Precrastination: The fierce urgency of now

Wasserman, Edward A.

doi:10.3758/s13420-018-0358-6

Cited by 17 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 60 publications

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“…By this way of thinking, precrastination may be the default, automatic, tendency in many choice situations, as suggested by Fournier et al (2018) and Wasserman (2018). Our new results suggest that this more automatic tendency can be overcome if enough cognitive resources are available to inhibit this tendency.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Which task will we choose first? Precrastination and cognitive load in task ordering

Fournier

Coder

Kogan

et al. 2018

Atten Percept Psychophys

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Precrastination, as opposed to procrastination, is the tendency to embark on tasks as soon as possible,evenat the expense of extra physical effort. We examined the generality of this recently discovered phenomenon by extending the methods used to study it, mainly to test the hypothesis that precrastination is motivated by cognitive load reduction. Our participants picked up two objects and brought them back together. Participants in Experiment 1 demonstrated precrastination by picking up the near object first, carrying it back to the farther object, and then returning with both. Also, participants given an additional cognitive task (memory load) had a higher probability of precrastinating than those not given the added cognitive task. The objects in Experiment 1 were buckets with balls that had a very low chance of spillage; carrying them required low demands on attention. The near-object-first preference was eliminated in Experiment 2, where the near and far objects were cups with water that had a high chance of spillage; carrying them required higher demands on attention. Had precrastination occurred in this case, it would have greatly increased cognitive effort. The results establish the generality of precrastination and suggest that it is sensitive to cognitive load. Our results complement others showing that people tend to structure their behavior tominimize cognitive effort.The mainnew discovery is that people expend more physical effort to do so. We discuss the applied implications of our findings, as well as the possibility that precrastination may be a default, automatic behavior.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 58%

Which task will we choose first? Precrastination and cognitive load in task ordering

Fournier

Coder

Kogan

et al. 2018

Atten Percept Psychophys

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“…Rosenbaum et al (2014) attributed such precrastination in humans to the desire to complete a subgoal early and, although the bucket carrying task would not appear to be of this kind, precrastination in humans may be encouraged by tasks in which subgoals may be forgotten or circumstances might arise that prevent the subgoal from being completed later. If such forethought is required for precrastination, one might not expect other animals to show such an effect (but see Wasserman, 2019). In the present research, however, the pigeons did precrastinate.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 60%

“…If such forethought is required for precrastination, one might not expect other animals to show such an effect (but see Wasserman, 2019). In the present research, however, the pigeons did precrastinate.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Should I stay or should I go? Pigeons’ (Columba livia) performance of a foraging task has implications for optimal foraging theory and serial pattern learning.

Chandel¹,

Boring²,

Zentall³

et al. 2021

Journal of Comparative Psychology

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Optimal foraging theory suggests that animals have evolved to maximize their net rate of energy intake; all things being equal, they should leave a current depleting patch when an alternative patch would provide either more or sooner food. In nature, however, typically all things are not equal. For example, uncertainty about the value of alternative patches, time to travel to those patches, and potential dangers incurred in changing patches may delay leaving the depleting patch, when it would otherwise be optimal to do so. We tested the hypothesis that leaving the current patch may be delayed, by providing pigeons (Columba livia) with a continuous choice between a progressive schedule, in which each access to food could be obtained with an increasing number of pecks, and a multiple schedule, in which a colored light signaled the number of pecks required for food. The pigeons could switch from the progressive schedule to the multiple schedule at any time. We asked if pigeons would tend to switch when the signaled multiple schedule required fewer pecks than the next reinforcer provided by the progressive schedule. We found that pigeons tended to switch to the multiple schedule sooner than would have been optimal—one might say they precrastinated. We propose that, on the progressive schedule, the signal to switch was not just the number of pecks required for the next reinforcer but also the more general cue that reinforcement was becoming more difficult to obtain—a form of serial pattern learning.

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“…Wasserman and Zentall here hypothesize that organisms will precrastinate if reward will be available soon (as found by Wasserman & Brzykcy, 2015) but will procrastinate if reward will be available later (as found by Zentall et al, 2018). This view, which was inspired by and echoed by Rachlin and Green (1972), Rung and Madden (2018), and Wasserman (2018), was previewed earlier, when we indicated that one might hurry to bring in groceries (precrastination) but delay working on term papers (procrastination).…”

Section: Animal Studiesmentioning

confidence: 77%

Sooner Rather Than Later: Precrastination Rather Than Procrastination

Rosenbaum

Fournier

Levy-Tzedek

et al. 2019

Curr Dir Psychol Sci

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Putting things off as long as possible (procrastination) is a well-known tendency. Less well known is the tendency to attempt to get things done as soon as possible, even if that involves extra effort ( precrastination). Since its discovery in 2014, precrastination has been demonstrated in humans and animals and has recently been revealed in an analogous tendency called the mere-urgency effect. Trying to get things done as soon as one can may reflect optimal foraging, but another less obvious factor may also contribute—reducing cognitive demands associated with having to remember what to do when. Individual differences may also play a role. Understanding precrastination will have important implications for explaining why hurrying happens as often as it does and may help reduce the chance that haste makes waste.

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Precrastination: The fierce urgency of now

Cited by 17 publications

References 60 publications

Which task will we choose first? Precrastination and cognitive load in task ordering

Which task will we choose first? Precrastination and cognitive load in task ordering

Should I stay or should I go? Pigeons’ (Columba livia) performance of a foraging task has implications for optimal foraging theory and serial pattern learning.

Sooner Rather Than Later: Precrastination Rather Than Procrastination

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