Conceptual replication of Seo (2008), “Self-efficacy as a mediator in the relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination”

Self-oriented perfectionism is the tendency to set high standards for oneself and evaluate one’s behaviour accordingly. Based on a study of 792 students in Korea, Seo (2008) reported finding a negative relationship between self-oriented perfectionism and academic procrastination—i.e., the tendency to procrastinate on academic tasks. Furthermore, Seo found that this relationship was completely mediated by self-efficacy. Seo’s study has been influential in the literature but has not been independently replicated. In this study we report a conceptual replication utilising 575 students from OECD countries and a cross-sectional survey design. A detailed preregistration (including data processing and analysis syntax) was lodged in advance of data collection at https://osf.io/xfvd8. Both ordinary least squares regression and structural equation modelling were used to test hypotheses. We found no evidence of a bivariate relationship between self-oriented perfectionism academic procrastination in either set of analyses, meaning that we were unable to reproduce one of Seo’s two key findings. However, we did find evidence of a small and negative indirect effect of self-oriented perfectionism on academic procrastination via self-efficacy, reproducing part of the mediation model reported by Seo.