Mark Anthony Taylor
Published: 2003
Total Pages: 282
Get eBook
Perfectionism has traditionally been associated with a variety of negative consequences, but recent research has examined the positive associations of perfectionism. This study was designed to experimentally examine how perfectionists and non-perfectionists react to success and failure situations. Four hundred ten participants from universities in the Midwest volunteered in the study, which involved attempting to solve anagram tasks via the Internet. Participants were categorized as adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists according to the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R) and then randomized into a success or a failure condition. Half of the participants attempted to rearrange jumbled letters that had real word solution (success group), while the remaining the participants attempted to rearrange jumbled letters that could not spell anything (failure group). Then, both groups attempted to solve an unsolvable anagram task before completing the PANAS, a perceived stress scale, and the Satisfaction with Life Scale. A 2-way MANOVA was used to test for differences between treatment conditions, among treatment groups, and for significant interaction effects. Significant differences were observed between Success and Failure groups, with the Success group reporting greater positive affect, less negative affect, and attempting to solve the final anagram task a greater amount of time. Significant differences were also observed among treatment groups, with Adaptive Perfectionists reporting greater positive affect, less negative affect, greater satisfaction with life, and less perceived stress than Maladaptive Perfectionists and Non-Perfectionists. Overall, Adaptive Perfectionists and Maladaptive Perfectionists attempted to solve the final anagram task significantly longer than Non-Perfectionists. A model of perfectionistic behavior was also examined through structural equation modeling, and results provide support for several tested models. This study supports previous research viewing perfectionism as multidimensional and associating positive and negative outcomes with particular aspects of perfectionism. Thus, counselors, parents, and teachers who understand the positive and negative aspects of perfectionism can confidently encourage individuals to establish high standards while being aware and responsive to the negative aspects of perfectionism.