PROCRASTINATING TOGETHER: FLOCKING GRADUATE STUDENTS INTO GROUPS BASED ON A SHARED PROCLIVITY TO PROCRASTINATE

ABSTRACT

Marketing instructors have long struggled with the issue of free-riding in groups. “Flocking” students based on shared motivation levels has been found to reduce free-riding among undergraduates, but this method may be less effective in graduate courses where student motivation is often more homogeneous. This article presents a modified flocking method whereby graduate students are flocked into groups according to their proclivity to procrastinate, such that students with a high (low) proclivity are matched with similar others. The results of a quasi-experiment show that graduate students flocked by procrastination proclivity (vs. motivation) report less free-riding and better perceived learning outcomes.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank the guest editor, reviewers, and Joe F. Alexander for their valuable insights.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL

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