ReviewThe destructiveness and public health significance of socially prescribed perfectionism: A review, analysis, and conceptual extension
Section snippets
Socially prescribed perfectionism from a historical perspective
Hewitt and Flett (1991a) introduced the concept of socially prescribed perfectionism, which was defined as “… people’s belief or perception that significant others have unrealistic standards for them, evaluate them stringently, and exert pressure on them to be perfect” (p. 457). We developed a measure known as the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) to assess this dimension, plus self-oriented and other-oriented perfectionism dimensions. As noted earlier, self-oriented perfectionism is
Associated models
We have outlined above that socially prescribed perfectionism is profoundly negative in terms of its associated motivational and cognitive orientations, and it includes deficits in self-control. Accordingly, people with high levels of socially prescribed perfectionism should be prone to many problems and various mental health difficulties and as such, socially prescribed perfectionism merits inclusion in models of distress and psychopathology. Socially prescribed perfectionism has been included
The uniqueness of socially prescribed perfectionism
Factor analytic findings suggest socially prescribed perfectionism often loads together with other perfectionism dimensions (e.g., concern over mistakes, doubts about actions, discrepancy, self-criticism). This factor is called by various names including “evaluative concerns perfectionism”, “self-critical perfectionism”, and “perfectionistic concerns” (see Dunkley & Blankstein, 2000; Dunkley, Blankstein, Halsall, Williams, & Winkworth, 2000; Smith, Sherry, Ray, Hewitt, & Flett, 2021). Numerous
Costs and consequences of socially prescribed perfectionism
We now more extensively consider additional evidence indicating that socially prescribed perfectionism is also highly consequential. Given that socially prescribed perfectionism is associated consistently with identity issues, a negative self-view and a failure to satisfy core psychological needs, it would be quite shocking if this personality trait dimension were not associated with numerous consequences. Indeed, several costs and consequences have already been mentioned above. Additional
Extending the scope and expanding the conceptualization of socially prescribed perfectionism as a personality construct
This segment of our article focuses on key conceptual elements of this perfectionism dimension introduced here that represent new perspectives on socially prescribed perfectionism. These new components can provide a framework for future inquiry in empirical research, but also represent potential themes to target in treatment interventions. It is also important to flesh out the socially prescribed perfectionism construct to further underscore that it is distinctive and not interchangeable with
Moving forward: the next decade of research
We have discussed thus far the nature of socially prescribed perfectionism from an expanded conceptual perspective. The destructiveness and uniqueness of this dimension have also been considered, and key aspects of socially prescribed perfectionism have been examined.
What are some other key directions for future research over the next 10 years? There are four overarching themes that seem central to advancing research and theory on this trait perfectionism dimension. Each theme is now briefly
Moving forward: targets for prevention and intervention
While additional research and theory are not only welcome but also imperative from our perspective, most pressing is the need for preventive, proactive efforts to reduce levels of socially prescribed perfectionism and its destructive impact in people’s lives. As we noted earlier, arguments have been advanced elsewhere for why the prevention of perfectionism is needed in general (for instance, see Flett & Hewitt, 2014; Flett & Hewitt, 2022; Wade, 2018), but any argument that focuses on socially
Conclusion
In the current article, we have presented a case for socially prescribed perfectionism as a destructive force in contemporary society. We demonstrated that this trait perfectionism dimension is linked uniquely with a wide range of adverse outcomes of consequence, as reflected in indices assessing mental well-being, physical health, and interpersonal relationships.
The current review also included a summary of how socially prescribed perfectionism has been conceptualized thus far. Most notably we
Role of funding sources
Funding for this study was provided by a grant from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Grant (435-2013-1304) awarded to the second author (PI) and the first author. Other support was provided through the Canada Research Chairs Program and the Faculty of Health at York University.
Contributors
Authors A and B summarized previous conceptualizations of perfectionism as a multidimensional construct and took the lead in proposing new conceptual advances. Author C conducted the literature searches and provided summaries of the results, including highlighting the consequential elements of this perfectionism dimension. Authors D and E assisted in summarizing and interpreting key findings and editing of the manuscript. All authors contributed to and have approved the final manuscript.
Declaration of Competing Interest
All authors declare that they have no conflicts of interest.
Dr. Gordon L. Flett is a professor in the Department of Psychology at York University and holds a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Personality & Health. Former roles include Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Faculty of Health at York University. Dr. Flett is most recognized for his contributions to research and theory on the role of perfectionism in psychopathology. Recent work includes his 2018 The
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2023, Annales Medico-PsychologiquesCitation Excerpt :Filippello et al. [11], and also Wang et al. [38], concluded that perfectionism was a full mediator of the relationship between perceptions of teacher psychological control and LH. Stoeber and Madigan (2016) and Flett et al. [14] argue that perfectionism, because of its normalized and adapted characteristics, reduces concerns about the failure to meet the above criteria. It also increases the use of effective CSS strategies in the individual.
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2023, Personality and Individual DifferencesCitation Excerpt :Perfectionism is a pernicious, multidimensional personality construct that involves three trait components (Hewitt et al., 2017): Self-oriented perfectionism (SOP; i.e., the requirement or demand of perfection of oneself), other-oriented perfectionism (OOP; i.e., the requirement of perfection for others), and finally, socially prescribed perfectionism (SPP; i.e., the belief that others require perfection of oneself). Of the three trait perfectionism dimensions, SPP is seen as particularly deleterious, with a large body of research demonstrating consistent and strong associations with myriad adverse mental health outcomes, including depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and interpersonal problems (see Flett et al., 2022 for a review). The Perfectionism Social Disconnection Model (PSDM; Hewitt et al., 2017) posits that individuals develop perfectionism due to asynchronies in the parent-child relationships.
The impact of internet-based cognitive behavior therapy for perfectionism: A reinterpretation through the lens of the Model of Excellencism and Perfectionism
2023, Behavioural and Cognitive Psychotherapy
Dr. Gordon L. Flett is a professor in the Department of Psychology at York University and holds a Tier 1 Canadian Research Chair in Personality & Health. Former roles include Director of the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research and Associate Dean of Research and Graduate Education in the Faculty of Health at York University. Dr. Flett is most recognized for his contributions to research and theory on the role of perfectionism in psychopathology. Recent work includes his 2018 The Psychology of Mattering published by Elsevier. His collaborative work with Dr. Hewitt has received widespread national and international attention and has been the subject of numerous media stories, including coverage on CTV, CNN, and the BBC and in the New York Times and the Washington Post. For more information on Dr. Flett’s scientific research, see health.yorku.ca.
Dr. Paul L. Hewitt is a professor in the Department of Psychology at The University of British Columbia, the Director of Clinical Training for the University of British Columbia’s Clinical Psychology program, and is a registered clinical psychologist. In 2019, Dr. Hewitt was awarded the Canadian Psychological Association’s Donald O. Hebb Award for distinguished contributions to psychology as a science. Dr. Hewitt’s research focuses primarily on personality vulnerabilities and their implications for psychological difficulties among adults, adolescents, and children. In particular, he has conducted extensive research on the construct of perfectionism as a maladaptive and multidimensional personality style. Additionally, 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 behavior. For more information on Dr. Hewitt’s scientific research, see hewittlab.psych.ubc.ca.
Dr. Taryn Nepon obtained a Ph.D. in social and personality psychology at York University under the supervision of Dr. Gordon Flett. She also received a diploma in health psychology as part of her graduate training. Dr. Nepon is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the LaMarsh Centre for Child and Youth Research at York University. Her main research focuses on perfectionism as it relates to physical and mental health. In addition, she studies the role of mattering to others in health and well-being. Her research has been supported by grants from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. For more information on Dr. Nepon’s scientific research, see tarynnepon.com.
Dr. Simon B. Sherry is a professor in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at Dalhousie University, the Director of Clinical Training in Dalhousie University’s Clinical Psychology program, and a registered clinical psychologist. His research program investigates the role of personality in depression, anxiety, eating disorders, relationship problems, suicide, and substance misuse. Dr. Sherry also treats and assesses a variety of mental health difficulties. For more information on Dr. Sherry’s scientific research, see cruxpsychology.ca.
Dr. Martin M. Smith obtained a PhD. in Personality Psychology from the University of Western Ontario and is an associate editor of Personality and Individual Differences. As of submission, Dr. Smith has published 48 peer-reviewed journal articles and has received over 200,000$ (CAN) in research grants. Dr. Smith was a permanent lecturer in the School of Science, Technology, and Health at York St John University from 2018 to 2020. Currently, Dr. Smith is pursuing a PhD in Clinical Psychology from the University of British Columbia under the supervisor of Dr. Paul Hewitt.