Social Mobility Beliefs and Academic Procrastination Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Future Temporal Focus

doi:10.12139/j.1672-0628.2026.05.008

Abstract

Abstract: Previous research has categorized academic procrastination into passive and active types. The present study examined the associations between social mobility beliefs and these two types of academic procrastination, as well as the mediating role of future temporal focus. Across three studies, the results showed that social mobility beliefs were negatively associated with passive procrastination and positively linked to active procrastination. In addition, future temporal focus mediated the relationships between social mobility beliefs and each type of procrastination. This study reveals the differential relationships between social mobility beliefs, as a cognitive factor, and the two types of academic procrastination, providing targeted implications for interventions aimed at reducing academic procrastination.

Key words: academic procrastination, passive procrastination, active procrastination, social mobility beliefs, future temporal focus

摘要： 以往研究指出学业拖延可划分为被动拖延和主动拖延两种类型。本研究同时关注这两种拖延类型，考察社会流动信念与二者的关系，并探究未来时间焦点在其中的中介作用。基于三项子研究结果发现：社会流动信念与被动拖延负相关、与主动拖延正相关，且未来时间焦点分别在社会流动信念与两种拖延类型的关系中发挥中介作用。本研究揭示了社会流动信念这一认知因素与两类学业拖延的差异化关联，为学业拖延的干预提供了针对性的科学建议。

关键词: 学业拖延, 被动拖延, 主动拖延, 社会流动信念, 未来时间焦点

CLC Number:

B844

LU Wenqian, MO Liqinzi, BAI Baoyu, ZHONG Nian. Social Mobility Beliefs and Academic Procrastination Among College Students: The Mediating Role of Future Temporal Focus[J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(5): 632-639.

卢文倩, 莫李琴子, 白宝玉, 钟年. 大学生社会流动信念与学业拖延：未来时间焦点的中介作用[J]. 心理与行为研究, 2026, 24(5): 632-639.

References

陈明炫, 秦倩, 桂紫洁, 黄列玉. (2021). 医学生应对方式和主动拖延行为的关系: 自我效能感的中介作用. 中国健康心理学杂志, 29(3), 473–476
陈琼, 张玮琦, 王长福, 谷璜, 赵俊峰, 赵国祥, 李晓铭. (2017). 信任在受艾滋病影响儿童心理弹性与未来取向间的中介作用. 中国特殊教育, (7), 91–96
陈小莉, 戴晓阳, 董琴. (2008). Aitken拖延问卷在大学生中的应用研究. 中国临床心理学杂志, 16(1), 22–23, 76
方晓鸿, 郑丽维, 饶玉莲, 邹连玉, 林春霞, 汪永杰. (2023). 护理本科生心理弹性在人格特征与主动拖延间的中介作用. 职业与健康, 39(7), 965–969
贾立茹, 张亚飞, 牛健, 武敬亮, 田桂香. (2018). 大学生成就动机、时间管理对拖延行为的影响. 中国健康心理学杂志, 26(11), 1722–1725
凌宇, 周雅婷, 袁言云, 尹霞云. (2024). 主观家庭经济地位对脱贫家庭儿童社会流动信念的影响: 一般自我效能感的相对中介作用. 中国健康心理学杂志, 32(4), 587–591
倪士光, 李虹, 徐继红, Choi, J. N. (2011). 主动拖延量表在中国大学生群体中的修订及信效度检验. 中国临床心理学杂志, 19(4), 462–465
苏靖雯, 李双, 睢琪玉, 王功朝. (2021). 正念对大学生应对方式的影响: 未来时间洞察力的中介作用. 中国健康心理学杂志, 29(11), 1617–1622
郑治国, 刘建平, 董圣鸿, 蒋艳, 廖华. (2018). 小学高年级学生父母教养方式与学业拖延的关系: 时间管理倾向的中介作用. 心理与行为研究, 16(6), 786–792
周浩, 龙立荣. (2004). 共同方法偏差的统计检验与控制方法. 心理科学进展, 12(6), 942–950
周卓钊, 毛晋平. (2021). 大学生社会流动信念与学习投入的关系: 成就目标定向和心理资本的作用. 中国临床心理学杂志, 29(1), 156–160
朱丽娟, 彦廷鹤, 刘文, 张亚利, 王湃, 吴迪, 安连超. (2022). 中文版时间焦点量表在青少年群体中的信效度检验. 中国临床心理学杂志, 30(5), 1183–1186, 1182
Berber ?elik, ?., & Odaci, H. (2022). Subjective well-being in university students: What are the impacts of procrastination and attachment styles? British Journal of Guidance & Counselling, 50(5), 768–781
Browman, A. S., Destin, M., Carswell, K. L., & Svoboda, R. C. (2017). Perceptions of socioeconomic mobility influence academic persistence among low socioeconomic status students. Journal of Experimental Social Psychology, 72, 45–52
Chen, B. B., & Kruger, D. (2017). Future orientation as a mediator between perceived environmental cues in likelihood of future success and procrastination. Personality and Individual Differences, 108, 128–132
Cheng, G. H. L., Chan, D. K. S., & Yeung, D. Y. (2019). Correlates of acceptance of wealth inequality: A moderated mediation model. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 900
Choi, J. N., & Moran, S. V. (2009). Why not procrastinate? Development and validation of a new active procrastination scale. The Journal of Social Psychology, 149(2), 195–212
Chu, A. H. C., & Choi, J. N. (2005). Rethinking procrastination: Positive effects of “active” procrastination behavior on attitudes and performance. The Journal of Social Psychology, 145(3), 245–264
Closson, L. M., & Boutilier, R. R. (2017). Perfectionism, academic engagement, and procrastination among undergraduates: The moderating role of honors student status. Learning and Individual Differences, 57, 157–162
Codina, N., Valenzuela, R., Pestana, J. V., & Gonzalez-Conde, J. (2018). Relations between student procrastination and teaching styles: Autonomy-supportive and controlling. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 809
da Silva, S., Smith, A., & Facciolo, M. (2020). Relations between self-efficacy and procrastination types in college students. Modern Psychological Studies, 25(2), 6
Dassen, F. C. M., Jansen, A., Nederkoorn, C., & Houben, K. (2016). Focus on the future: Episodic future thinking reduces discount rate and snacking. Appetite, 96, 327–332
Dearing, E., & Hamilton, L. C. (2006). Contemporary advances and classic advice for analyzing mediating and moderating variables. Monographs of the Society for Research in Child Development, 71(3), 88–104
Gayary, M., & Kalita, S. (2025). Relationship between academic procrastination and academic achievement of postgraduate students. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 14(1), 8
Glick, D. M., & Orsillo, S. M. (2015). An investigation of the efficacy of acceptance-based behavioral therapy for academic procrastination. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, 144(2), 400–409
Hayes, A. F. (2013). Introduction to mediation, moderation, and conditional process analysis: A regression-based approach. New York: The Guilford Press.
Huang, H. T., Ding, Y. M., Zhang, Y. M., Peng, Q. W., Liang, Y. P., Wan, X., & Chen, C. R. (2022). Resilience and positive coping style affect the relationship between maladaptive perfectionism and academic procrastination among Chinese undergraduate nursing students. Frontiers in Psychology, 13, 1014951
Kelley, S. M. C., & Kelley, C. G. E. (2009). Subjective social mobility: Data from thirty nations. In M. Haller, R. Jowell, & T. W. Smith (Eds.), The International Social Survey Programme 1984–2009 (pp. 106–124). London: Routledge.
Kim, J., Hong, H., Lee, J., & Hyun, M. H. (2017). Effects of time perspective and self-control on procrastination and internet addiction. Journal of Behavioral Addictions, 6(2), 229–236
Shane, J., & Heckhausen, J. (2013). University students’ causal conceptions about social mobility: Diverging pathways for believers in personal merit and luck. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 82(1), 10–19
Shipp, A. J., & Aeon, B. (2019). Temporal focus: Thinking about the past, present, and future. Current Opinion in Psychology, 26, 37–43
Shipp, A. J., Edwards, J. R., & Lambert, L. S. (2009). Conceptualization and measurement of temporal focus: The subjective experience of the past, present, and future. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 110(1), 1–22
Steel, P. (2007). The nature of procrastination: A meta-analytic and theoretical review of quintessential self-regulatory failure. Psychological Bulletin, 133(1), 65–94
Steel, P., & Klingsieck, K. B. (2016). Academic procrastination: Psychological antecedents revisited. Australian Psychologist, 51(1), 36–46
Sundaramoorthy, J. (2019). Pre-service teacher’s self-regulated learning, active procrastination and goal orientation: A path analysis. International Journal of Research in Teacher Education, 10(3), 98–109
Tian, Q., Mustapha, S. M., & Min, J. (2024). The mediation effect of academic self-efficacy on academic procrastination, performance, and satisfaction of Chinese local technology university undergraduates. Psychology Research and Behavior Management, 17, 3779–3798
Wang, J. J., & Sun, Y. (2023). Time flies, but you’re in control: The mediating effect of self-control between time attitude and academic procrastination. BMC Psychology, 11(1), 393
Wang, X., Chen, W. F., Hong, Y. Y., & Chen, Z. S. (2022). Perceiving high social mobility breeds materialism: The mediating role of socioeconomic status uncertainty. Journal of Business Research, 139, 629–638
W?schle, K., Allgaier, A., Lachner, A., Fink, S., & Nückles, M. (2014). Procrastination and self-efficacy: Tracing vicious and virtuous circles in self-regulated learning. Learning and Instruction, 29, 103–114
Wigfield, A., & Eccles, J. S. (2000). Expectancy-value theory of achievement motivation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 25(1), 68–81
Yoon, S., & Kim, H. C. (2016). Keeping the American dream alive: The interactive effect of perceived economic mobility and materialism on impulsive spending. Journal of Marketing Research, 53(5), 759–772
Zhang, Y. Q., Wang, T. Y., Jin, S. J., Zhang, H., Chen, L. X., & Du, S. Z. (2023). Resilience mediates the association between alexithymia and stress in Chinese medical students during the COVID-19 pandemic. General Psychiatry, 36(1), e100926
Zohar, A. H., Shimone, L. P., & Hen, M. (2019). Active and passive procrastination in terms of temperament and character. PeerJ, 7, e6988

[1]	Yuhua LI, Yuqi ZHANG, Jingya HAN, Quan LI, Libin ZHANG, Tingting TONG, Biying ZHANG, Tingyong FENG. Alleviating Academic Procrastination in Primary School Students Through Episodic Future Thinking Training [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2026, 24(3): 327-334.
[2]	ZENG Lingjuan, JIANG Lijing, PENG Ye. The Influence of Family Environment and Teacher Support on Middle School Students’ Academic Procrastination: The Chain Mediating Effect of Satisfaction of Basic Psychological Needs and Psychological Capital [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2022, 20(4): 501-507.
[3]	ZHENG Zhiguo, LIU Jianping, DONG Shenghong, JIANG Yan, LIAO Hua. The Relationship Between High Grade Pupils' Parenting Styles and Academic Procrastination: The Mediating Effect of Time Management Disposition [J]. Studies of Psychology and Behavior, 2018, 16(6): 786-792.