Why do we procrastinate? Science has (maybe) the answer
Why do some people tend to put everything off until “for later”? French researchers have researched procrastination and provided answers.
“Why today what can you put off until tomorrow?” : This is the motto of procrastinators. This bad habit (which is thus to put off things that we have to do…) can have disastrous consequences for everyday life when it becomes systematic: then we fall behind in the office, on chores, on our administrative papers…
To better understand what is at stake behind procrastination, researchers from Inserm, CNRS, Sorbonne University and AP-HP at the Institut du Cervo in Paris gathered 51 volunteers. First, they had to assign value to rewards (receive flowers, get a cake…) and to efforts (do push-ups and memorize a number…): Then the scientists asked them if they’d prefer a small piece. Bonus quickly or a big bonus later. Same for efforts: did they prefer a small one now, or a bigger one later?
A region of the brain calculates the ‘cost-benefit’ ratio of tasks to be performed
Second, participants had to decide whether to make an effort on the same day to get the associated reward right away, or to make an effort the next day and wait until then to get the associated reward. Third, when they returned home, the volunteers had to fill out several rather tedious forms and send them back within a month maximum to make up for their participation in the study. During these three tests, the participants’ brain activity was measured by magnetic resonance imaging.
Rule? Thanks to these experiments, researchers have understood several things: First, it is in the anterior cingulate cortex (a specific area of the brain) that the decision to procrastinate or not is made. “This area plays a role in performing a cost-benefit calculation by integrating the costs (efforts) and benefits (rewards) associated with each option.Scholars explain.
Then, as a general rule, the higher the deadline, the less effort that seems costly and the lower the reward. “Procrastination can be specifically related to the effect of delay on the evaluation of demanding tasks. More precisely, this can be explained by the tendency of our minds to calculate costs more quickly than rewards.“Researchers analyzed. Think about it, the next time you put off dishes/ironing/washing until tomorrow…
source : Nature Connections
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