Abstract
The present study investigates the effects of task characteristics and individual differences on personal internet use at work. Borrowing from the procrastination research, four individual differences (i.e., self-efficacy, conscientiousness, impulsiveness, and ambiguity tolerance) and one task characteristic (i.e., task ambiguity) were identified as relevant variables. For this two-part study, 49 participants were recruited. The first study consisted of an online questionnaire measuring the relevant individual differences and demographic information. The second portion included a laboratory study measuring peoples' procrastination behaviors during an online task. Procrastination was operationalized as time spent on off-task activities (i.e., task-unrelated websites/applications) and was tracked by a time tracking software, WorkTime. Results showed that procrastination was only negatively correlated with ambiguity tolerance. Furthermore, task ambiguity was only marginally relevant in people's procrastination behaviors. Although inconclusive, the study underlines the importance of measuring procrastination as behaviors rather than self-report ratings. The implications, limitations, and future directions of the findings are discussed.
Advisor
Daniel Sachau
Committee Member
Lisa Perez
Committee Member
In-Jae Kim
Date of Degree
2012
Language
english
Document Type
Thesis
Degree
Master of Arts (MA)
Department
Psychology
College
Social and Behavioral Sciences
Recommended Citation
Nishina, H. (2012). The Effects of Task Ambiguity and Individual Differences on Personal Internet Use at Work [Master’s thesis, Minnesota State University, Mankato]. Cornerstone: A Collection of Scholarly and Creative Works for Minnesota State University, Mankato. https://cornerstone.lib.mnsu.edu/etds/165/
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