Motivation and emotion/Book/2025/Fear of failure and procrastination

Fear of failure and procrastination:
How does fear of failure reduce motivation and increase procrastination?

Overview

Figure 1. Human_stress Scenario Imagine a student, Kristina, staring at a blank website, clicking “Edit”, trying to insert information only to remove it again a moment later. A Book Chapter Plan assignment is due in a day, and she is used to researching various topics before; however, the format in which the assignment needs to be presented, the book chapter published on the research website, is very new to her. Every time she tries to adapt to this new idea, her mind gets overwhelmed with doubts: What if I can’t do it well enough? What if I fail? Hours pass in anxious deliberation, her mind switches from focusing on the content of the assignment to trying to understand how to edit the website, and no actual progress appears. Instead of writing and focusing on the content of the assignment, Kristina gets angry on the website, scrolls through social media, and watches videos, just anything to avoid the impending task. By the deadline, she rushes to the half-empty website page she couldn’t edit as well as her peers, disappointed but unsurprised.

The cycle described in this scenario isn’t just laziness, it is the fear of failure, a sense of anxiety towards negative evaluation of one's results (Leary, 1983). It doesn’t just undermine motivation, it deforms one's approach to tasks, turning simple and interesting assignments into overwhelming obstacles. People dread falling short, yet overthink, delay, and eventually sabotage their progress themselves. Procrastination is an act of voluntary and unnecessary delaying of task caused by self-regulation failure that is often linked to negative outcomes (Zentall, 2020). Such behavior often becomes a short-term relief against eventual disappointment, yet it only deepens the cycle of stress and self-doubt. This chapter explores how fear of failure reduces motivation and turns procrastination into a self-fulfilling prophecy, as well as tools and methods for breaking free.

Focus questions How does fear of failure impair motivation? Which psychological theories help explain the link between fear of failure and procrastination? What role do self-esteem and competence play in moderating procrastination? What strategies can help reduce the fear of failure and its impact on procrastination?

Fear of failure and motivation

Motivation has been defined as a behaviour towards a desired goal, where the intensity of such behaviour and attitude may vary (Reeve, 2014). Motivation is seen as an important factor of productivity and a psychological factor driving behaviour and decision making (Brooks et al., 2012).

Chuang et al. (2022) found a link between motivation and a fear of failure, suggesting that individuals with high external motivation levels also have a higher fear of failure, as they depend on the rewards given to them. Directing the discussion towards the types of motivation, the second study by Bartels and Magun-Jackson (2009), divided motivation into approach motivation and avoidance motivation (Table 1). It suggests that avoidance motivation is a predictor of learning rigidity and avoidance due to fear or failure, whilst Approach motivation fosters flexibility to face and adjust to mistakes and failures.

Table 1. Different types of motivation

Type of motivation	Meaning of motivation
External motivation	Motivation directed towards getting a price for accomplishing a goal, such as getting a good grade or a salary bonus (Chuang et al., 2022)
Approach motivation	Motivation to demonstrate competence or succeed (Bartels & Magun-Jackson, 2009).
Avoidance motivation	Motivation to avoid failure in achievement settings because of shame (Bartels & Magun-Jackson, 2009).

Question Can you be highly motivated to accomplish something and still procrastinate at it?

Theories behind fear of failure and procrastination

Origins of fear of failure

Shame

Shame, according to psychodynamic approaches, is a conscious or hidden emotion tied to feelings of negative evaluating of once self and a sense of one's inherent wrongness and fundamental unworthiness. This emotion is often associated with thought regarding one's ability to do things right and desires to hide (Morrison, 2011). As the fear of failure is anxious feelings towards not succeeding at a goal, the fear comes from the belief that the failure is real and disbelief in one's capacity to complete a goal.

The link between shame and fear of failure was supported by McGregor and Elliot (2004) in a study that reported that individuals with higher shame levels demonstrated higher levels of fear of failure{{ic|how strong is this link?}. Subsequently, the study group that reported higher levels of fear of failure, opposite to the ones with the low levels of such, demonstrated higher shame, overgeneralization, and closeness to their mother. They reported that they would experience higher levels of shame about telling their parents about their failures, showing the social influence of shame perception. Ultimately, the beliefs in one's unworthiness ignite fear and anticipation of failure.

Self-esteem

It is evident that there is a strong positive correlation between fear of failure and procrastination, and the research by Zhang et al. (2018) supports these findings. The study goes further into investigating the partially mediating relationship of procrastination on fear of failure on self-esteem, acting as a protection mechanism for one's self-image. However, the study suggested a self-esteem is a key mediator in the relationship between fear of failure and procrastination, directly affecting the significance of the second. Additionally, a study by W. Zhang et al. (2024) on the effects of physical exercise on self-esteem and procrastination found that moderate physical activity is effective in reducing procrastination among college students, while high-volume physical activity helps to increase overall self-esteem. The research highlights the importance of not only immediate and direct work with procrastination, but also addressing potential challenges with self-esteem.

Moderators: Self-esteem and competence beliefs

Self-esteem and competence beliefs are among the main psychological factors that influence how individuals respond to challenging tasks. Both of them shape the way people interpret potential failures and, therefore, their likelihood of engaging in procrastination.

Self-esteem

People with low self-esteem are more likely to develop a "low-effort syndrome". They are more likely to step back from potentially challenging tasks to avoid failure to avoid confirming negative self-beliefs. As a result, they may not participate in cultivating activities, leading to a decline in their motivation to learn and, ultimately, in their performance outcomes (Dweck, 2006).

Question What factors does your self-esteem depend on? Do they positively or negatively affect your drive to take action?

Competence beliefs

The idea of believing in yourself is not just an I annoying advice, but a useful objective of positive psychology. Various studies showed that perceived competence, individuals' belief in their ability to succeed, is a key determinant of their motivation and performance. For example, a study on 237 nursing students showed an overall significant negative correlation between procrastination and factors such as Perceived Personal Competence, Brief Resilient Coping, Self-Esteem, and General Self-Efficacy. A Linear Regression identified Perceived Personal Competence as the only predictable variable of procrastination (Brando-Garrido et al., 2019). However, the findings suggest promising plasticity of such adverse patterns. The study by Zhang et al. (2018) suggested that interventions focusing on the enhancement of self-efficacy and the reduction of fear of failure result in positive changes in participants, resulting in a reduction or even full prevention of academic procrastination, with the effects being most prominent for students with lower self-esteem.

Recap... Low self-esteem intensifies avoidance behaviours Competence perception is detrimental to procrastination Interventions targeting self-perception can help avoid procrastination

Mediation strategies

Fear of failure impacts people's lives in many ways, such as psychological and emotional distress, poor academic performance, isolation, shame, avoidance, and procrastination. Understanding its detrimental effects on various aspects of life is not enough to change behaviour. Knowing specific and effective strategies for the mediation of its impact is essential for improved productivity and quality of life.

Mindfulness-based stress reduction

The Mindfulness-based stress reduction (MBSR) intervention is a meditation technique focused on body scans, meditation, introspection, and awareness (Hjeltnes et al., 2015).

The key steps of MBSP include:

• Finding the inner source of calm

Mindfulness exercises can help with finding the inner source of calm and reduce anxiety

• Sharing a human struggle

Connecting with other people can help with understanding of collectivism of experience, which can help with isolation and reducing feelings of shame

• Staying focused on learning situations

Applying the calming mindfulness techniques, such as deep breathing in a stressful environment, can help with distraction from negative thoughts while staying concentrated

• Moving from fear to curiosity

Exploring fear as a feeling and looking past it from the perspective of curiosity helps with overcoming the feeling without suppressing it

• Focusing on self-acceptance in difficult situations

Learning to be kinder to yourself while facing challenging situations can help reduce stress and provide self-support

MBSP Quiz You are on an exam and have an anxiety attack because you are afraid of getting a bad grade. These "sticky" thoughts distract you from concentrating on the material. What is the next best thing for you to do? Keep trying to focus on questions and try to remember the material scratch your hand or leg to move the focus of your attention to this physical sensation take slow and deep breath while directing your attention to where in the body this feeling is coming from

The Procrastination Matrix

Case Study: Alex is a final-year psychology student nearing the end of the semester, and he feel overwhelmed with tasks and unfinished assignments. Alex has an important assignment he needs to finish very soon, as well as the exams he needs to prepare for. His family is going through a big loss, and the emotional condition and administrative tasks related to it fall on him. Besides that, there are a lot of small, accumulating tasks, such as maintenance and cleaning. Alex wants to get a hold of it all without understanding what to start with, and gets nowhere. What would you do in his case, and how would you prioritize all these overwhelming types of tasks?

The Procrastination Matrix (see Table 2), also known as The Eisenhower Matrix, is a strategy that addresses procrastination based on two factors: urgency and importance (Kennedy & Porter, 2021). This productivity tool helps operationalise multiple tasks based on their priorities and avoid the "more urgent effect" fallacy, that triggers people into doing insignificant, but immediate tasks.

Table 2. The Procrastination Matrix — The Eisenhower Matrix

	Urgent	Not Urgent
Important	Q1 Urgent&Important (do now)	Q2 Not urgent, but important (decide when)
Not Important	Q3 Urgent, but nor important (can deligate)	Q4 Nor urgent, not important(remove)

Case Study: Using the Procrastination Matrix, Alex put his urgent assignment into Q1, the upcoming exam into Q2, helping his family with their documents into Q3, and his everyday cleaning routine into Q4.

Test yourself! Point added for a correct answer:    Points for an incorrect answer: Ignore the questions' coefficients: 1 According to self-worth theory, what is the main cause of procrastination?: Increase in intrinsic motivation Protection of self-esteem through self-handicapping Improvement of emotion regulation skills 2 Which of the following best explains why procrastination is considered a coping strategy for individuals with a fear of failure? It reduces long-term stress and improves performance. It allows them to explain poor performance with a lack of time rather than a lack of ability. It helps them focus on performance rather than results.

Conclusion

Fear is a healthy emotion that protects us from potentially dangerous encounters. However, when fear meets shame and low self-esteem, it can take maladaptive forms and cause adverse effects on our lives, such as impended motivation, low self-esteem, procrastination, intensify the fear of failure. Individuals who perceive failure as their own inherent worthlessness adopt maladaptive motivation patterns, where prevention of failure becomes prioritized over striving for success. Utilising avoidance as a shield for their own flaws, procrastination is adopted as a temporary relief, while the low efforts put into pursuing the goal are used as an excuse for lack of effort.

Self-esteem and perceived confidence are one of the main moderators of fear of failure. Individuals with a stable and adequate self-worth can mediate the adverse emotions caused by unsucess. On the other hand, people with low self-esteem would prefer to withdraw from participating to protect their self-image.

However, after these maladaptive coping patterns were recognised, they can be changed. Effective strategies such as mindfulness exercises, achieving a sense of collective belonging and remaining deep focus in stressful situations can help mediate the stress of shame, while exploring fear and promoting understanding and acceptance of oneself build new thinking patterns.

Take home message: While implementing time-management strategies is crucial, the answer to overcoming procrastination is in discovering and changing deep-rooted emotions and maladaptive patterns that cause self-doubt and stagnation.

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See also

• Defensive avoidance and goal pursuit (Wikiversity)
• Fear of failure (Book chapter, 2021)
• Pleasure principle (psychology) (Wikipedia)

References

Balkıs, M., & Duru, E. (2012). The direct and indirect role of self-esteem and procrastination in relation to fear of failure and self-worth. Journal of New Results in Science, 9(2), 1075–1093. https://doaj.org/article/6453b0b4d69446c198c1747846cfdbd5

Bartels, J. M., & Magun-Jackson, S. (2009). Approach–avoidance motivation and metacognitive self-regulation: The role of need for achievement and fear of failure. Learning and Individual Differences, 19(4), 459–463. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lindif.2009.03.008

Brando-Garrido, C., Montes-Hidalgo, J., Limonero, J. T., Gómez-Romero, M. J., & Tomás-Sábado, J. (2020). Relationship of academic procrastination with perceived competence, coping, self-esteem and self-efficacy in Nursing students. Enfermería Clínica (English Edition), 30(6), 398–403. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enfcle.2019.07.013

Chuang, Y., Huang, T., Lin, S., & Chen, B. (2022). The influence of motivation, self-efficacy, and fear of failure on the career adaptability of vocational school students: Moderated by meaning in life. Frontiers in Psychology, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.958334

Dweck, C. S. (2006). Mindset: the new psychology of success. Choice Reviews Online, 44(04), 44–2397. https://doi.org/10.5860/choice.44-2397

Hjeltnes, A., Binder, P., Moltu, C., & Dundas, I. (2015). Facing the fear of failure: An explorative qualitative study of client experiences in a mindfulness-based stress reduction program for university students with academic evaluation anxiety. International Journal of Qualitative Studies on Health and Well-Being, 10(1), 27990. https://doi.org/10.3402/qhw.v10.27990

McGregor, H. A., & Elliot, A. J. (2005). The shame of failure: examining the link between fear of failure and shame. Personality & social psychology bulletin, 31(2), 218–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167204271420

Morrison, A. P. (2011). The psychodynamics of shame. In American Psychological Association eBooks (pp. 23–43). https://doi.org/10.1037/12326-001

Leary, M. R. (1983). A Brief Version of the Fear of Negative Evaluation Scale. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 9(3), 371-375. https://doi.org/10.1177/0146167283093007

Kennedy, D. R., & Porter, A. L. (2021). The illusion of urgency. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 86(7), 8914. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe8914

Zentall T. R. (2020). Does conditioned reinforcement play a role in procrastination: A pigeon model. Behavioural processes, 178, 104139. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104139

Zhang, W., Xu, M., Feng, Y., Mao, Z., & Yan, Z. (2024). The Effect of Procrastination on Physical Exercise among College Students—The Chain Effect of Exercise Commitment and Action Control. International Journal of Mental Health Promotion, 26(8), 611–622. https://doi.org/10.32604/ijmhp.2024.052730

Zhang, Y., Dong, S., Fang, W., Chai, X., Mei, J., & Fan, X. (2018). Self-efficacy for self-regulation and fear of failure as mediators between self-esteem and academic procrastination among undergraduates in health professions. Advances in health sciences education: theory and practice, 23(4), 817–830. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10459-018-9832-3

External links

• Go Ahead and Fail (The Atlantic)
• Procrastination (Psychology Today)