Neural Changes Following Cognitive Behavior Therapy for Procrastination

April 8, 2026 updated by: Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Neural Changes Following Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT) for Procrastination: An fMRI and EEG Randomized Controlled Trial of Two CBT Protocols

The aim of this study is to compare the efficacy of and the neural changes following two cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) protocols for procrastination with a wait-list control group. The interventions will be delivered online in group settings. Both protocols include identical psychoeducation and cognitive modules aiming at identification and modification of dysfunctional automatic thoughts related to procrastination but will differ in the behavioral modules. The behavioral module in the first protocol is focused on timely beginning and realistic planning. The second protocol implements working time restriction. The wait-list control group will receive one of the CBT protocols after a waiting period that will last as long as the CBT intervention and the assessments performed directly after treatment. It is assumed that the interventions will be superior to the wait-list control. Primary (procrastination) and secondary (depression and anxiety) measures will be collected prior to and after the interventions (or waiting period in the wait-list group) and after 6 months in the two active condition groups. Additionally, neuroimaging measurements will be conducted before and after the interventions (or waiting period in the wait-list group). Approximately half of the participants will undergo functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), and another half will undergo electroencephalography (EEG). Both methods are aimed at exploring neural correlates of the expected improvements in participants' self-regulation abilities.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Completed

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Actual)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
293

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Study Locations

  • Poland
      • Warsaw, Poland, 02-093
        • Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Bachelor's and Master's university students
  • Self-reported primary difficulties related to chronic and severe procrastination
  • Serious procrastination problem lasting for at least one year as confirmed during clinical interview
  • Having a postponed/procrastinated project to complete in the course of therapy
  • Willing to participate in the study
  • Fluent in Polish language
  • Computer access and stable Internet connection

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Current participation in other psychotherapy
  • Use of psychiatric medication during the last 12 weeks
  • Severe anxiety or affective disorders or any other severe psychiatric disorders that require other types of specialized care and are primary to procrastination problem (e.g. major depressive episode, social phobia, PTSD, etc.)
  • Active suicidality
  • Psychosis, bipolar disorder
  • Alcohol or substance dependence
  • Severe personality disorders (with the exclusion of avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders)
  • For Warsaw participants: contradictions for fMRI measurement (metal elements in the body, claustrophobia, neurological conditions, pregnancy etc), non right-handedness.
  • For Poznań participants: neurological conditions (e.g. epilepsy)

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment
  • Allocation: Randomized
  • Interventional Model: Parallel Assignment
  • Masking: Single

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Techniques of Starting on Time and Planning Realistically
5 session (one session a week) online group therapy including psychoeducation and cognitive modules (what is procrastination, role of rewards, work environment, identification of dysfunctional automatic thoughts, cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention) and a behavioral module: realistic planning, timely beginning.
Behavioral: Psychoeducation and cognitive modules
Psychoeducation and cognitive modules: what is procrastination, role of rewards, work environment, belief identification, cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention.
Behavioral: Behavioral module: Starting on Time and Planning Realistically
Learning of realistic planning, and timely starting of work.
Experimental: Cognitive Behavioral Therapy with Technique of Working Time Restriction
5 session (one session a week) online group therapy including psychoeducation and cognitive modules (what is procrastination, role of rewards, work environment, identification of dysfunctional automatic thoughts, cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention) and a behavioral module: working time restriction.
Behavioral: Psychoeducation and cognitive modules
Psychoeducation and cognitive modules: what is procrastination, role of rewards, work environment, belief identification, cognitive restructuring, relapse prevention.
Behavioral: Behavioral module: Working Time Restriction
Restriction of allowed time for work, and gradual increase of allowed time, if previous time windows where effectively used.
No Intervention: Wait-list control group
no intervention

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Polish version of the Pure Procrastination Scale (PPS)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Assessment of procrastination level. The Polish version of PPS consists of 12 items that evaluate procrastination conceptualized as a dysfunctional delay (e.g. "I am continually saying I'll do it tomorrow"; "I delay making decisions until it's too late"). Participants respond on a 5-point scale (1 = "very seldom or not true of me"; 2 = "seldom true of me"; 3 = "sometimes true of me"; 4 = "often true of me"; 5 = "very often true of true of me")
baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Aitken Procrastination Inventory (API)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Assessment of academic procrastination level. The Polish version of API consists of 19 items that evaluate the tendency of students to procrastinate in their academic tasks (e.g. "If I had an important project to do, I'd get started on it as quickly as possible", "Getting down to work often takes me a long time."). Participants respond on a 5-point scale (1 = "false"; 2 = "mostly false"; 3 = " sometimes false/sometimes true"; 4 = "mostly true"; 5 = "true").
baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Change in Polish version of the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Assessment of depressive symptoms. The Polish version of PHQ-9 consists of 9 items that evaluate the occurrence of depressive symptoms in the last 2 weeks (e.g. "Little interest or enjoyment of your activities"). Participants respond on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = "not at all"; 1 = "on a few days"; 2 = "on more than half of the days"; 3 = "nearly every day").
baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder Questionnaire-7 (GAD-7)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Assessment of anxiety symptoms. The Polish version of GAD-7 consists of 7 items that evaluate the occurrence of anxiety and excessive worry symptoms in the last 2 weeks (e.g. "Feeling afraid as if something awful might happen"). Participants respond on a 4-point Likert scale (0 = "not at all"; 1 = "on a few days"; 2 = "on more than half of the days"; 3 = "nearly every day").
baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6); follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Percentage of completion of a particular project that the participant decided to work on during the training (e.g. a thesis, an essay, a report).
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6)
Before and after therapy they will be asked to assess the percentage of the project that has been completed. The higher the difference between the two assessments the better the outcome.
baseline assessment (week 0); mid-treatment assessment (week 3); post-treatment assessment (week 6)

Other Outcome Measures

Other Outcome Measures

For clinical trials, a planned measurement described in the protocol that is used to determine the effect of an intervention/treatment on participants. For observational studies, a measurement or observation that is used to describe patterns of diseases or traits, or associations with exposures, risk factors, or treatment. Types of outcome measures include primary outcome measure and secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Polish version of the Credibility Expectancy Questionnaire (CEQ)
Time Frame: After the first session (week 1)
After the first session (week 1)
Polish version of the Negative Effects Questionnaire (NEQ)
Time Frame: Post-treatment (week 6)
Post-treatment (week 6)
Polish version of the Client Satisfaction Questionnaire (CSQ)
Time Frame: Post-treatment (week 6)
Post-treatment (week 6)
Change in Polish version of the Self-control Scale (NAS-50)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Sensitivity to Punishment and Sensitivity to Reward Questionnaire - Short Form (SPSRQ-SF)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Multidimensional-Multiattributional Causality Scale (MMCS)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (PFAI)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation questionnaire (DERS)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Motivation Diagnostic Test (MDT)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Metacognitive Beliefs about Procrastination Questionnaire (MBPQ)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Impulsivity Scale (UPPS-P)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of the Procrastination Diagnostic Criteria Questionnaires (PDCQ)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6), follow-up assessment (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
Change in Polish version of Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS) in relation to a project that the participant decided to work on during the training (e.g. a thesis, an essay, a report)
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6
baseline assessment (week 0), mid-treatment assessment (week 3), post-treatment assessment (week 6
Polish version of the Group Session Rating Scale (GSRS)
Time Frame: During the intervention: at the end of every psychotherapy session (weeks 1-5)
During the intervention: at the end of every psychotherapy session (weeks 1-5)
Several items concerning homework compliance (cf. Kazantzis et al., 2005).
Time Frame: after sessions 2-5 (weeks 3-6) and at follow-up (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
after sessions 2-5 (weeks 3-6) and at follow-up (6 months after post-treatment assessment)
fMRI measurements
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), post-treatment assessment (week 6)
Participants from Warsaw, prior to and after the interventions will undergo fMRI measurements, consisting of resting state and two cognitive tasks. In the first task participants will read sentences representing three conditions: sentences related to academic duties, sentences presenting negative events or situations, and sentences presenting neutral events or situations. The second task will be a monetary go/no-go task in two conditions: neutral condition, where participants will get some amount of money for each task block, regardless of their performance, and punishment condition, where participants will be given some amount of money prior to each task block, and will lose a fraction of the money each time when they respond to NoGo signal, or when they don't respond to Go signal or respond to it too slow.
baseline assessment (week 0), post-treatment assessment (week 6)
Electroencephalography (EEG) measurements
Time Frame: baseline assessment (week 0), post-treatment assessment (week 6)
Participants from Poznań before and after the interventions will undergo electroencephalography (EEG) measurements, during two emo-cognitive tasks. In the first task, participants will passively view single words related to three conditions: academic procrastination, negative emotions, neutral words. The second task will be a classic go/no-go task. In the posttest, there will be an additional negative norm-referenced feedback condition, where participants will be informed that their current performance in the go/no-go task is lower than a certain percentage of people who were tested. The EEG examination will utilize the Event-Related Potential (ERP) technique to measure the brain's electrical activity in response to specific events (stimuli and responses). This study will particularly focus on attentional processing and monitoring components, such as the P300, and Error Related Negativity (ERN) and Error Positivity (Pe).
baseline assessment (week 0), post-treatment assessment (week 6)

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology of the Polish Academy of Sciences

Collaborators

Collaborators

An organization other than the sponsor that provides support for a clinical study. This support may include activities related to funding, design, implementation, data analysis, or reporting.
Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences
SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Marek Wypych, PhD, DSc, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology, Polish Academy of Sciences
  • Principal Investigator: Jarosław Michałowski, Prof., SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities
  • Principal Investigator: Joachim Kowalski, PhD, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Sciences

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Actual)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
April 8, 2024

Primary Completion (Actual)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
January 15, 2026

Study Completion (Actual)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
January 15, 2026

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 18, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 9, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 10, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 9, 2026

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 8, 2026

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
November 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • CBT_Procrastination_Neuro

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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