Perfectionism is one of the words used in everyday contexts to describe those people who are never completely satisfied with what they do and are very careful in carrying out tasks and their details. However, perfectionism in psychology is a complex and nuanced personality trait. In addition, there are numerous causes that could explain its origin, as well as a series of strategies to better manage perfectionism. If you want to know more about perfectionism, keep reading our Psychology-Online article: Perfectionism in psychology: causes and how to overcome it.
Perfectionist: meaning
Etymologically, the word perfection comes from the Latin “perfectio”, whose translation would be “action of leaving something finished”. Perfectionism is about a complex personality trait. In general terms, it is defined as the application of high and demanding standards or performance criteria, in combination with a negative self-evaluation if the established criteria are not achieved by the person.
It is a personality trait considered multidimensional, that is, composed of several aspects or facets. Some of the components that make up perfectionism or symptoms of perfectionism are the following:
- High personal demands, there is a close relationship between self-demand and perfectionism.
- High concern about making mistakes.
- Doubts about actions.
- Organization.
- Order.
- Responsibility.
- Effort capacity.
Perfectionism is not positive or negative per sebut rather it is considered that some of its facets or components may be adaptive or maladaptive. Therefore, the positivity or negativity of perfectionism will depend on the context, intensity, and interaction with other personality traits.
Likewise, it is not categorical, one does not have or does not have perfectionism, but rather varies to a greater or lesser extent depending on the person.
Perfectionism in psychology
Historically, perfectionism has been valued and conceptualized from a negative point of view. However, for years it has been and continues to be an object of study in psychology due to its complexity and variety of manifestations. Currently, it is considered that perfectionism can be divided into two factors: perfectionistic concerns and perfectionistic efforts. These two factors give rise to the classification of two types of perfectionism: maladaptive perfectionism and adaptive perfectionism, which would be the two extremes of a continuum.
Perfectionistic concerns
The first factor is the one that has been associated with the negative and dysfunctional perfectionism. It generally encompasses concern about making mistakes, socially required or imposed perfectionism, high self-criticism, and the discrepancy between demanding personal standards and the results achieved.
It is considered maladaptive due to the high relationship between this perfectionism and anxiety, depression, , , , etc.
This type would include people with a perfectionist personality who have exaggerated reactions of frustration, sadness and/or anger in the face of what they consider a failure, no matter how minimal. It’s about a obsessive perfectionism in which people monitor and pay excessive attention to their own performance. They are also very sensitive and vulnerable to criticism and error. They tend to have and perceive themselves as having few abilities and skills in general.
perfectionistic efforts
On the other hand, the perfectionist efforts They allude to the positive and healthier aspect of perfectionism. It refers to the pursuit of achievements, the desire to reach the goals set and the search for personal improvement and improvement. Adaptive perfectionism is present in people with a perfectionist personality characterized by the establishment of high but achievable goals and the existence of demanding but not excessively rigid criteria. They present a tendency towards order and organization, knowledge of one’s own limitsand even seeking excellence and personal improvement, if they do not achieve their goals, they maintain motivation through effort and ambition, not falling into negative self-evaluation and a feeling of failure.
Therefore, it can present adaptive and maladaptive factors, it is not negative or positive in itself. However, obsessive perfectionism can, on the one hand, lead to psychopathological problems and impairments in social life. Since people with excessive perfectionism tend to show hostile to other people and be very sensitive to what they do or say about them.
There is also a strong link between perfectionism and anxiety: People with high perfectionism present an excess of checking and planning behaviors, as well as comparison with other people, in which they tend to perceive themselves as inferior to others.
Causes of perfectionism
Below, we explain some of the causes of perfectionism or events that have been identified as precursors to perfectionism:
- Genetic predispositionthat is, there is a biological presence of the personality anxiety trait.
- Authoritarian parenting and maternal style, so there are excess demands from childhood. Boys and girls in this family environment tend to become very demanding and develop a perfectionist personality, since parents generally punish mistakes and often in an abusive manner. Thus, minors learn that mistakes will not be tolerated and believe that the only way to get love and approval from their father and/or mother is through excellence and complacency.
- Growing up in an environment where praise excessively, so the person becomes accustomed to these high levels of praise and their self-esteem comes to depend on it. This dependency generates high internal pressure to achieve external praise as a defense mechanism and maintenance of self-esteem.
- Receiving humiliation, ridicule and/or contempt from childhood, so the person develops low self-esteem and feelings of worthlessness and failure that they try to compensate through high performance. Likewise, they develop overvigilance towards their own behaviors, with the aim of controlling that they meet the self-imposed criteria.
- Comparisons with others. Growing up in a home where one or more members of the family are very successful and comparisons are constantly made. In this case, there is a high standard of performance within the family, as well as demanding criteria, by which the person generates a comparison. This comparison orientation tends to continue into adulthood, so the person will compare themselves with successful people, comparisons in which they will feel devalued. Likewise, they will seek to resemble other idealized models or prototypes of a person, incapable of being aware of their virtues and strengths.
- Parenting with perfectionist parents and/or mothers It can also lead to the development of perfectionism, given that they are a model and reference for boys and girls, who learn family behaviors and thinking styles through observation.
- As in the family environment, schools can also promote perfectionism through very demanding academic standards, severe and authoritarian. Therefore, students can internalize these demanding standards and apply them in other areas of their lives.
- The Low tolerance to frustration It can also influence perfectionism. Frustration tolerance is related to the tolerance and acceptance of a certain level of imperfection. If a low tolerance for frustration develops, any achievement may not be recognized if it is not completely perfect according to one’s own criteria.
- High neuroticism, since people with high levels of neuroticism have a predisposition to the development of a perfectionist personality. This is because neuroticism is related to a tendency toward guilt and worry, factors that can lead to a perfectionist style.
- Competitive culture, in which people are valued based on their results, achievements and success. What is considered successful or not is established in society by social convention. Thus, people seek to reach the high criteria of success imposed externally and socially. The adjustment or not to these external criteria has a great weight in the person’s self-evaluation. Likewise, constant comparison and standing out from other people are encouraged.
How to overcome perfectionism
There is no specific intervention for maladaptive perfectionism, since it is not categorized as a mental disorder. However, it is possible to make a perfectionism treatment oriented to work on those components or elements of perfectionism that are dysfunctional. This treatment typically addresses thoughts and behaviors related to perfectionism, as well as the development of self-compassion in relation to mistakes and failures. In the following article you will find.
On the one hand, the intervention focuses on the person being able to identify those thoughts or thought distortions that are at the base of perfectionism. Some of these are catastrophic thinking (for example, “If I make a mistake when I speak, they will laugh at me and never want to interact with me”) or dichotomous or all-or-nothing thinking (“I have had a failure at work, I have completely failed.” ). After this identification, an attempt is made to ensure that the person is able to replace these thoughts with more realistic and useful onesemphasizing the usefulness of these new thoughts.
On the other hand, the aim is for the person to be able to take perspective and perceive and judge oneself from the outside and not from one’s own standards. Exercises aimed at development of self-compassion in which the person with perfectionism talks to themselves and judges themselves as they would with a friend, developing greater flexibility and understanding By herself.
Finally, you can use the exposure technique in the face of situations feared by the person to progressively reduce this. In these exhibitions the person makes small mistakes on purpose and gradually, to face the fear of being imperfect. Gradually, it is expected that discomfort with imperfection will decrease and they will feel comfortable with a higher level of tolerance for error. It is advisable to do Also with this exhibition, the catastrophic thoughts that perfectionist people have are put to the test, because they see that the dire consequences they anticipated do not come true.
This article is merely informative, at Psychology-Online we do not have the power to make a diagnosis or recommend a treatment. We invite you to go to a psychologist to treat your particular case.
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