Modulating task outcome value to mitigate real-world procrastination via noninvasive brain stimulation

eLife

Abstract

Procrastination represents one of the most prevalent behavioral problems affecting individual health and societal productivity. Although it is often conceptualized as a form of self-control failure, its underlying neurocognitive mechanisms are poorly understood. A leading model posits that procrastination arises from imbalanced competing motivations: the avoidance of negative task aversiveness and the pursuit of positive task outcomes, yet this theoretical framework has not fully validated in real-world settings and not applied effectively to guide interventions. Here, we addressed this gap with a double-blind, randomized controlled trial. We applied seven sessions of high-definition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) to the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), a key region for self-control, in chronic procrastinators. Using the intensive experience sampling method (iESM), we assessed the effect of anodal HD-tDCS on real-world procrastination behavior at offline after-effect (2-day interval) and long-term retention (6-month follow-up). We found that this neuromodulation produced a lasting reduction in real-world procrastination, with effects sustained at a 6-month follow-up. While the intervention both decreased task aversiveness and increased perceived task outcome value, causal mediation analysis revealed a striking mechanism: the increase in task outcome value (but not task aversiveness) sufficiently mediated the entire behavioral improvement. In conclusion, these findings provide causal evidence that enhancing DLPFC function mitigates procrastination by selectively amplifying the valuation of future rewards, not by simply reducing negative feelings about the task. This establishes a precise, value-driven neurocognitive pathway to account the conceptualized roles of self-control on procrastination, and potentially offers a validated, theory-driven strategy for interventions.

Authors 13

1. Z Y Chen

   Southwest University · Army Medical University

   Affiliation as printed

   Experimental Research Center for Medical and Psychological Sciences, School of Psychology, Third Military Medical University

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education

2. Zhilin Ren

   Army Medical University

   Affiliation as printed

   Experimental Research Center for Medical and Psychological Sciences, School of Psychology, Third Military Medical University

3. Wei Li

   Army Medical University

   Affiliation as printed

   Experimental Research Center for Medical and Psychological Sciences, School of Psychology, Third Military Medical University

4. Zhenzhen Huo

   Southwest University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education

5. Zhuanzheng Wang

   Southwest University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education

6. Ye Liu

   Southwest University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education

7. Bowen Hu

   Southwest University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education

8. Wanting Chen

   Southwest University

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education

9. Ting Xu

   Southwest University · University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

   Affiliation as printed

   Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

   Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China

   The Clinical Hospital of the Chengdu Brain Science Institute

10. Artemiy Leonov

    Clark University

    Affiliation as printed

    School of Psychology, Clark University

11. Chenyan Zhang Aachen Institute for Psychological Research

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden University

12. Bernhard Hommel Aachen Institute for Psychological Research

    Leiden University

    Affiliation as printed

    Institute for Psychological Research, Leiden University

13. Tingyong Feng

    Southwest University

    Affiliation as printed

    Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University

    Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education