Vol.:(0123456789) 1 3 Motiv Emot DOI 10.1007/s11031-017-9649-z ORIGINAL PAPER Performance-approach goals, science task preference, and academic procrastination: Exploring the moderating role of competence perceptions Eric D. Deemer 1  · Mike Yough 2  · Samantha A. Morel 1   © Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017 and access to and utilization of academic and social support. Another critical determinant of student success is the abil- ity to manage one’s time efectively. Unfortunately, many students delay in initiating academic tasks and such dilatory behavior can have negative consequences for academic and career development. Procrastination is likely to be a salient concern for college science students given its prevalence in quantitative domains (e.g., Onwuegbuzie 2000, 2004). Procrastination refers to the voluntary delaying of behav- ior despite knowing it is not necessarily in one’s interest to do so (Steel 2007). Academic procrastination in particular is considered to be a failure of self-regulation (Steel and Klingsieck 2016; Vohs and Baumeister 2004) and it may be that failure to regulate cognition and afect is particularly important for college students. How well students perform in college can have a direct bearing on their later ability to pursue particular job opportunities or gain admission to graduate school. Perceived pressure to perform well academ- ically can be highly anxiety-provoking, thus causing students to seek some temporary relief from an aversive situation (e.g., studying for an exam) by engaging in more pleasurable activities (van Eerde 2000). It is not surprising that much of the research on procrastination among college students has focused on anxiety and fear of failure (Rothblum et al. 1986; Senécal et al. 1995; Solomon and Rothblum 1984; Spada et al. 2006). Regardless of the cause, procrastination’s consequences are almost uniformly detrimental to student development. The irony of academic procrastination is that while it may relieve stress in the short term, it has negative long-term efects on learning (Schouwenburg 1995), aca- demic performance (Kim and Seo 2015; Steel et al. 2001; Moon and Illingworth 2005), and even health (e.g., Tice and Baumeister 1997). A number of models of procrastination have been advanced over the years, with each making unique Abstract Classic achievement goal theory states that nor- mative (performance-approach) achievement goals exert maladaptive efects on behavior when perceptions of com- petence are low, thus leading individuals to choose easy or diicult tasks to avoid demonstrating lack of ability. The present research tested this prediction by examining the con- ditional indirect relationship between performance-approach goals and problematic procrastination among college science majors. As hypothesized, performance-approach goals were signiicant positive predictors of procrastination through their relationship with science anxiety only for students with (a) low science self-eicacy and (b) a preference for either low or highly diicult science tasks. These efects were not observed for high eicacy students preferring tasks of low and high diiculty. Implications for achievement goal theory and research are discussed. Keywords Academic procrastination · Achievement goal theory · Performance-approach goals · Science self- eicacy · Science anxiety Introduction Student success in college is dependent upon a number of factors, notably intellectual ability, the belief that one pos- sesses the skills and attributes to be a successful student, * Eric D. Deemer edeemer@purdue.edu 1 Department of Educational Studies, Purdue University, 100 North University Street, West Lafayette, IN 47907, USA 2 Department of Applied Health and Educational Psychology, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma, USA