Pukyong National University

“Measuring the Tendency to Start Tasks Early Rather Than Procrastinate―Scientifically”

― Pukyong National University Research Team Develops the Proactive Initiation Scale; Study Accepted for Publication in an SSCI-Indexed International Journal

Unlike procrastination―the tendency to delay tasks―a scale has been developed to measure precrastination among Chinese university students. Precrastination refers to the tendency to begin or complete tasks or subgoals as early as possible, even when doing so requires additional effort or cost.

A research team comprising doctoral student Peng Zhang of the Department of Educational Consulting at the Graduate School of Pukyong National University, Research Professor Soon-An Hyun of the Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education Research Institute, and Professor Gyun Heo verified the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Precrastination Scale (PS-C) in their paper, “Psychometric Properties of the Chinese Version of the Precrastination Scale.”

The paper has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, an SSCI-indexed international journal published by SAGE, and is currently undergoing the final publication process. The journal specializes in psychological and educational assessment, as well as the development and validation of measurement instruments.

The researchers developed the Chinese version of the Precrastination Scale (PS-C) to measure the tendency to begin tasks early rather than delay them and verified its psychometric reliability and validity. To do so, they conducted item analysis and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses using data from 648 university students in Beijing, Shanxi Province, and Guizhou Province, China. Of these participants, 277 completed the same assessment again four weeks later.

The analysis showed that the newly developed scale demonstrated high internal consistency and test-retest reliability. The researchers also confirmed a single-factor structure that measures precrastination as a single trait, as well as gender measurement invariance, indicating that the scale can be applied using the same criteria to both male and female students. In addition, students with higher levels of precrastination tended to procrastinate less, consider future consequences more carefully, and regulate their behavior more effectively, supporting the scale’s criterion-related validity.

The researchers noted, however, that beginning tasks as early as possible is not always the most efficient approach. Students with a strong tendency toward precrastination may therefore benefit from training in prioritizing more important tasks, while those with a weaker tendency may require support in time management and behavioral implementation to help them begin assignments on time.

Professor Gyun Heo said, “This study is meaningful in that it has established a highly reliable and valid psychometric instrument for measuring precrastination among Chinese-speaking university students.” He added, “Its publication in an SSCI-indexed international journal also demonstrates the potential for the international expansion of education-based research on psychometric instrument development.”

Meanwhile, doctoral student Peng Zhang, a member of the research team, has been devoted to his research since coming to Pukyong National University from China through the Global PKNU Graduate Degree Program for Overseas University Faculty and Staff. He is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in the Department of Educational Consulting at the Graduate School of Pukyong National University while also serving as a researcher at L-liang University in China, where he continues to study adolescent emotional processing, educational psychology, and psychometrics. Supported by the 2025 PhiNX Graduate Student Research Scholarship Program for Protected Academic Disciplines, Zhang published a first-author paper in the KCI-indexed . To date, he has published three papers in KCI-indexed journals. In June, he also achieved publication as the first author of an SSCI-indexed international journal article on cognitive bias in shy adolescents.

Research Professor Soon-An Hyun earned a Ph.D. in Education from the Department of Educational Consulting at the Graduate School of Pukyong National University. She was subsequently selected as a 2026 Humanities and Social Sciences Academic Research Professor by the National Research Foundation of Korea and is currently conducting research as an academic research professor at Pukyong National University’s Fisheries and Marine Sciences Education Research Institute, headed by Professor Hyo-Heon Won, with five years of research support. She also works to strengthen students’ capabilities by teaching related courses in the undergraduate Department of Fisheries and Marine Industries Education and the graduate Department of Educational Consulting. Having previously served as an academic research professor at institutions including Tongmyong University and Sunchon National University, she has devoted herself to research in educational technology, AI education, educational assessment, adolescent cognition and emotion, and psychometrics. In this study, Soon-An Hyun contributed to the interpretation of the data and enhanced the paper’s theoretical and methodological rigor. She has recently produced numerous research outcomes in Korea and abroad, including the publication of two papers in SCIE- and SSCI-indexed journals this year alone.

Professor Gyun Heo, who supervised the study, has conducted research primarily in the fields of educational technology, AI-based education, big data analytics, and advanced quantitative research methodology. He has also mentored graduate students and early-career researchers in publishing their work in both international and domestic academic journals. This achievement is regarded as a demonstration of the global research competitiveness of Pukyong National University, reflecting the international expansion of the expertise in educational psychology and psychometrics cultivated by the undergraduate Department of Fisheries and Marine Industries Education, headed by Professor Tae-Ho Lee, and the graduate Department of Educational Consulting and Department of Fisheries and Marine Human Resources Development.