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Is procrastination among students lower in group work? Evidence from a registered field experiment
Markus Koppenborg1, Joachim Hüffmeier2,3, Katrin B Klingsieck4
1Q3 - Evaluation, Development & Accreditation, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany.
The British Journal of Educational Psychology
|March 10, 2026
Summary
Group work may help reduce procrastination in students. While results for conjunctive group work are mixed, both group types increased negative affect, suggesting potential trade-offs in academic settings.
Area of Science:
- Educational Psychology
- Social Psychology
Background:
- Procrastination research often overlooks situational and social factors like group work.
- Previous studies suggest group work can enhance effort and performance compared to individual work.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate if conjunctive and additive group work reduce procrastination compared to individual work.
- To explore the impact of group work structures on procrastination in students with high trait procrastination.
Main Methods:
- A field experiment involving 218 students with high procrastination.
- Students worked on an academic task over 10 days in individual, conjunctive, or additive group settings.
- Measured task procrastination, performance, and task-related affect.
Main Results:
- Conjunctive group work showed some evidence of reducing procrastination compared to individual work.
- Both conjunctive and additive group work led to increased negative task-related affect.
- No other significant effects on procrastination or performance were found.
Conclusions:
- Implementing group work in learning environments may be a strategy to mitigate student procrastination.
- Changes to the learning environment, like structured group tasks, can influence procrastination behaviors.
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