The ecological momentary assessment of procrastination in daily life: Psychometric properties of a five-item short scale

Wieland, L. M., Grunschel, C., Limberger, M. F., Schlotz, W., Ferrari, J. R., Ebner-Priemer, U. W.

Abstract

Whether individuals actually engage in procrastination depends on different factors (e.g., personality, temporal and situational prerequisites). In order to assess behavioral procrastination adequately, delays that qualify as procrastination must be differentiated from other forms of delay. We therefore developed the ecological momentary assessment of procrastination scale (e-MAPS). This five-item short scale was applied in an experience sampling study with 80 participants. Exploring the factorial structure of the e-MAPS revealed that the items cover two latent components, supporting the preconception that situational determinants and cognitive-affective appraisals are equally relevant to identify delays that qualify as procrastination. Preliminary evidence showed that delay patterns were assessed reliably. Associations between established self-report scales of procrastination and aggregate frequencies of behavioral procrastination, assessed by the e-MAPS, support convergent validity. We conclude that the e-MAPS will foster research on time and context dependent processes involved in the occurrence of procrastination.