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Vol.:(0123456789)
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Motiv Emot (2018) 42:37–49
DOI 10.1007/s11031-017-9654-2
ORIGINAL PAPER
Perfectionism andthepursuit ofpersonal goals: Aself-
determination theory analysis
EmilyMoore1,2· AnneC.Holding1,2· NoraH.Hope1,3· BrendaHarvey1,2·
TheodoreA.Powers1· DavidZuroff2· RichardKoestner2
Published online: 11 November 2017
© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017
Introduction
Perfectionism is commonly understood as a tendency
to believe that anything less than perfect is unacceptable
(Merriam-Webster 2015). Research has suggested the pres-
ence of two forms of perfectionism and shown that while
one is related to negative outcomes, the other is related to
positive ones, though some overlap occurs (Stoeber and Otto
2006). With regards to the negative form of perfectionism,
a portion of work has focused on self-criticism, which has
been identified as a core feature of unhealthy perfection-
ism (Dunkley etal. 2003; Frost etal. 1990). Many research-
ers argue that self-criticism is the component of unhealthy
perfectionism responsible for negative effects that are com-
monly seen (Dunkley etal. 2003; Powers etal. 2011, 2004).
Self-critical perfectionism has been associated with negative
affect (Dunkley etal. 2003; Frost etal. 1993; Milyavskaya
etal. 2014), anxiety (Bieling etal. 2004), distress (Dunk-
ley etal. 2000), suicidal ideation (Chang etal. 2004; Enns
etal. 2001), hassles (Dunkley etal. 2000, 2003), and avoid-
ant coping (Dunkley etal. 2003). Furthermore, self-critical
perfectionism has been shown to be negatively associated
with positive affect, life satisfaction (Chang etal. 2004) and
self-esteem (Rice etal. 1998; Stumpf and Parker 2000). This
body of research strongly suggests that individuals with self-
critical perfectionism experience many difficulties and fail to
obtain significant advantage from their perfectionism.
With regards to the positive form of perfectionism,
researchers have focused on high personal standards as a
core feature of healthy perfectionism (Blankstein and Dunk-
ley 2002; Powers etal. 2004). Personal standards perfection-
ism has been associated with a mix of positive and negative
features. On the positive side, it has been associated with
positive affect (Chang etal. 2004; Frost etal. 1993) and
active coping styles (Dunkley etal. 2000). On the negative
Abstract Previous studies have shown that self-critical
and personal standards forms of perfectionism are associ-
ated with progress on personal goals in opposite ways. The
present study used a 5-wave prospective longitudinal design
to examine what motivational factors account for the finding
that self-critical perfectionism has been reliably associated
with poor goal progress whereas personal standard perfec-
tionism has been associated with good progress. Specifically,
we adopted a self-determination theory perspective to exam-
ine the role of autonomy in mediating the effects of perfec-
tionism. Our results replicated previous findings linking the
two forms of perfectionism with opposite patterns of goal
progress. Importantly, the results suggested that the nega-
tive goal effects of self-critical perfectionism are mediated
by lower levels of autonomous goal motivation. The results
also demonstrated links from personal standards perfection-
ism to greater autonomous goal motivation. Interestingly,
the effects of self-critical perfectionism on goal progress
appeared to be dynamic over time and implicated affective
mechanisms. The results of the investigation point to the
value of adopting a self-determination theory perspective
to understand perfectionism.
Keywords Goal attainment· Autonomy· Perfectionism·
Affect· Self-determination theory
* Richard Koestner
Richard.koestner@mcgill.ca
1 University ofMassachusetts atDartmouth,
NorthDartmouth, MA, USA
2 McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
3 Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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