Abstract

Chronotypes, as measured by diurnal preferences, have been established to be statistically correlated to personality traits. Various studies seek to explore the nature of these relationships. The present study aims to explore whether or not there is a statistical correlation between chronotypes and procrastination and conscientiousness. Using the Morningness-Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ), this study endeavors to consider whether the respondents are morning types or evening types, and how this relates to scores in the Procrastination score (PS) and the HEXACO, where conscientiousness is the subscale of interest. The findings of the study reinforce the results of previous studies such as Digdon and Howell (2008), Hogben et al. (2007), and Watson, (2001). Eveningness is related to procrastination and poor conscientiousness.  Morningness is related to low procrastination and high levels of conscientiousness. As such, this study builds on the findings of the existing studies and goes deeper by integrating chronotype, procrastination, and conscientiousness. The theoretical implication of the results of this study is that they improve the understanding of psychological traits by connecting them to chronotypes.

Keywords: Chronotype, Procrastination, Conscientiousness

The Relationship between Chronotype, Procrastination, and Conscientiousness

Introduction

Chronotypes or circadian phenotypesas established by measuring diurnal preferences, and how they relate to personality traits has been the subject of empirical inquiry for decades. Both morningness and eveningness have been found to be suggestive of some attributes such as self-regulation and propensity for adventure among other notable characteristics (Digdon & Howell, 2008). This study endeavors to establish the relationship, if any, between chronotype (the extent to which an individual is a “morning” or an “evening”) and procrastination and conscientiousness. Procrastination has been viewed in different studies as a trait that is either a single trait dimension or a composite of different antecedent components. Among these antecedents include the fear of failure, risk-aversiveness, and dependency among others. Conscientiousness has equally been considered to be influenced by a myriad of factors in various studies conducted in the past. For this study, a sample of students filled the Morning and Eveningness Questionnaire (MEQ) (Ostberg, 1976), The Procrastination Scale (Tuckman, 1991) and the Hexaco Personality Scale (Ashton & Lee, 2009). Conscientiousness is one of the subscales measured by the HEXACO alongside Honesty-Humility, Emotionality, Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Openness. The MEQ was meant to measure the respondent’s chronotypes to establish how the chronotypes depict other traits such as the likelihood to procrastinate or act conscientiously as identified by the PS and the HEXACO respectively.

Review of Literature

In establishing what has been done so far regarding the area of study that is the focus of this study and hence positioning the study adequately within the existing literature, there is a need to review the existing literature. The research focuses on three studies that explore each of the variables of interest: chronotype, procrastination, and conscientiousness.

Diurnal Preferences and Procrastination

In exploring the statistical correlation between chronotype and procrastination, the study by Digdon and Howell (2008) makes insightful findings that are useful in enhancing this study. This study reinforces the hypotheses held by other previous studies that associate eveningness with problems at self-regulation. With a sample of 308 psychology students, the study confirmed the researchers’ predictions that eveningness preferences were more associated with higher levels of procrastination and poor self-control.

The study employed the Pearson and partial correlations (controlling for age) in the assessment of the relationship between self-control scale and MEQ score (Digdon & Howell, 2008). Also, in the prediction of the MEQ score using the Procrastination Scale and Self-Control Scale (global score), a multiple regression analysis was applied. While the study identified a relationship between eveningness and low control measures, it does not define whether this relationship is a causal one or not.

Digdon and Howell (2008) establish a basis on which the MEQ scores can be used to predict other traits apart from procrastination that includes conscientiousness. Hence, the present study aims to expand the scope of the Digdon and Howell (2008) by integrating conscientiousness and considering how it relates to the other variables under interrogation: chronotype and procrastination.

Diurnal Preference and Conscientiousness

Another significant study, Hogben et al. (2007) identifies a correlation between diurnal preference, as established through the MEQ, and other quantifiable traits such as conscientiousness. The study involves a sample of 620 participants. Upon controlling for factors such as depression, sleep disorders, age, shift work, and demographics, the study identified conscientiousness as a primary predictor of diurnal preference (beta=0.26) (Hogben et al. 2007). As opposed to previous studies that considered the relationship between morningness and high levels of conscientiousness to be influenced by external constraints, Hogben et al. (2007) note that the relationship is as a result of actual intrinsic morning preference. The study also identifies conscientiousness as a quality that is more likely to be linked with diurnal preference and by extension the circadian clock.

Similar to the study by Digdon and Howell (2008), the study by Hogben et al. (2007) seek to relate diurnal preferences with a personality trait as a way of determining how clock gene polymorphisms may suggest psychiatric conditions. However, Hogben et al. (2007) employ the hierarchical multiple regression to establish the statistical correlation between the two variables. Hence, the present study also aims at building on the findings of Hogben et al. (2007) and establishing how the introduction of another variable (procrastination) may impact this relationship.

Procrastination and Conscientiousness

A study by Watson (2001) seeks to identify whether or not a statistical correlation exists between procrastination and the five factors of personality, which include conscientiousness. Other factors are agreeableness, openness, extraversion, and neuroticism. While these factors were measured using the Revised NEO Personality Inventory, some of the traits captured in the scale such as agreeableness and conscientiousness match those obtained using the HEXACO. The study enlisted 349 participants who also filled the Procrastination Assessment Scale.

As per the findings of this study, total procrastination was determined to be statistically correlated with neuroticism facets including anxiety, depression, vulnerability, self-consciousness, and impulsiveness as well as the facets of poor conscientiousness including competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and deliberation (Watson, 2001).

The primary significance of this study is that it goes deeper to present an in-depth analysis of these personality traits, something that lacks in other reviews that take a similar perspective. For instance, it enhances the understanding of conscientiousness, which is a trait of interest in this study, by focusing on the different facets of the trait. For instance, task aversiveness, which is one of the antecedents of procrastination, revealed that it has a strong relationship with conscientiousness and neuroticism (Watson, 2001). Other precursors such as the fear of failure and difficulty in making decisions revealed a weaker correlation between procrastination and the facets of conscientiousness and neuroticism (Watson, 2001). Therefore, the perspective introduced in this study deems it necessary to consider the facets of a given variable and how the relationship between the variable and others changes.

The Present Study: Chronotypes, Procrastination, and Conscientiousness

The present study seeks to integrate the different variables (chronotypes, procrastination, and conscientiousness) with the aim of establishing whether or not there exists a statistically viable correlation between them. The study would, for instance, employ multiple regression analysis to determine how the participants’ scores in the MEQ relate to PS scores or HEXACO scores. This way, this study would not only have replicated the work done by Digdon and Howell (2008) but will also go a step further to integrate conscientiousness and determine how it relates with the other two variables. In this aspect, diurnal preference/chronotype would be the independent variable while the two personality traits (procrastination and conscientiousness) would be the depended variables. The study would seek to explore relations such as eveningness reflects a high tendency for procrastination and conscientiousness and how this differs for other diurnal preferences. Among other predictions that are subject for testing in the present study include that:

1. Morningness (A high MEQ Score) is related to low procrastination (low PS score).
2. Another prediction is that morningness (A high MEQ score) would relate with high conscientiousness (A high HEXACO Score on the Conscientiousness subscale ).

• Also, high procrastination (A high PS score) would relate to poor conscientiousness (Low score in the HEXACO).

Results

Table 1

Comparison of the MEQ, PS and HEXACO Scales

Discussion

The findings of this study support the predictions made earlier on in the study. With a mean of 47.68 and SD of 9.94, the study indicated that a majority of the participants were evening types as opposed to morning types. As such, eveningness is related tohigh procrastination. Individuals who are identified as evening types tend to procrastinate more as compared to others who are identified as morning types. Also, eveningness is statistically related to low levels of conscientiousness, which means that individuals who are evening types tend to portray low levels of conscientiousness, in addition to being more inclined to procrastinate. Also, the results reveal a significant correlation between procrastination and low conscientiousness.

The findings of this study reinforce the results of the prior studies discussed in the review of the literature (Digdon & Howell, 2008; Hogdel et al., 2007; Watson, 2001). However, they go a notch deeper to integrate the three variables to the same study. None of the existing studies focus on chronotypes, procrastination, and conscientiousness or seek to establish how the three are statistically correlated. This study enhances the knowledge on how chronotypes affect personality traits.

The findings of this study enrich the theoretical perspective that diurnal preferences can be employed in predicting behavioral and psychological traits (Hogdel et al., 2007). The research of psychological dispositions and how other underlying factors impact them has been explored extensively in the past. As such, this study forms the conceptual and theoretical basis for further research aimed at establishing how the circadian preferences reveal aspects of people’s behavioral and psychological traits. In seeking to understand why people procrastinate or exhibit low levels of consciousness, scholars can employ the findings of this study. Also, this can result in a deeper introspection into other related issues.

As earlier discussed, the applications of the findings of this study in the field of psychology are many. However, the applicability of these findings can also go beyond this scope to include other areas such as human resource and education. For instance, employers can consider the chronotypes of applicants to determine their likeliness to procrastinate or exhibit poor conscientiousness in case they are offered employment activities. Also, pedagogical experts can employ the findings of this study to establish why students procrastinate and hence develop appropriate measures to deal with the issue.

Among the original ways of expanding this research in this area is by going more profound to consider the different facets of the personality traits such as procrastination and conscientiousness and examining how a person’s chronotype impacts each of them. For instance, this may involve considering how a person’s chronotype can individually affect competence, order, dutifulness, achievement striving, self-discipline, and deliberationchronotype. Taking this perspective can enhance the formulation of ways in which conscientiousness can be improved by manipulating the development of the constituent traits.

References

Digdon, N. L., & Howell, A. J. (2008). College students who have an eveningness preference report lower self‐control and greater procrastination. Chronobiology international, 25(6), 1029-1046.

Hogben, A. L., Ellis, J., Archer, S. N., & von Schantz, M. (2007). Conscientiousness is a predictor of diurnal preference. Chronobiology international, 24(6), 1249-1254.

Watson, D. C. (2001). Procrastination and the five-factor model: A facet-level analysis. Personality and individual differences, 30(1), 149-158.

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