Do Animals Procrastinate?

Remember those countless times where you put off something to the last minute only to end up doing a less-than-optimal job of it and regretting it afterward? And then doing the same thing when something else comes up? If yes, know that you are not alone. We are all susceptible to chronic procrastination, independent of gender or age. In a quest to find species of the same feather, a few scientists have tried to explore the same behaviour in other animals.

Though, admittedly, the concept in question is a bit vague. Is it valid to consider procrastination in other species when we don't completely understand it in ourselves? Do they even have the ability to procrastinate? This brings up the question of the concept of work and leisure in animals. Unlike us with our books, YouTube, Netflix, and many more things to distract ourselves from our 'undesirable' tasks, don't animals have only socializing options? Without ample relevant data, zoologists were at a loss. So instead of theoretical imprinting of human behaviour on animals, a few of them focussed on procrastination in animals real-time.

A study on pigeons suggests that they would prefer an immediate reward even when the cost is higher. The birds had to choose between completing a small ratio 'schedule' early in the trial or a larger ratio schedule later on. This was repeated various times with an adjusted ratio, a variable-time schedule, and reinforces or rewards added in. These tests gave evidence of "procrastination"—a larger but more delayed response. Even when the cost involved was four times that in the schedule of not putting off the reaction. Whether this is entirely rational, a few have compared this to hyperbolic discounting—the preference for immediate rewards over future rewards even though the immediate reward is smaller—exhibited by humans.

Other scientists have taken the route of observing procrastination-like behaviour in pigeons to better understand it in ourselves. Case in point: the pigeon model of conditioned reinforcement and its role in procrastination. Zentall et al. found that "pigeons preferred to complete a response requirement on a panel closer to the goal (reinforcement) rather than close to the start". He also observed differential reinforcement of other behaviour like pecking, associated with procrastination.

So, the possibility of fundamental species difference in intertemporal choice is greater than the many similarities between human and nonhuman animals regarding discounting and procrastinating. It is a fundamental process underlying decision-making, and understanding it further requires a deeper insight into the psyche of animals.

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