Perfectionism, and Cognitions, Affect, Self-esteem, and Physiological Reactions in a Performance Situation

The current paper describes the results of an experiment in which 200 students who varied in levels of trait perfectionism performed a laboratory task and then were assessed in terms of levels of state affect, state self-esteem, and state automatic thoughts. Independent variables included task difficulty (high versus moderate level of difficulty) and performance feedback independent of their actual level of performance (positive or negative). Analyses also examined objective levels of performance (i.e., the number of errors on the task) and initial confidence in performance. Analyses showed that the experience of state automatic thoughts involving perfectionism was associated with negative automatic thoughts, negative affective reactions, and lower state self-esteem. Analyses of changes in mood and self-esteem showed generally that participants high in socially prescribed perfectionism had increased levels of dysphoria and anxiety and lower levels of state self-esteem following the experience of negative performance feedback or after having a relatively poor performance. Analyses of the physiological measures found increased systolic blood pressure among self-oriented perfectionists who had poorer performance and among socially prescribed perfectionists who had received negative feedback about their performance. The results for heart-rate changes yielded a less clear pattern, though there was evidence that participants with high socially prescribed perfectionism had increased heart rate if they received negative feedback and were relatively low in confidence. Collectively, these findings illustrate that how perfectionists react in challenging situations varies as a function of actual performance, performance feedback, and feelings of personal efficacy.

Multidimensional Perfectionism and Ruminative Brooding in Current Dysphoria,Anxiety, Worry,and Anger

The current study examined links between dimensions of perfectionism, ruminative and distractive coping, and multiple measures of current distress (dysphoria, anxiety, worry, and anger) in 205 university students. A main goal was to test the hypothesis that perfectionism is related to a new measure of the critical maladaptive component of rumination (i.e., ruminative brooding) that is not confounded with symptoms and confirm that both constructs function as non-specific vulnerabilities for emotional distress. Our study revealed numerous significant findings, including: (1) socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP) was the dimension most strongly related to brooding in response to depression and anxiety; (2) SPP, self-oriented perfectionism (SOP), and brooding predicted various indices of distress; (3) SOP predicted anxiety and worry in women, and it predicted dysphoria and anger in men; (4) despite the strong associations between ruminative brooding and distress, perfectionism still accounted for unique variance in distress, and vice-versa. Implications for the issue of the adaptiveness versus maladaptiveness of perfectionism and for counseling perfectionists who fall into the “brooding trap” are discussed.

Perfectionism in depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders

High levels of perfectionism have been observed in major depression, anxiety disorders and eating disorders. Though few studies have compared levels of perfectionism across these disorders, there is reason to believe that different dimensions of perfectionism may be involved in eating disorders than in depression or anxiety [Bardone-Cone, A. M. et al. (2007). Perfectionism and eating disorders: Current status and future directions. Clinical Psychology Review, 27, 84-405]. The present study compared patients with major depression, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders on dimensions of perfectionism. Concern over Mistakes was elevated in each of the patient groups while Pure Personal Standards was only elevated in the eating disorder sample. Doubts about Actions was elevated in both patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and eating disorders, but not in depressed patients. Analyses of covariance indicated that Concern over Mistakes accounted for most of the variance in the relationship of perfectionism to these forms of psychopathology.     

Perfectionism,discrepancies, and depression: Testing the perfectionism social disconnection model in a short-term,four-wave longitudinal study

Perfectionistic concerns (i.e., negative reactions to failures, exaggerated concerns over others’ criticism and expectations, and nagging self-doubts) are linked to social disconnection and depressive symptoms. According to the perfectionism social disconnection model, perfectionistic concerns contribute to social disconnection (i.e., feeling rejected, excluded, and unwanted by others) which, subsequently, contributes to depressive symptoms. The social world is replete with chances for interpretations. In interpreting their social worlds, people high in perfectionistic concerns tend to perceive interpersonal discrepancies, a distressing form of social disconnection that involves perceptions of others as dissatisfied with them and as disapproving of them. These interpretations are also conceptualized as having depressing consequences for people high in perfectionistic concerns. This study tested whether perceived interpersonal discrepancies mediate the relation between perfectionistic concerns and depressive symptoms; 240 participants were recruited and this mediational model was tested with a four-wave, 4-week longitudinal design. Structural equation modeling with bootstrapped tests of mediation indicated the perfectionistic concerns-depressive symptoms relationship was mediated by interpersonal discrepancies (even after controlling for perfectionistic strivings). People high in perfectionistic concerns perceive others as dissatisfied with them and as disapproving of them. Feeling rejected, excluded, and unwanted by others, people high in perfectionistic concerns are vulnerable to depression.     

The Complex Interplay Between Trait Fatigue and Cognition in Multiple Sclerosis

Cognitive impairments are frequent in patients with Multiple Sclerosis (MS). Yet, the influence of MS-related symptoms on cognitive status is not clear. Studies investigating the impact of trait fatigue along with anxio-depressive symptoms on cognition are seldom, and even less considered fatigue as multidimensional. Moreover, these studies provided conflicting results.Twenty-nine MS patients and 28 healthy controls, matched on age, gender and education underwent a full comprehensive neuropsychological assessment. Anxio-depressive and fatigue symptoms were assessed using the HAD scale and the MFIS, respectively. Six composite scores were derived from the neuropsychological assessment, reflecting the cognitive domains of working memory, verbal and visual learning, executive functions, attention and processing speed. Stepwise regression analyses were conducted in each group to investigate if trait cognitive and physical fatigue, depression and anxiety are relevant predictors of performance in each cognitive domain. In order to control for disease progression, patient’s EDSS score was also entered as predictor variable.In the MS group, trait physical fatigue was the only significant predictor of working memory score. Cognitive fatigue was a predictor for executive functioning performance and for processing speed (as well as EDSS score for processing speed). In the healthy controls group, only an association between executive functioning and depression was observed.Fatigue predicted cognition in MS patients only, beyond anxio-depressive symptoms and disease progression. Considering fatigue as a multidimensional symptom is paramount to better understand its association with cognition, as physical and cognitive fatigue are predictors of different cognitive processes.     

Perfectionism in young musicians: Relations with motivation, effort, achievement, and distress

Many musicians experience anxiety and distress when performing, which has been related to perfectionism. Recent findings, however, show that only some facets of perfectionism are associated with anxiety and distress, whereas other facets are associated with positive characteristics and outcomes such as motivation and achievement. To investigate how different facets of perfectionism are related to motivation, effort, achievement, and distress in musicians, 146 young musicians completed measures of perfectionism (striving for perfection, negative reactions to imperfection, and perceived pressure to be perfect), intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, effort, achievement, and distress. Results showed that striving for perfection was associated with intrinsic motivation (intrinsic/identified reasons), higher effort, and higher achievement. Whereas perceived pressure from music teachers was also associated with intrinsic motivation (identified reasons only), negative reactions to imperfection were associated with extrinsic motivation and higher distress. The findings demonstrate that perfectionism in musicians has both positive and negative sides. While negative reactions to imperfection are clearly unhealthy, striving for perfection may be regarded as a healthy pursuit of excellence.     

Perfectionism,Distress, and Irrational Beliefs in High School Students: Analyses with an Abbreviated Survey of Personal Beliefs for Adolescents

The current study examined the associations between dimensions of perfectionism and irrational beliefs in an adolescent sample. In addition, we tested the association between psychological distress and irrational beliefs in adolescents and we evaluated the feasibility of creating a modified version of the Survey of Personal Beliefs for use with adolescents. A sample of 250 adolescents (108 males, 142 females) completed the Child-Adolescent Perfectionism Scale, the Survey of Personal Beliefs, and the CES-D Depression Scale. Initial psychometric analyses yielded an abbreviated 30-item Survey of Personal Beliefs with adequate internal consistency for four of the five subscales. Our results showed that self-oriented perfectionism was associated significantly with all five irrational belief subscales, while the associations between socially prescribed perfectionism and irrational belief subscales were much smaller in magnitude. Self-oriented perfectionism, socially prescribed perfectionism, and irrational beliefs were all associated significantly with elevated distress among adolescents, and irrational beliefs predicted unique variance in distress, over and above the variance attributable to the trait perfectionism dimensions. The findings confirmed the association between perfectionism and irrational beliefs and their respective roles in psychological distress among adolescents.     

Perfectionism and efficiency: Accuracy,response bias,and invested time in proof-reading performance

Investigating problem-solving performance, Ishida, H. (2005). College students’ perfectionism and task-strategy inefficience: Why their efforts go unrewarded? Japanese Journal of Social Psychology, 20, 208–215. Found high levels of perfectionism were associated with lower efficiency. Aiming to replicate and further explore this finding, the present study investigated how two dimensions of perfectionism (high standards, discrepancy between expectations and performance) predicted efficiency in proof-reading performance. N = 96 students completed a proof-reading task involving the detection of spelling, grammar, and format errors. When error-detection performance was subjected to signal detection analysis, high standards correlated positively with the number of incorrectly detected errors (false alarms). Moreover, when task-completion time was taken into account, high standards were negatively correlated with efficiency (accuracy/time). In comparison, discrepancy correlated negatively with the number of correctly detected errors (hits) and positively with a conservative response bias. The findings show that perfectionistic standards are associated with reduced efficiency demonstrating the importance of considering invested time, errors, and response bias when investigating the relationship between perfectionism and performance.     

Perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns interact to predict negative emotionality: Support for the tripartite model of perfectionism in Canadian and Chinese university students

For most individuals, perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns coexist to varying degrees. While there is agreement that within-person combinations of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns produce meaningful “subtypes”, the number and characterization of these within-person combinations is still debated. The two most prominent person-centered perfectionism models (the tripartite model and the 2 × 2 model) offer differing characterizations of how perfectionistic strivings effects perfectionistic concerns’ relationship with psychological outcomes. According to the 2 × 2 model, perfectionistic strivings buffers against the negative effects of perfectionistic concerns. The 2 × 2 model thus claims the most deleterious within-person combination of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns is low strivings and high concerns. In contrast, according to the tripartite model, perfectionistic strivings exacerbates the maladaptive effects of perfectionistic concerns. The tripartite model thus claims the most maladaptive within-person combination of perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns is high strivings and high concerns. The present study tested these competing claims in a group of English speaking Canadians and a group of Mandarin speaking Chinese. Results support the tripartite model of perfectionism.     

Dimensions of Perfectionism and Levels of Attributions for Grades: Relations with Dysphoria and Academic Performance

The current study examined associations between dimensions of perfectionism, levels of attributions for a self-identified problem with marks, and dysphoria and course final grade in university students (253 women; 125 men). Our study revealed several significant findings: (1) perfectionism and levels of attribution are distinct yet related constructs; (2) socially prescribed perfectionism and specific levels of attribution both accounted for unique variance in dysphoria; (3) there were significant gender differences with respect to the relations among perfectionism dimensions, levels of attribution, and dysphoria; (4) self-oriented perfectionism and specific levels of attribution both accounted for unique variance in final grade, but in men only; (5) interactions between perfectionism dimensions and levels of attribution did not augment the prediction of dysphoria or academic performance; (6) self-oriented perfectionism is possibly adaptive under some circumstances. Implications for treating perfectionists and for further research are discussed.     

Predicting depression, anxiety and self-harm in adolescents: The role of perfectionism and acute life stress

Despite the growing evidence that perfectionism is associated with adolescent psychological distress, few studies have investigated this relationship prospectively with measures designed for use in adolescent populations. In the present study, within a diathesis-stress framework, we investigated the extent to which perfectionism and acute life stress predict depression, anxiety and self-harm among adolescent school children (n = 515) over a 6 month period (Time 1-Time 2). Socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP), self-oriented perfectionism-critical (SOP-critical) and the associated interactions with acute life stress differentially predicted anxiety, depression and self-harm. Acute life stress was an independent predictor of depression, anxiety and self-harm. SPP predicted depression and interacted with acute life stress to predict self-harm. SOP-critical and the SOP-critical by acute life stress interaction predicted anxiety. Self-oriented perfectionism-striving (SOP-striving) did not predict any of the Time 2 measures of distress. The dimensions of perfectionism are differentially associated with psychological distress. Tailored clinical interventions focused on adolescent perfectionism should offer promise in tackling psychological morbidity in adolescence.     

Perfectionism is multidimensional: a reply to Shafran,Cooper and Fairburn

provided a cognitive-behavioural analysis of perfectionism that focused primarily on self-oriented perfectionism. They argued against studying perfectionism from a multidimensional perspective that they regard as inconsistent with prior work on perfectionism as a self-oriented phenomenon. We respond to by offering historical, empirical, and theoretical support for the usefulness and the importance of a multidimensional model of perfectionism involving both intrapersonal processes and interpersonal dynamics. It is concluded that a multidimensional approach to the study of perfectionism is still warranted.     

Preoccupied attachment,need to belong,shame, and interpersonal perfectionism: An investigation of the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model

According to the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model, interpersonal components of perfectionism (i.e., socially prescribed perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation) develop when individuals exhibit an inordinate need for belongingness and shame as a result of early attachment insecurity and/or a lack of emotional attunement in the caregiver–child relationship. This study hence examined the mediating effects of the need to belong and shame on the relationships between insecure attachment and interpersonal perfectionism. A sample of 513 undergraduates completed self-report measures including trait perfectionism, perfectionistic self-presentation, shame, the need for belongingness, and attachment styles. As hypothesized, socially prescribed perfectionism and perfectionistic self-presentation were both positively associated with the need to belong, shame, and insecure attachment styles. Furthermore, results from multiple mediation analyses indicated that the associations between preoccupied attachment and interpersonal components of perfectionism were mediated by a strong need for belongingness and shame. The present study hence provides further empirical support for the Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model and highlights the importance of examining the quality of attachment relationships for individuals with elevated interpersonal perfectionism.     

Perfectionism and Eating Attitudes In Competitive Rowers: Moderating Effects of Body Mass,Weight Classification and Gender

Abstract

One purpose of the present research was to determine the relationship between perfectionism and eating attitudes among national level rowers. A second purpose was to determine if body mass, weight classification and gender moderate perfectionism-eating attitude relations. Rowers from New Zealand and Australia (W=449) completed the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale (PANPS; Terry-Short, Owens, Slade and Dewey, 1995), the Eating Attitude Test-40 (EAT-40; Garner and Garfinkel, 1979), and the Short Form of the Marlowe-Crowne Social Desirability Scale (MC-SDS; Reynolds, 1982). In addition, a Body Mass Index (BMI) was calculated from the height and weight measurements of each participant. Hierarchical multiple regression analyses showed that, after accounting for social desirability effects. Negative (unhealthy) Perfectionism scores were positively related to disturbed eating attitude scores, whereas Positive (healthy) Perfectionism scores were unrelated to disturbed eating attitude scores. In addition, body mass, weight classification and gender operated in a conjunctive fashion to produce a maximum moderator effect. That is, relations between Negative Perfectionism and disturbed eating attitudes were strongest for female lightweight rowers with higher BMI scores. Recommendations for future research are discussed.     

Perfectionism and negative repetitive thoughts: Examining a multiple mediator model in relation to mindfulness

Perfectionism is known to be associated with various maladaptive outcomes, yet little research has examined mechanisms underlying perfectionism or potential protective factors. This study investigated worry and rumination as mediators between perfectionism and psychological distress in university students (N = 213), and related the multiple mediator model to a five-facet conceptualization of mindfulness. Socially prescribed perfectionism was related to higher levels of distress, including negative affect, depression, anxiety, and stress, while self-oriented perfectionism and other-oriented perfectionism appeared unrelated to distress. Mindfulness facets of acting with awareness, non-judging of inner experience, and to a lesser extent non-reactivity to inner experience, were the strongest independent contributors to perfectionism, negative repetitive thoughts, and distress. Worry and rumination mediated the relationship between socially prescribed perfectionism and negative affect; however, the mediating effect of rumination was absent in those high in mindfulness. These findings suggest that a mindfulness disposition may mitigate distress related to socially prescribed perfectionism by removing the mediating effect of ruminative thought. Future research might explore a mindfulness-training program to target negative repetitive thoughts underlying socially prescribed perfectionism.     

Attentional Bias,Self-consciousness and Perfectionism in Social Phobia Before and After Cognitive-Behaviour Therapy

Attentional bias for threat words (as measured by the emotional Stroop task), selfconsciousness and perfectionism was studied in 24 patients with social phobia before and after cognitive-behaviour treatment. A total of 18 (75%) of the patients were classified as treatment responders on the basis of reduced scores for social anxiety. The treatment responders showed a significant reduction in attentional bias for social threat words, in public self-consciousness and in perfectionism. The non-responders showed an equal reduction in perfectionism; as they had a much higher level of perfectionism before treatment, however, their change only amounted to a lowering of their level of perfectionism to the level that characterized the treatment responders before treatment. The treatment responders, on the other hand, reduced their level of perfectionism to that of non-clinical samples.     

Positive and negative affect,depression, and cognitive processes in the Cognition in the Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene (Co-STAR) Trial

ABSTRACT

Objectives: This study examined the relationship between positive and negative affect, depressive symptoms, and cognitive performance. Methods: The sample consisted of 1479 non-demented, postmenopausal women (mean age = 67 years) at increased risk of breast cancer enrolled in the National Surgical Adjuvant Breast and Bowel Project’s Study of Tamoxifen and Raloxifene. At each annual visit, women completed a standardized neuropsychological battery and self-report measures of affect and depression. Data from three visits were used in linear mixed models for repeated measures using likelihood ratio tests. Separate analyses were performed to relate positive/negative affect and depression to each cognitive measure. Results: Higher positive affect was associated with better letter fluency (p = .006) and category fluency (p < .0001). Higher negative affect was associated with worse global cognitive function (p < .0001), verbal memory (CVLT List B; p = .002), and spatial ability (p < .0001). Depressive symptoms were negatively associated with verbal knowledge (p = .004), figural memory (p < .0001), and verbal memory (p’s ≤ .0001). Discussion: Findings are consistent with some prior research demonstrating a link between positive affect and increased verbal fluency and between depressive symptoms and decreased memory. The most novel finding shows that negative affect is related to decreased global cognition and visuospatial ability. Overall, this research in a large, longitudinal sample supports the notion that positive affect is related to increases and negative affect to decreases in performance on distinct cognitive measures.     

Mood vs. Interpersonal Affect: Identifying Process and Rating Distortions in Performance Appraisal

This study was designed to simultaneously analyze the influence of mood and interpersonal affect on the performance appraisal process. Results suggest that affect consistency, as opposed to mood consistency, is likely to influence the weighting of recalled performance information and ratings subsequently assigned. Surprisingly, a mood-incongruent effect also occurred when weighting the performance information. Aside from affective influences, the raters assigned the most weight to positive performance incidents, however, the raters remembered more of the negative performance. Implications for appraisal practice and directions for future research are discussed.     

Sensory processing sensitivity and its relation to parental bonding, anxiety, and depression

Sensory processing sensitivity is a recently proposed construct referring to a tendency to process a variety of information more strongly and deeply than others. Although some research has found links between sensory processing sensitivity and psychological difficulties, highly sensitive people may not necessarily be predisposed to negative affect, but may be more sensitive to poor parenting. Two hundred thirteen college students were given a measure of sensory processing sensitivity (the HSPS), the parental bonding scale (measuring parental care and over-protection), the trait anxiety scale, and the Beck depression inventory. Sensory processing sensitivity predicted both anxiety and depression above and beyond parental factors, indicating that it may be an independent risk factor. An interaction was found between sensory processing sensitivity and parental care when measuring depression. Highly sensitive people may be particularly sensitive to uncaring parents. Results indicate that sensory processing sensitivity may be a temperamental disposition that interacts meaningfully with environmental factors.     

Achievement Goals in Social Interactions: Learning with Mastery vs. Performance Goals

Little work has studied achievement goals in social interaction situations. The present experiment aimed at contributing to this matter by showing the potential of social interaction (in particular disagreement) to moderate the effects of achievement goals on learning. Participants were led to think they interacted with a partner, sharing opinions about a text that they were studying. Mastery and performance goals were manipulated. During the “interaction,” they received either disagreement or agreement from this bogus partner. Results showed that a condition in which mastery goals were induced led to better learning than a performance goal condition only when the partner disagreed. No differences between goal conditions were observed when the partner agreed. Implications for achievement goal research are discussed. Part of this work was conducted during Céline Darnon’s doctoral dissertation under the supervision of Fabrizio Butera, and was written during Céline Darnon’s post-doctorate at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, USA, thanks to a Fulbright fellowship.