenberg, D., & Levine, D. (2006). A dual-self model of impulse control. American Economic Review, 96(5), 1449–1476.
Inbinder, F. C. (2006). Psychodynamics and executive dysfunction: A neurobiological perspective. Clinical Social Work Journal, 34(4), 515–529.
Marcus, G. (2008). Kluge: The haphazard construction of the human mind. New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.
7 As Adam Gifford puts it:
Evolution cannot discard existing designs and start over from scratch, it can only build the new on top of the old—the old higher biology-based time preference mechanisms are still built into the human brain. These mechanisms must be overridden in decision making by the inhibition process, which is significantly enhanced in humans by language. It is this divergence between the cultural and biological rates of time preference that creates a potential internal nature versus nurture conflict leading to self-control problems [like procrastination]. The higher level prefrontal working memory system allows the agent to consider possible events in the extended future and to discount those events at a rate appropriate to the individual’s current environment. The lower level [limbic system] does not have access to events not yet experienced, and as a result, ignores these purely abstract events; it also incorporates the high level discount rate similar to that used by non-human primates and some other mammals that is a product of natural selection.
Gifford, A. (2002). Emotion and self-control. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 49, 113–130.
8 Damasio, A. R. (1994). Descartes' error: Emotion, reason, and the human brain. New York: G.P. Putnam.
Gifford, A. (2002). Emotion and self-control. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 49, 113–130.
McCrea, S. M., Liberman, N., Trope, Y., & Sherman, S. J. (2008). Construal level and procrastination. Psychological Science 19(12), 1308–1314.
Trope, Y., & Liberman, N. (2003). Temporal construal. Psychological Review, 110(3), 403–421.
Wood, J. N., & Grafman, J. (2003). Human prefrontal cortex: Processing and representational perspectives. Nature Reviews, 4, 139–147.
9 Berns, G. S., Laibson, D., & Loewenstein, G. (2007). Intertemporal choice—toward an integrative framework. TRENDS in Cognitive Sciences, 11(11), 482–488.
10 Brown, T. E. (2000). Emerging understandings of attention-deficit disorders and comorbidities. In T. E. Brown (Ed.), Attention-deficit disorders and comorbidities in children, adolescents, and adults (pp. 3–55). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric.
Reyna, V. F., & Farley, F. (2006). Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 7(1), 1–44.
Rosati, A. G., Stevens, J. R., Hare, B., & Hauser, M. D. (2007). The evolutionary origins of human patience: temporal preferences in chimpanzees, bonobos, and human adults. Current Biology, 17(19), 1663–1668.
Rosso, I. M., Young, A. D., Femia, L. A. & Yurgelun-Todd, D. A. (2004). Cognitive and emotional components of frontal lobe functioning in childhood and adolescence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 355–362.
Rubia, K., Overmeyer, S., Taylor, E., Brammer, M., Williams, S. C. R., Simmons, A., et al. (1999). Hypofrontality in Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder during higher-order motor control: A study with functional MRI. American Journal of Psychiatry, 156(6), 891–896.
Stevens, J. R., Hallinan, E. V., & Hauser, M. D. (2005). The ecology and evolution of patience in two New World primates. Biology Letters, 1, 223–226.
Wood, J. N., & Grafman, J. (2003). Human prefrontal cortex: Processing and representational perspectives. Nature Reviews, 4, 139–147.
Yurgelun-Todd, D. A. & Killgore, W. D. S. (2006) Fear-related activity in the prefrontal cortex increases with age during adolescence: A preliminary fMRI study. Neuroscience Letters, 406, 194–199.
11 Miller B. L., Seeley, W. W., Mychack, P., Rosen, H. J., Mena, I., & Boone, K. (2001). Neuroanatomy of the self: Evidence from patients with frontotemporal dementia. Neurology, 57, 817–821.
12 Heilman, K. (2002). Matter of mind: A neurologist’s view of the brain-behavior relationships. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
13 Knoch, D., & Fehr, E. (2007). Resisting the power of temptations: The right prefrontal cortex and self-control. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1104, 123–134.
14 Bechara, A. (2005). Decision making, impulse control and loss of willpower to resist drugs: A neurocognitive perspective. Nature Neuroscience, 8, 1458–1463.
Bickel, W. K., Miller, M. L., Yi, R., Kowal, B. P., Lindquist, D. M., & Pitcock, J. A. (2007). Behavioral and neuroeconomics of drug addiction: Competing neural systems and temporal discounting processes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 90, 85–91.
Gifford, A. (2002). Emotion and self-control. Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 49, 113–130.
15 Camerer, C., Loewenstein, G., & Prelec, D. (2005). Neuroeconomics: How neuroscience can inform economics. Journal of Economic Literature, 43(1), 9–64.
Joireman, J., Balliet, D., Sprott, D., Spangenberg, E., & Schultz, J. (2008). Consideration of future consequences, ego-depletion, and self-control: Support for distinguishing between CFC-Immediate and CFC-Future sub-scales. Personality and Individual Differences, 45(1), 15–21.
16 Reyna, V. F., & Farley, F. (2006). Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 7(1), 1–44.
Rosso, I. M., Young, A. D., Femia, L. A. & Yurgelun-Todd, D. A. (2004). Cognitive and emotional components of frontal lobe functioning in childhood and adolescence. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences, 1021, 355–362.
Wood, J. N., & Grafman, J. (2003). Human prefrontal cortex: Processing and representational perspectives. Nature Reviews, 4, 139–147.
Yurgelun-Todd, D. A. & Killgore, W. D. S. (2006) Fear-related activity in the prefrontal cortex increases with age during adolescence: A preliminary fMRI study. Neuroscience Letters, 406, 194–199.
17 Thompson-Schill, S. L., Ramscar, M., & Chrysikou, E. G. (2009). Cognition without control: When a little frontal lobe goes a long way. Current Directions in Psychological Science, 18(5), 259–263.
18 Garon, N., Bryson, S., & Smith, I. (2008). Executive function in preschoolers: A review using an integrative framework. Psychological Bulletin, 134(1), 31–60.
Jurado, M., & Rosselli, M. (2007). The elusive nature of executive functions: A review of our current understanding. Neuropsychology
Review, 17(3), 213–233.
19 Reyna, V. F., & Farley, F. (2006). Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 7(1), 1–44.
20 Jurado, M., & Rosselli, M. (2007). The elusive nature of executive functions: A review of our current understanding. Neuropsychology Review, 17(3), 213–233.
21 Miller B. L., Seeley, W. W., Mychack, P., Rosen, H. J., Mena, I., & Boone, K. (2001). Neuroanatomy of the self: Evidence from patients with frontotemporal dementia. Neurology, 57, 817–821.
22 Dingemanse, N., & Réale, D. (2005). Natural selection and animal personality. Behaviour, 142(9), 1159–1184.
23 Gosling, S., Kwan, V., & John, O. (2003). A dog’s got personality: A cross-species comparative approach to personality judgments in dogs and humans. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 85(6), 1161–1169.
24 Mazur, J. (2001). Hyperbolic value addition and general models of animal choice. Psychological Review, 108(1), 96–112.
Stephens, D. W., Kerr, B., & Fernandez-Juricic, E. (2004). Impulsiveness without discounting: The ecological rationality hypothesis. Proceedings—Royal Society of London: Biological sciences 271, 2459–2465.
Stuphorn, V. (2005). Neuroeconomics: The shadow of the future. Current Biology, 15(7), 247–249.
25 Suddendorf, T., & Corballis, M. C. (2007). The evolution of foresight: What is mental time travel and is it unique to humans? Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 30(3), 299–351.
Roberts, W. A. (2007). Mental time travel: Animals anticipate the future. Current Biology, 17(11), R418-R420.
26 Roberts, W. A., Feeney, M. C., MacPherson, K., Petter, M., McMillan, N., & Musolino, E. (2008). Episodic-like memory in rats: Is it based on when or how long ago? Science, 320(5872), 113–115.
27 Mischel, W., & Ayduk, O. (2004). Willpower in a cognitive-affective processing system. In I. Baumeister & K. Vohs (Eds.), Handbook of self-regulation: Research, theory, and applications (pp. 99–129). New York: Guilford Press.
Rosati, A. G., Stevens, J. R., Hare, B., & Hauser, M. D. (2007). The evolutionary origins of human patience: Temporal preferences in chimpanzees, bonobos, and human adults. Current Biology, 17(19), 1663–1668.
Stevens, J. R., Hallinan, E. V., & Hauser, M. D. (2005). The ecology and evolution of patience in two New World primates. Biology Letters, 1, 223–226.
28 Gomes, C. M., & Boesch, C. (2009). Wild chimpanzees exchange meat for sex on a long-term basis. PLoS ONE, 4(4), 5116.
29 Osvath, M. (2009). Spontaneous planning for future stone throwing by a male chimpanzee. Current Biology, 19(5), R190-R191.
30 Ainslie, G. (1974). Impulse control in pigeons. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 21(3), 485–489.
Biondi, D. R. (2007). Procrastination in rats: The effect of delay on response requirements in an adjusting ratio procedure. Unpublished M.A. dissertation, Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT.
Mazur, J. E. (1996). Procrastination by pigeons: Preferences for larger, more delayed work requirements. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 65(1), 159–171.
Mazur, J. E. (1998). Procrastination by pigeons with fixed-interval response requirements. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 69(2), 185–197.
Rachlin, H., & Green, L. (1972). Commitment, choice and self-control. Journal of the Experimental Analysis of Behavior, 17(1), 15–22.
31 Indeed, the reason why pigeons can procrastinate is that they do have a prefrontal cortex counterpart, the nidopallium caudolaterale.
Güntürkün, O. (2005). The avian 'prefrontal cortex' and cognition. Current Opinion in Neurobiology, 15(6), 686–693.
32 As Cesar Millan stressed, to instill discipline in your pet, you need to have discipline in yourself. “Exercise, discipline, and affection.” Too often the middle ingredient is left out.
Arden, A., & Dockray, T. (2007). Dog-friendly dog training (2nd ed.). New York: John Wiley and Sons.
33 Jang, K. L., McCrae, R. R., Angleitner, A., Riemann, R., & Livesley, W. J. (1998). Heritability of facet-level traits in a cross-cultural twin sample: Support for a hierarchical model of personality. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 74(6), 1556–1565.
Luciano, M., Wainwright, M. A., Wright, M. J., & Martin, N. G. (2006). The heritability of conscientiousness facets and their relationship to IQ and academic achievement. Personality and Individual Differences, 40, 1189–1199.
Notably, this finding is consistent with other personality studies, which typically estimate that between 40 and 60 percent of any personality trait is genetic in origin. Bouchard, T., & Loehlin, J. (2001). Genes, evolution, and personality. Behavior Genetics, 31(3), 243–273.
34 Dingemanse, N., & Réale, D. (2005). Natural selection and animal personality. Behaviour, 142(9), 1159–1184.
Sih, A., Bell, A., & Johnson, J. (2004). Behavioral syndromes: An ecological and evolutionary overview. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 19(7), 372–378.
35 Whit, W. (1995). Food and society: A sociological approach. Dix Hills, NY: General Hall.
36 Stevens, J. R., Hallinan, E. V., & Hauser, M. D. (2005). The ecology and evolution of patience in two New World primates. Biology Letters, 1, 223–226.
37 Houston, A. I., McNamara, J. M., & Steer, M. D. (2007). Do we expect natural selection to produce rational behaviour? Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 362, 1531–1543.
38 Kalenscher, T., & Pennartz, C. M. A. (2008). Is a bird in the hand worth two in the future? The neuroeconomics of intertemporal decision-making. Progress in Neurobiology, 84(3), 284–315.
39 Davies, D. W. (1983). Owen Owen: Victorian draper. Gwasg Cambria: Aberystwyth.
There is also a Wikipedia page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Owen_Owen
40 Schmitt, D. (2004). The Big Five related to risky sexual behaviour across 10 world regions: Differential personality associations of sexual promiscuity and relationship infidelity. European Journal of Personality, 18(4), 301–319.
Raffaelli, M., & Crockett, L. (2003). Sexual risk taking in adolescence: The role of self-regulation and attraction to risk. Developmental Psychology, 39(6), 1036–1046.
Reyna, V. F., & Farley, F. (2006). Risk and rationality in adolescent decision making: Implications for theory, practice, and public policy. Psychological Science in the Public Interest 7(1), 1–44.
41 Silverman, I. (2003). Gender differences in delay of gratification: A meta-analysis. Sex Roles, 49(9), 451–463.
42 Nettle, D. (2006). The evolution of personality variation in humans and other animals. American Psychologist, 61(6), 622–631.
Muller, H., & Chittka, L. (2008). Animal personalities: The advantage of diversity. Current Biology, 18(20), R961-R963.
Nichols, C. P., Sheldon, K. M., & Sheldon, M. S. (2008). Evolution and personality: What should a comprehensive theory address and how? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 2(2), 968–984.
Planque, R., Dornhaus, A., Franks, N. R., Kovacs, T., & Marshall, J. A. R. (2007). Weighting waiting in collective decision-making. Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, 61(3), 347–356.
43 Smith, E., Mulder, M., & Hill, K. (2001). Controversies in the evolutionary social sciences: A guide for the perplexed. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 16(3), 128–135.
44 To investigate this topic, I tried to locate a 1971 book by Paul T. Ringenbach, Procrastination through the Ages: A Definitive History. Ringenbach is a U.S. Air Force Officer with a PhD from the University of Connecticut. His work was described as “an interesting survey” by the late Albert Ellis on the very first page of his book Overcoming Procrastination, making it a must-have for anyone interested in the topic. After spending weeks hunting with a pack of librarians, I finally found some correspondence with Gil Campbell from Filter Press, the book’s publisher, buried in the appendix of an old 1982 doctoral thesis by Margaret Aitken. The letter indicated that Procrastination through the Ages was never ac
tually written. Colonel Ringenbach was asked to write it, but kept putting it off for so long that it metamorphosized into an elaborate prank, with Campbell telling everyone for fifteen years that it was coming out imminently. I tracked Colonel Ringenbach to his Texan address, where after a series of e-mails and phone calls, I extracted a full confession.
By the speed of my response, I guess you realize that procrastination is alive and well. Procrastination through the Ages: A Definitive History first appeared in Books in Print in the 1971–1972 edition. How it came about was that Gil Campbell of the Filter Press was also the Acquisitions chief at the US Air Force Academy when I first met him . . . He asked me to do a short piece for him on “Black Cowboys” that he could publish. After a time with no progress, he suggested I write a book on procrastination because I was so good about it. Months rolled on with no progress, so finally he said give me a title; I want to include it in my next catalogue. I gave him the title and he did not print it in the catalogue on purpose but included it as a loose insert on colored paper with the excuse to the readers that he hadn’t got around to including it in the actual text, but here it is anyway. At this point he put it in Books in Print with a date not set, price not set notation. After all we surmised, how could one ever complete a book on procrastination? It continued in Books in Print about 15 years until Gil took it out because he was tiring of the continuing inquiries that he always sent along dutifully to me to reply.
45 DeSimone, P. (1993). Linguistic assumptions in scientific language. Contemporary Psychodynamics: Theory, Research & Application, 1, 8–17. Of note, a firsthand copy of DeSimone’s work is no longer in existence. The journal in which it appeared, Contemporary Psychodynamics, had a run of but a single issue and no copies have so far been obtainable. DeSimone’s work is reviewed in the book Procrastination and Task Avoidance: Theory, Research, and Treatment, which I am using as a proxy.
46 Handily available in book form as well, called the Phillipics.