Procrastination is Genetic: Study

Now, parents should not get angry when they find their children procrastinating work as researchers at the University of Colorado have said that the habit of putting off work for later comes from genes.

Some people procrastinate more than the others and to understand this, the researchers studied 181 identical twin pairs and 166 fraternal twin pairs.

On the basis of the behaviour noticed in twins during the study, the researchers said that procrastination was genetic.

Another characteristic revealed about procrastinators was that they were highly impulsive. The researchers said that with changing time, people had to make long-term planning and this gave birth to impulsive nature and procrastination.

"Learning more about the underpinnings of procrastination may help develop interventions to prevent it, and help us overcome our ingrained tendencies to get distracted and lose track of work," said study author Daniel Gustavson.

The study, which was published in journal Psychological Science, said the researchers said that procrastination can hurt the person financially, psychologically and physically. The habit also goes on to harm those who depend on the procrastinator.

The nature of being impulsive forces modern-day humans to succumb to temptations and this further leads to procrastination, the researchers said.

Source: Medindia