Biased interpretation in perfectionistic concerns: an experimental investigation

Background and objectives: Perfectionism is associated with the development and maintenance of several disorders. Given the importance of perfectionism understanding the biased information processes that underpin it is critical. The present study tested the hypothesis that heightened concern over mistakes subscale scores of the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale are characterized by a tendency to impose emotionally negative interpretations on perfectionism-relevant situations.

Method and design: Seventy-six non-clinical, general population participants’ were presented with interpretations of scenarios where a protagonist was described as achieving well above what was required, but fell short of their own high standard. Using a within-subjects, quasi-experimental design, we assessed interpretations of these scenarios by examining the degree to which participants rated test sentences as being likely implications of the original scenarios.

Results: A generalized linear mixed model revealed higher concern over mistakes scores were associated with an increased tendency to rate negative target test sentences as being similar to the original perfectionism-relevant scenarios, and a reduced tendency to rate positive target test sentences as being similar to these original scenarios.

Conclusions: The findings provide support for the cognitive–behavioral model of perfectionism. These findings support the inclusion of strategies in cognitive–behavioral treatment of perfectionism to reduce interpretation bias.     

Perfectionism, anger, and anger rumination

Anger and anger rumination are considered to be detrimental to both physical and psychological well being. Furthermore, perfectionism, as a personality construct, seems to be related to various types of maladjustment. Whereas perfectionism has been characterized as being positive when an individual derives pleasure from striving for excellence yet recognizes and accepts individual limitations, it is deemed negative when the individual has unrealistic expectations and is never satisfied with his or her performance. The present study examined whether positive and negative perfectionism was associated with anger and anger rumination. The Farsi version of the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale and the Farsi version of the Anger Rumination Scale, as well as Spielberger's State-Trait Anger Scale were completed by 384 Iranian students. Results showed that anger and anger rumination were, as expected, associated negatively with positive perfectionism and associated positively with negative perfectionism. Positive perfectionism enables individuals to strive for success in a flexible manner and, thus, to experience satisfaction and pleasure rather than dissatisfaction, frustration, and anger. Conversely, negative perfectionism makes individuals vulnerable to emotional distress such as predisposition to experience anger and anger rumination through setting high standards for performance, overgeneralization of perceived failures, negative self-evaluation, self-blame, and measuring self-worth in terms of unachievable goals of accomplishment and productivity. Hence, perfectionism may be regarded as having both adaptive and maladaptive aspects with regard to health.     

Perfectionism and statistics anxiety

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between perfectionism and statistics anxiety, using a multivariate approach. Participants were 107 students enrolled in graduate-level research methodology courses. A canonical correlation analysis revealed that graduate students who hold unrealistic standards for significant others (i.e. other-oriented perfectionists) and those who maintain a perceived need to attain standards and expectations prescribed by significant others (i.e. socially-prescribed perfectionists) tend to have higher levels of statistics anxiety associated with interpretation anxiety, test and class anxiety, computational self-concept and fear of asking for help. The implications of these findings are discussed.     

The relationship between physical appearance concerns,disgust, and anti-fat prejudice

This study examined relationships between physical appearance concerns (fear of fat, body image disturbance; BIDQ), disgust, and anti-fat prejudice (dislike, blame), and tested whether disgust mediates relationships between physical appearance concerns and anti-fat prejudice. Participants (N = 1649; age = 28 years) provided demographic data and completed measures of anti-fat prejudice, tendency to feel disgust, and physical appearance concerns. Univariate, multivariate, and mediation analyses were conducted. Univariate and multivariate associations were found between fear of fat, BIDQ, disgust, and anti-fat prejudice for women. For women only, mediation analyses showed that disgust partially mediated relationships between physical appearance concerns and dislike of fat people. For men, univariate and multivariate relationships were found between fear of fat, and dislike and blame of fat people, but disgust was not related to anti-fat prejudice. Newer constructs centering on physical appearance concerns and disgust appear promising candidates for understanding anti-fat prejudice.     

Perfectionism and Acceptance

The present paper argues that there is both a positive and a negative form of perfectionism, and that they can be differentiated in terms of acceptance. The basic argument is that there is nothing unhealthy or dysfunctional about the striving for perfection as such—perfectionism, however, becomes dysfunctional when this striving for perfection turns into a demand for perfection, defined as an inability to accept being less than perfect. Positive perfectionism, in other words, is viewed as a dialectic combination of (a) a striving for perfection, and (b) the acceptance of non-perfection. Some therapeutic implications are discussed, and some directions for further research are pointed out.     

完美主义研究综述

本文在对完美主义的概念、测评工具予以介绍的基础上,回顾了临床完美主义与心理病理学的相关研究,并针对完美主义的测评工具提出了需要进一步深入研究的问题。     

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 and Suicide Ideation in Adolescent Psychiatric Patients

This study was conducted to examine the relations between dimensions of perfectionism and suicide ideation in an adolescent psychiatric sample. A sample of 66 adolescents from an inpatient psychiatric facility completed the Child and Adolescent Perfectionism Scale, the Child's Hopelessness Scale, and the Suicide Ideation Questionnaire. Overall, the results indicated that socially prescribed perfectionism was associated with greater suicide ideation and that it, along with hopelessness, accounted for unique variance in suicide ideation scores. The findings are discussed in terms of their practical and theoretical significance as well as their consistency with similar research with adults.     

Parenting Perfectionism and Parental Adjustment

The parental role is expected to be one of the most gratifying and rewarding roles in life. As expectations of parenting become ever higher, the implications of parenting perfectionism for parental adjustment warrant investigation. Using longitudinal data from 182 couples, this study examined the associations between societal- and self-oriented parenting perfectionism and new mothers’ and fathers’ parenting self-efficacy, stress, and satisfaction. For mothers, societal-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with lower parenting self-efficacy, but self-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with higher parenting satisfaction. For fathers, societal-oriented parenting perfectionism was associated with higher parenting stress, whereas higher levels of self-oriented parenting perfectionism were associated with higher parenting self-efficacy, lower parenting stress, and greater parenting satisfaction. These findings support the distinction between societal- and self-oriented perfectionism, extend research on perfectionism to interpersonal adjustment in the parenting domain, and provide the first evidence for the potential consequences of holding excessively high standards for parenting.     

Perfectionism levels in African-American and Caucasian adolescents

Previous studies have indicated that perfectionism levels are higher among African-American females than among Caucasians. However, this conclusion has been reached largely from studies of adult populations. The present study of adolescents assesses whether this difference is found in all aspects of perfectionism, and whether it applies equally to males and females. The Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale was completed by 387 high school students (15–19 years). African-American males and females had greater levels of self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism than their Caucasian peers, but there was no difference in the perception of external pressures to perform well. Possible reasons for this pattern are discussed, with an emphasis on the possibility that African-American adolescents perceive a need to overcorrect their performance as a result of their perceived status in their broader society.     

Personal standards and evaluative concerns dimensions of "clinical" perfectionism: a reply to Shafran et al. (2002, 2003) and Hewitt et al. (2003)

Shafran, Cooper, and Fairburn (2002, 2003) provided a cognitive-behavioral analysis of "clinical" perfectionism, a construct they considered to involve both the determined pursuit of self-imposed standards and extremely vulnerable self-evaluation. They argued against a multidimensional perspective to studying perfectionism. We respond to Shafran et al. (2002, 2003) and Hewitt, Flett, Besser, Sherry, and McGee's (2003) reply to Shafran et al. (2002) by considering the theoretical, empirical, and clinical implications of findings identifying two higher-order dimensions of perfectionism reflecting personal standards (PS) and self-critical evaluative concerns. Analyses of data from two diverse study groups, a college student sample (N = 527) and a clinical sample of patients with binge eating disorder (N = 236), revealed that self-criticism accounts for the relation between perfectionism measures and depressive, anxious, and eating disorder symptoms. We conclude that possessing high PS is not by itself maladaptive. Rather, self-critical evaluative tendencies are more relevant than PS to the critical processes Shafran et al. (2002) suggested contribute to the maintenance of clinical perfectionism.     

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 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.     

Perfectionism: The good,the bad,and the creative

The influence of adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism on creativity was examined. Initially, six measures of creativity were administered, including creative self-perceptions, behavior, and performance measures. Adaptive perfectionism was weakly positively related to creativity, whereas maladaptive perfectionism was unrelated to creativity across five of the six measures. A follow-up study assessed whether initial findings could be generalized to an everyday problem-solving task. Results indicated that adaptive perfectionism was related to higher quality but not originality of solutions. Further, a curvilinear relationship in the shape of an inverted “U” occurred between adaptive perfectionism and four of eight creativity measures. Overall, adaptive perfectionism was consistently, albeit weakly, related to creativity across various types of measures, whereas maladaptive perfectionism was not related to creativity.     

Perfectionism and stuttering: Findings of an online survey

PurposeUsing a multi-dimensional measure of perfectionism: the Frost Multi-dimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS: Frost, Marten, Lahart, & Rosenblate, 1990), this study investigates: (a) whether adults who stutter (AWS) display more perfectionistic attitudes and beliefs than those who do not stutter, and (b) whether, in AWS, more perfectionistic attitudes and beliefs are associated with greater self-reported difficulty communicating verbally and speaking fluently.MethodIn the first analysis, FMPS responses from 81 AWS and 81 matched, normally-fluent controls were analyzed using logistic regression to investigate the relative contributions of four FMPS perfectionism-subscale self-ratings to the likelihood of being in the AWS group. In the subsequent analyses, data from the 81 AWS were analyzed using linear multiple regression to determine which FMPS subscale self-ratings best predicted their Communication-Difficulty and Fluency-Difficulty scores.ResultsBoth the likelihood of being a member of the AWS group, and also the magnitude of the AWS group's Communication-Difficulty and Fluency-Difficulty scores, were positively part-correlated to respondents’ Concern over Mistakes-Doubts about Actions (CMD) subscale self-ratings but negatively part-correlated to their Personal Standards (PS) subscale self-ratings.ConclusionsThe FMPS profiles of respondents who stutter suggest that, as a group, they are not abnormally perfectionistic overall, but may be (or perceive themselves to be) abnormally error-prone. Also, AWS who are more concerned about their errors and uncertain of their actions experience more difficulty communicating verbally and speaking fluently.Educational Objectives: After reading this article, participants will be able to: (a) describe the findings of previous research investigating the role of perfectionism in stuttering and psychopathologies; (b) discuss why a multidimensional assessment of perfectionism is important in relation to stuttering; (c) discuss ways in which data from perfectionism assessments can contribute to the planning of therapy for adults who stutter.     

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.     

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 and changes in athlete burnout over three months: Interactive effects of personal standards and evaluative concerns perfectionism

ObjectivesA recent longitudinal study with junior athletes (Madigan, Stoeber, & Passfield, 2015) found perfectionism to predict changes in athlete burnout: evaluative concerns perfectionism predicted increases in burnout over a 3-month period, whereas personal standards perfectionism predicted decreases. The present study sought to expand on these findings by using the framework of the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism (Gaudreau & Thompson, 2010) to examine whether evaluative concerns perfectionism and personal standards perfectionism show interactions in predicting changes in athlete burnout.DesignTwo-wave longitudinal design.MethodThe present study examined self-reported evaluative concerns perfectionism, personal standards perfectionism, and athlete burnout in 111 athletes (mean age 24.8 years) over 3 months of active training.Results and conclusionWhen moderated regression analyses were employed, interactive effects of evaluative concerns perfectionism × personal standards perfectionism were found indicating that personal standards perfectionism buffered the effects of evaluative concerns perfectionism on total burnout and physical/emotional exhaustion. To interpret these effects, the 2 × 2 model of perfectionism provides a useful theoretical framework.     

Perfectionism, Cognition, and Affect in Response to Performance Failure vs. Success

The current paper describes the results of an experiment in which 200 students who varied in levels of trait perfectionism performed a laboratory task of varying levels of difficulty. Participants received either negative or positive performance feedback, independent of their actual level of performance. Analyses of pre-task and post-task measures of negative and positive affect showed that individuals with high self-oriented perfectionism experienced a general increase in negative affect after performing the task, and self-oriented perfectionists who received negative performance feedback were especially likely to report decreases in positive affect. Additional analyses showed that self-oriented perfectionists who received negative feedback responded with a cognitive orientation characterized by performance dissatisfaction, cognitive rumination, and irrational task importance. In contrast, there were relatively few significant differences involving other-oriented and socially prescribed perfectionism. Collectively, our findings support the view that self-oriented perfectionism is a vulnerability factor involving negative cognitive and affective reactions following failure experiences that reflect poorly on the self.     

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.