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Annotated Links
Is Perfectionism Good or Bad? The answer is “both” according to Oliver Stoll and his colleagues, who claim that there are actually two aspects to perfectionism: one is striving for perfection, the other is having negative reactions to a less than perfect performance. Their prediction was that the striving aspect would be beneficial to sports training, while the negative reactions aspect would be harmful. Published in the journal Psychology of Sport and Exercise.
Perfectionism: Impossible Dream Perfectionism may be hurting you in more ways than you think. Ultimately, productivity suffers according to this old, but still relevant, summary from Psychology Today from May 1, 1995.
10 Steps to Conquer Perfectionism Here are 10 techniques I use to break out of the prison of perfectionism in order to live and create as freely as I can in an imperfect world according Therese Borchard, for PsychCentral.
The Many Faces of Perfectionism A good overview of research findings on perfectionism which suggest that perfectionism is not adaptive and can contribute to depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and other problems. From the APA Monitor on Psychology, Volume 34, Number 10, p. 18, November 2003, by Etienne Benson.
Understanding That You’ll Never Be Perfect Writer Therese J. Borchard muses on what it’s like to live with perfectionism and finally learn to let it go.
Assignments, Exercises, and Activities
Current Researchers and Research Team Pages
Paul Hewitt Perfectionism Lab at the University of British Columbia Hewitt’s research focuses on the construct of perfectionism as a maladaptive and multidimensional personality trait and interpersonal style…He is conducting research on the treatment of perfectionism and provides assessment and treatment for individuals with perfectionism problems and trains clinicians in the treatment of perfectionistic behaviour. He also conducts workshops on the treatment of perfectionism and does public lectures and presentations.
Electronic Texts
Examples and Illustrations
Lecture Notes
Slide Presentations
Tests, Measures, and Scales
NPA Personality Test This test — which measures Narcissism, Perfectionism, and Aggression — is from the work of A.M. Benis who developed the NPA theory of personality based on the theories of Karen Horney.