Russian Scholars Establish Correlation Between Morality and Perfectionism
Researchers from HSE University in Perm studied how different types of perfectionists see intelligence, morality, and the world around them. They found that the basis of adaptive perfectionists’ success is their perception of the world as a comprehensible place with fixed rules, while maladaptive perfectionists fail to succeed due to their focus on a rigid system of principles that they feel obliged to follow. Early correction of inflated demands on oneself can increase chances for future success. The results of the study were published in Psihologija.
Perfectionists are people who expect too much from themselves and are anxious when they fail to meet their own expectations. Researchers outline two types of perfectionists. While adaptive perfectionists place reasonable demands on themselves and the results of their work, believing that their outcomes are in line with corresponding standards, maladaptive perfectionists tend to set the bar too high. As a result, their outcomes do not meet their expectations. That said, researchers have found that not all people strive to achieve perfect results. Non-perfectionists do not expect much from themselves and do not seek high quality in their work.
Perfectionism is based not on behavioural specificity or emotional reactions, but rather on cognitive constructs. These include individuals’ ideas about themselves and their abilities, placing demands on themselves at a certain level and expecting to achieve them, followed by comparison of these expectations and demands with the final outcomes of their effort. Since non-perfectionists and maladaptive perfectionists have been found to be less successful professionally, it was important to detect the features of their basic ideas of different phenomena in order to understand how their well-being could be improved in the future.
Implicit theories impact the way people interpret events and, accordingly, change their behaviour and activities. These theories partly define the way people set goals and focus on work, as well as the way their motivation and professional and personal well-being evolve. The scholars decided to discover how implicit theories of intelligence, morality and the world differ between adaptive perfectionists, maladaptive perfectionists, and non-perfectionists. To do so, they carried out a study among 202 students of different faculties at a Russian university.
The survey assessed two factors of perfectionism. The first factor—‘Standards’—included four points related to expectations of oneself (such as ‘I set very high standards for myself’). The second factor—‘Discrepancy’—included four statements on discrepancies between expectations and achievements (such as ‘doing one’s best is never enough’).
The results of the study showed that adaptive perfectionists believe that the world is a structured place with fixed rules in which they can improve their cognitive skills, correct mistakes, and grow through experiences. The researchers assume that this is what lies at the basis of their professional and personal well-being. Maladaptive perfectionists have strong moral beliefs, which can cause high levels of guilt and shame and decrease their well-being levels. Non-perfectionists tend to believe that intelligence has limits, the world is a chaotic and unexpected place and morality is fluid and unstable. Such ideas held by non-perfectionists, as well as those held by maladaptive perfectionists, hinder the improvement of their professional and personal well-being.
The scholars assume that in order to lower the perfectionists’ demands on themselves, they need help relaxing their rigid moral beliefs. Such measures can help to further mitigate the maladaptive perfectionists’ negative emotions.
The results of the study can be useful for psychology counsellors, schoolteachers and university lecturers. ‘If teachers help students to set adequate standards for their work or correct their inflated demands on themselves, this can change their ideas about the world and themselves over the long term, which can promote subjective well-being,’ the scholars believe.