Perfectionism (psychology)

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Perfectionism is a psychological construct that tries to explain an exaggerated pursuit of possible perfection and avoidance of errors . There is no uniform definition; Research groups have worked out numerous facets of the construct.

General

There is agreement that striving for perfection can essentially be understood as a construct with characteristics in two dimensions:

  1. Striving for perfection (perfectionist striving): summarizes, among other things, the characteristics of high personal standards and organization.
  2. Exaggerated error avoidance (perfectionist concern): includes u. a. the characteristics of doubt about performance and sensitivity to mistakes, but also fear of evaluation, especially by parents and school.

A striving for perfection with a high degree in the dimension of the perfectionist striving but a low expression in the dimension of the perfectionist concern is referred to as a healthy or functional striving for perfection, whereas a high degree in both dimensions is associated with an unhealthy or dysfunctional striving for perfection. The latter is called perfectionism.

history

Traditionally, perfectionism has been associated with pathological properties. This view is supported by some empirical findings, among other things, which, however, were based on a two-dimensional perfectionism model. In patient studies, elevated levels of perfectionism have been linked to depression , obsessive-compulsive disorder, and eating disorders , and studies with non-clinical subjects have shown an association between high levels of perfectionism and stress, depressive symptoms, anxiety, and disordered eating.

Two-facet model

Don E. Hamachek (1978) proposed the differentiation of perfectionism into a normal (functional) and a neurotic (dysfunctional) type. Today, however, the functional type is called " conscientiousness " according to Hamachek ; his neurotic (or dysfunctional) type would be the actual perfectionism.

Six-facet model

In 1990, Randy O. Frost and colleagues worked out a model with six facets of perfectionism:

  • high personal standards,
  • Organization,
  • Error sensitivity,
  • performance-related doubts,
  • Expectation of parents and
  • Criticism from parents.

This model implies that perfectionists set themselves high standards, have a pronounced order of values ​​and organization, try to avoid mistakes, show indecision and attach great importance to the past or current evaluation by their parents.

Three-facet model

The psychologists Paul L. Hewitt and Gordon L. Flett presented a three-facet model in 1991. You distinguish three types of perfectionism in two stages: the first stage is the question of which source the high demands come from, and the second stage studies which person they are addressed to. This gives rise to the three types of perfectionism:

  • self-oriented perfectionism,
  • socially prescribed perfectionism and
  • foreign-oriented perfectionism.

Psychodynamic model

According to the theory of the psychiatrist and neuroscientist Raphael M. Bonelli (2014), perfectionism is fearful avoidance behavior in which there is a disproportion between “should”, “is” and “must”. The “target” represents the ideal , similar to the target value in technology. The "is" describes the personal reality of the person, according to the actual value. A natural tension between “target” and “actual” is easy for the mentally healthy person to endure and motivates him to develop further. A perfectionist, on the other hand, cannot endure this tension because for him the (never fully realizable) “should” is a permanent reproach of not being perfect yet. The “should” mutates into a fear-inducing “must” that restricts the room for maneuver. The background is an exaggerated fear of mistakes and the associated criticism , which he anxiously tries to avoid. "For the perfectionist, it's not about perfection itself, but about the bombproof inviolability associated with it".

Perfectionism and personality

Both Bonelli and Stumpf and Parker point out a strong connection between perfectionism and the Big Five . Functional perfectionism facets such as high personal standards and organization correlate with conscientiousness . In contrast, dysfunctional facets such as performance-related doubts and error sensitivity correlate with neuroticism . The psychodynamic difference between conscientiousness and perfectionism is that the former is intrinsically motivated as a healthy striving for perfection , the latter extrinsically . The more fear there is, the higher the neuroticism and the more extrinsic the inner motivation .

Perfectionism and health

Specific diathesis stress models assume that perfectionist striving and perfectionist apprehension act as stressors and are associated with stress reactions in different ways.

In clinical studies, (dysfunctional) perfectionism is associated with disorders such as alcoholism , anorexia nervosa , bulimia nervosa , depression , anxiety and obsessive-compulsive disorder , sexual dysfunction and suicidal ideation . According to Bonelli, the background of the connection between perfectionist thinking and feeling on the one hand and mental illnesses on the other hand is the increased internal distress in perfectionists.

People with a high degree of conscientiousness, on the other hand, counter stress with active coping strategies , whereby they reduce their experience of stress and experience positive reinforcement, which improves their well-being and lowers their susceptibility to mental disorders. The psychotherapeutic transformation of dysfunctional, neurotic striving for perfection (i.e. perfectionism) into functional, healthy striving for perfection (i.e. conscientiousness) makes therapeutic sense.

Measurement methods

Functional and dysfunctional facets of perfectionism can be determined with the multi-dimensional perfectionism scale from Frost et al. (MPS-F). This questionnaire consists of 35 questions with which the six facets postulated by Frost are recorded, this was translated into German and validated by Altstötter-Gleich & Bergemann (2006).

The MPS-F is based in part on previous one-dimensional approaches.

  • Burns Perfectionism Scale from Burns, 1980.
  • Eating Disorder Inventory (EDI), Perfectionism Subscale by Garner et al., 1991.
  • Measure Obsession and Compulsions (MOCI) by Rachmann and Hodgson, 1980.

causes

Both the psychological factor “neuroticism” and “conscientiousness”, both of which are related to perfectionism, are genetically determined to about 50 percent. A certain tendency towards perfectionism can be innate. A twin study by Tozzi found a moderate genetic effect.

Second, perfectionism can be reinforced by environmental influences, i.e. primarily by upbringing and peers. It can be reinforced by behavior on the part of the parents that sets high standards on the one hand and gives too little warmth and acceptance on the other.

On the third level, perfectionist behavior is also a fearful avoidance, against or for which one can decide. Here is also the approach of psychotherapy .

See also

literature

  • C. Altstötter-Gleich, N. Bergemann: Test quality of a German-language version of the multi-dimensional perfectionism scale by Frost, Marten, Lahart and Rosenblate (MPS-F). In: Diagnostica. 52, (2006), pp. 105-118.
  • J. Stoeber, K. Otto: Positive Conceptions of Perfectionism: Approaches, Evidence, Challenges. In: Personality and Social Psychology Review. 10, (2006), pp. 295-319.
  • RM Bonelli: Perfectionism: When the should become a must. Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2014, ISBN 978-3-629-13056-3 .
  • N. Spitzer: Perfectionism and its manifold psychological consequences. A guide to psychotherapy and counseling. Springer Verlag, Berlin 2016, ISBN 978-3662474754 .
  • N Spitzer: Overcoming Perfectionism. Idleness instead of self-optimization. Springer Verlag, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3662531853 .
  • C. Altstötter-Gleich, F. Geisler. Perfectionism. Living self-determined with high standards. Balance Buch + Medien 2017, Cologne 2017, ISBN 978-3867391658 .

swell

  1. ↑ a b c R. M. Bonelli: Perfectionism: When the should become a must. Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2014, p. 332 ff.
  2. ↑ a b Andrea Wieser in Tiroler Tageszeitung from December 4, 2014 When the bar is too high Viewed on December 24, 2014.
  3. ↑ Don E. Hamachek: Psychodynamics of normal and neurotic perfectionism. In: Psychology: A Journal of Human Behavior. 1978 Feb Vol 15 (1), pp. 27-33.
  4. ↑ Hartmut Volk in Der Standard from December 4, 2014 Out of the Perfectionism Trap Spotted on December 24, 2014.
  5. ^ A b R. O. Frost, P. Marten, C. Lahart, R. Rosenblate: The dimensions of perfectionism. In: Cognitive Therapy and Research. 14: 449-468 (1990).
  6. ↑ RM Bonelli: Perfectionism: When the should become a must. Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2014, p. 97 ff.
  7. ↑ a b R. M. Bonelli: Perfectionism: When the should become a must. Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2014, p. 34 ff.
  8. ^ H. Stumpf, WD Parker: A hierarchical structural analysis of perfectionism and its relation to other personality characteristics. In: Personality and Individual Differences. 28 (2000), pp. 837-852.
  9. ↑ RM Bonelli: Perfectionism: When the should become a must. Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2014, p. 67.
  10. ↑ Elisabeth Zurecka, Christine Altstötter-Gleich et al .: It depends: Perfectionism as a moderator of experimentally induced stress Elsevier 2013
  11. ↑ a b c R. M. Bonelli: Perfectionism: When the should become a must. Pattloch-Verlag, Munich 2014, p. 167 ff.
  12. ↑ F. Tozzi, S. Aggen, B. Neale, C. Anderson, SE Mazzeo, MC Neale, CM Bulik. The structure of perfectionism: A twin study. In: Behavior Genetics. 34, (2004), pp. 483-494.
  13. ↑ GL Flett, PL Hewitt, JM Oliver, S. MacDonald: Perfectionism in children and their parents: A developmental analysis. In: GL Flett, PL Hewitt (Ed.): Perfectionism: Theory, research, and treatment. APA, Washington 2002.