Dr. Blume's Article of the Month

Perfectionism:  It'll Get You Every Time

by Ginger E. Blume, Ph.D.

There is a story about a college professor who randomly split his pottery class into two groups. Group 1 was told their grade would depend entirely on quality. They were to each make one perfect pot in order to obtain a grade of A. Students in this group spent hours designing and planning the perfectly shaped pot, color combinations, etc. Group 2 was told to make as many pots as they could, and they were told they could receive a grade of “A” based on quantity, not quality of pots they produced.

Where were the best quality pots produced---in group 1 or 2? While group 1 was clearly focused on producing one perfect pot, the best pots came from group 2. Why? Because through trial and error of producing many pots, students in group 2 had more experience making pots and hence, produced better pots than those in group 1 who obsessed about perfection while actually crafting very few pots.

The moral of the story is clear: When we live a life obsessed with perfection, we oftentimes accomplish very little and inhibit our own personal growth. Yes, striving for excellence is a worthy goal, but too often, this goal becomes confused with the need for perfection. I love the tradition of oriental painters who purposely leave a small mistake in each of their paintings. This is a subtle reminder that nobody but the great creator, the “One” (i.e. God, Buddha, etc.) is perfect and it is an insult to assume human’s can be perfect, too.

What is “Perfectionism”

Perfectionism is not a formal psychological disorder in the Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. It is, however, a multidimensional personality style that is associated with a large number of psychological, interpersonal, and achievement-related difficulties.

People who are obsessed with perfection are vulnerable to problems that will affect their entire life. They often confuse perfectionism with positive qualities such as achievement striving or conscientiousness and then justify their perfectionism as an ideal way to be. However, perfectionism is maladaptive and is distinct from these positive attitudes. For instance, achievement striving and conscientiousness involve appropriate and tangible expectations and attainable goals and frequently produce a sense of satisfaction and a sense of personal reward.

Perfectionism, on the other hand, involves inappropriate levels of expectations and intangible goals (i.e. perfection), and a constant lack of internal satisfaction, irrespective of performance outcome.
Perfectionism is a chronic source of stress, often leaving the individual feeling that he/she is a failure. Perfectionistic individuals require themselves to be perfect. This constant expectation is a source of stress and contributes to maladaptive ways of coping.

Perfectionism is multidimensional. That is, there are several different types of perfectionistic behavior that involve motivation to actually be perfect. For example, self-oriented perfectionism is the requirement for the self to be perfect. It is what we usually think of when we use the term perfectionism. Other-oriented perfectionism is the requirement that others (e.g., spouse, children, subordinates, other people in general) be perfect. Finally, socially prescribed perfectionism is the perception that others we depend upon such as one’s parents, boss, people in general, also must be perfect. In addition to these three types of perfectionism, there is also a form of perfectionism that involves needing to appear to others as if one were perfect.
Each type of perfectionism has its problems
Each of these types of perfectionism is associated with different kinds of problems. For example, research has identified the following patterns:
 

1. Self-oriented perfectionism is associated with clinical depression, especially in the presence of achievement-related (e.g., job or school related shortfalls) stressors. It has been shown that when self-oriented perfectionists experience these kinds of stressful events, they experience more severe and more chronic depression symptoms. Self-oriented perfectionism has been associated with anorexia nervosa, prolonged elevations in cardio-vascular responses, and interpersonal problems reflecting over-responsibility.

2. Other-oriented perfectionism has been associated with relationship problems, such as poor marital satisfaction, sexual dissatisfaction, and anger toward others.

3. Socially prescribed perfectionism has been associated with a variety of symptoms including, anxiety, depression, eating disorder symptoms, and hostility. Most importantly, this dimension of perfectionism has been found to predict not only suicide thoughts and behaviors in adults and adolescents, but also serious suicide attempts. Furthermore, there are a variety of achievement-related problems that arise from this kind of perfectionism, such as procrastination and self-handicapping (i.e., where individuals spend time finding excuses for poor performance, rather than preparing for a performance).

4. Perfectionstic self-presentation involves a variety of difficulties such as precluding one from seeking appropriate help for difficulties and not benefiting fully from psychotherapy due to great difficulties in self-disclosing personal information they perceive as negative.

If you are a perfectionist, there are no quick fixes, but psychological treatment can be very helpful. Because perfectionism is a personality style, treatment tends to be fairly intensive and long term. If you’d like to read a book on this topic, I highly recommend, When Perfect isn’t Good Enough, by Antony and Swinson or Too Perfect: When being in Control gets out of Control by Dewyze and Mallinger.