Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay

The fundamentals of the disease

When speaking about pathological perfectionism, it is necessary to highlight the basic signs of psychological disease. So, first of all, it should be pointed out that pathological perfectionism is characterized by setting unreasonably high standards. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay. Generally, one is to keep in mind that the standards cannot be achieved, as they are considered to be almost unrealistic; however, persons who suffer from the kind of mental illness do not understand that their striving for perfection seems to be problematic.

One of the most widespread signs pathological perfectionism is based on is self-criticism. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay. In other words, a kind of psychological disease causes stress, low self-esteem, depression, etc. Procrastination is also recognized to be one of the most common results pathological perfectionism leads to.

The thesis statement

The origin of pathological perfectionism is closely related to a person’s living conditions, mode of life and personal views/ambitions. Mental disorder development also depends upon high requirements a person is to satisfy in certain fields/spheres.

The body

Pathological perfectionism in relation to religiosity

Generally, pathological perfectionism cannot be regarded in relation to a certain category of people. So, any person can suffer from the disease. High-standard environments can be associated with religion, business sphere, medicine, education, personal development, etc.

Thus, when speaking about religiosity, one is to keep in mind that persons suffer from a disease, because of high religious requirements they are to meet. For instance, some people cannot be on a black fast, because this requirement is too painful for them. For this reason, such people constantly feel guilt and shame. So, in this case, the disease is related to eating disorders and numerous interpersonal problems appear.Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

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The kind of mental illness in relation to education

When speaking about another example – education, it is necessary to point out that a person wants to obtain high academic results from all the disciples and, thus, the mark B is perceived as a real catastrophe. In other words, students comprehend a mark as they personal achievement, but not knowledge a certain discipline provides students with. Moreover, it is necessary to add that any mistake is regarded by students as their major setback.

When doing home assignments, such students cannot concentrate on the task; they always think about the mistakes professors can find in their works.  Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.Thus, such form of pathological perfectionism leads to procrastination, and a student does not want to perform academic tasks, in order to avoid failure. In other words, the process of thinking such students possess seems to be the following: if I cannot do the task perfectly, there is no need (sense) to do it at all.

A psychological disorder in relation to personal development

Pathological perfectionism can also cause another psychological disease. Thus, it has been proven that the kind of mental illness is an element of obsessive-compulsive disorder. In other words, it is necessary to understand that a kind of a psychological disorder can cause other mental diseases, if an appropriate treatment is neglected.

For instance, if a person suffers from pathological perfectionism, which is related to personal development, such person concerns over parents’ expectations and friends’/teachers’/professors’ evaluation. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.Such persons always doubt about the quality of their personal gr owth. As a result, they feel chronic fatigue and try to justify parents’ (professors’) confidence. So, under such conditions, a chain of negative outcomes can be expected. Obsessions appear.

The conclusion

The pathogenesis of the disease

Pathological perfectionism is considered to be one of the most dangerous psychological diseases. A person who suffers from the kind of mental disorder needs medical treatment. The pathogenesis of the disease is related to certain conditions a person experienced, when being a child.Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.  Strict restrictions, which parents want their children are to follow, can also cause pathological perfectionism.

“Fear of failure is a motive to avoid failure in evaluative situations based on anticipatory shame upon failure” (Atkinson, 1957). “Perfectionism is a personality disposition characterized by striving for flawlessness and setting exceedingly high standards of performance accompanied by overly critical evaluations of one’s behavior” (Hewitt & Flett, 1991). Relationship between fear of failure and perfectionism was examined. Data was collected from 200 young adults from Hyderabad using purposive and snowball sampling methods. Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory (Conroy et al., 2002) and Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 2004) were used. Data was analyzed using t-test and correlation. Results show a significant positive correlation between fear of failure and perfectionism. Interventions to help reduce Fear of Failure and Perfectionism can be developed. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

Keywords: Fear of Failure, Perfectionism

INTRODUCTION

In today’s competitive world competition, in one form or another exists from the very beginning. In school, students compete to be ranked the first in class; young adults and adults compete to be better than others in their careers or life in general. According to the theory of psychosocial development (Erikson, 1959), the individuals who fall under the ages 18-30 are in the stage of young adulthood as in this stage they are competing against others to establish themselves as successful students and professionals. At the minimum level this race can be seen as a competition to attain success and be better than the others, and at a higher level it can also be seen as a race for survival. To be better and surpass others or to avoid failure, they aim for perfection.

According to achievement motivation theories, “Fear of failure is a motive to avoid failure in evaluative situations based on anticipatory shame upon failure” (Atkinson, 1957; McClelland et al., 1953). Fear of failure can be described as a fear that causes one to avoid failure as it may lead to emotions of shame and humiliation. Individuals assume that they would fail and hence experience shame, so the best possible solution is to avoid the situation altogether. Fear of failure causes individuals to avoid taking part in achievement related tasks (Elliot & Sheldon, 1997). Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay. Fear of failure involves assessing the threat in evaluative situations that are capable of failure. Such situations activate cognitive schemas in our brain, which are related to unpleasant consequences of failing (Conroy, 2004).

The five kinds of fear of failure identified (Conroy, 2004) are (i) fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment, which is related to a belief that one will always experience shame in evaluative situations which will lead to embarrassment; (ii) fear of devaluing one’s self-estimate, which is related to a belief that one does not have the ability to control over his performance; (iii) fear of important others losing interest, which is related to a belief that if one fails, others will lose interest in them and hence they will lose their social value; (iv) fear of having an uncertain future, which is related to a belief that due to present failures, one loses future opportunities and (v) fear of upsetting significant others, which is related to the belief that as a result of failure important others will disapprove of their actions and lose affection towards them. Fear of failure is said to be caused by faulty parent-child relationship as mothers who punished their children for failure but showed a neutral response to success have children with a high level of fear of failure (Teevan, 1983). Fear of failure can make athletes anxious, scared, tense, stressed, upset, worried, trigger physiological responses and also increase negative affect and cognition. In sports fear of failure is perceived as performance oriented (not performing well) or outcome oriented (losing) by athletes (Lavallee et al., 2009). Fear of failure related beliefs predict the scores of socially prescribed perfectionism better than the other two dimensions of perfectionism, i.e. other oriented perfectionism and self oriented perfectionism and vice versa (Conroy et al., 2007). Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

According to Sagar and Stoeber (2009), there exists an association between fear of failure and perfectionism. “Perfectionism is a personality disposition characterized by striving for flawlessness and setting exceedingly high standards of performance accompanied by overly critical evaluations of one’s behavior” (Frost et al., 1990; Hewitt & Flett, 1991). Perfectionism is seen to be inherent in one’s personality. It is the way the individual deals with or views any situation. Individuals with high levels of perfectionism aim to be perfect, moreover aim to avoid mistakes of any kind. They evaluate their own behavior and achievements. They set extremely high standards of performance for themselves, with no room for mistakes. According to Hewitt et al., (1991), there are three kinds of perfectionism; “self-oriented perfectionism (i.e., unrealistic standards and perfectionistic motivation for the self), other-oriented perfectionism (i.e., unrealistic standards and perfectionistic motivations for others), and socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., the belief that significant others expect oneself to be perfect)”.

Self Oriented Perfectionism is where the individual sets high and unrealistic standards of perfectionism for themselves. Upon failure, the individual may harshly criticize himself or herself. The motivation for perfectionism is inherent and specific to self only. Some individuals take pride in their work and are high achievers. Such individuals can be regarded as normal perfectionists as they allow themselves to make reasonable mistakes depending on the situation they are in. They allow themselves to be inaccurate at times. However, there are some individuals who are rarely satisfied with their performance. They usually have no tolerance for their own mistakes and are overly critical of themselves. Such individuals are regarded as neurotic perfectionists as they are driven by a fear of failure and their main concern is to avoid mistakes (Chang, 2014). It was found that the scores of self-oriented perfectionism, in children, were associated with the worry or overexcitability (Guignard et al., 2012). Other Oriented Perfectionism is where an individual expects others to be perfect in what they do. The major concern for the individual here is not the perfectionism of the individual himself, but rather the perfectionism in others around him. The individual expects the people around him to be perfect and flawless, any mistake by others is not acceptable to the individual. Individuals with Other Oriented Perfectionism not only have high expectations from others, but also set high standards of performance for others. Socially Prescribed Perfectionism is where individuals strive to be perfect only due to the belief that important others expect them to be perfect.Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.  This belief motivates the individual to be perfect and avoid mistakes. It has been found that individuals with socially prescribed perfectionism are always pressured by the beliefs and standards set for them by others (Hewitt et al., 1991). In a study conducted on children, it was found that the scores of socially prescribed perfectionism were associated with the social concern (Guignard et al., 2012). It has been seen that socially prescribed perfectionism is significantly associated with procrastination. Specifically the link between procrastination and socially prescribed perfectionism was found to be greater in males (Flett et al., 1992). Perfectionism has also been seen as adaptive and maladaptive. Planning and organization of work to attain perfection is considered as adaptive perfectionism and concern over failure and mistakes is considered as maladaptive perfectionism (Elison, & Partridge, 2012). It was also found that both of these, adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism, could coexist in the same individual (Wigert et al., 2012). Both of these types are pertinent to body dissatisfaction (Wade & Tiggemann, 2013) and anxiety (Guignard et al., 2012). It was also found that Perfectionism is related to self-conscious emotions like shame and guilt (Tangney, 2002), stress coping and burnout (Schwenke, 2012), moral values, virtues and judgment (Yang et al., 2015). Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

Fear of Failure and Perfectionism are related to achievement motivation. When an individual is motivated to achieve something, he aims to be perfect in whatever he does. With the motivation to achieve, the individual may also have an inherent fear of failure. This fear may not necessarily be destructive but may help the individual attain perfection. Fear of failure is mainly associated with socially prescribed perfectionism (Conroy et al., 2007). Keeping in mind the previous studies, the present study focuses on analyzing the relationship between the two variables.

Research Questions

1. Is there a difference between men and women (18-27 years) in the levels of Fear of Failure and Perfectionism?
2. Is there a difference between the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years) in the levels of Fear of Failure and Perfectionism?
3. Is there a relationship between Fear of Failure and Perfectionism in men and women in the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years)?

Objectives

1. To determine whether there are any differences in the levels of Fear of Failure and its five dimensions- Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others- and Perfectionism and its three dimensions- Other Oriented Perfectionism, Self Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, between
   1. men and women (18-27 years)
   2. men and women (18-22 years)
   3. men and women (23-27 years)
   4. the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years)
   5. the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years) in women
   6. the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years) in men
2. To observe whether there is any relationship between Fear of Failure and its five dimensions- Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others- and Perfectionism and its three dimensions- Other Oriented Perfectionism, Self Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism in,. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.
   1. men (18-27 years)
   2. women (18-27 years)
   3. the age group- 18-22 years
   4. the age group- 23-27 years
   5. the total sample (18-27 years)

Hypotheses

A. There will be a difference in the level of Fear of Failure and its five dimensions- Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others- and Perfectionism and its three dimensions- Other Oriented Perfectionism, Self Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, between

1. men and women (18-27 years)
2. men and women (18-22 years)
3. men and women (23-27 years)
4. the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years)
5. the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years) in women
6. the two age groups (18-22 and 23-27 years) in men

B. There will be a relationship between Fear of Failure and its five dimensions- Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others- and Perfectionism and its three dimensions- Other Oriented Perfectionism, Self Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism,

1. men (18-27 years)
2. women (18-27 years)
3. the age group- 18-22 years
4. the age group- 23-27 years
5. the total sample (18-27 years)

METHOD

Research Design

This is a quantitative study with Fear of Failure and its dimensions- Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of having an Uncertain Future and Fear of Upsetting Important Others, as the Independent Variables and Perfectionism with its dimensions Other Oriented Perfectionism, Self-Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism as the Dependent Variable. It has a correlational, between groups design.

Sample

The sample for the present study consists of 200 young adults. The sample is divided into two age groups, Group one-18-22 years (students) and Group two-23-27 years (employed individuals), with 50 men and 50 women each. 22.04 years is the mean age of the sample (women: 21.82 and men: 22.15). In both the age groups the number of men is evenly distributed over the years. 50% of the women are 19 years old in Group one- 18-22 years and almost 50% of the women are 23 years old in Group two- 23-27 years. The sample was collected from the metropolitan city of Hyderabad using Purposive and Snowball sampling techniques. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

Figure 1 shows the division of the sample.

Figure 2 shows the inclusion and exclusion criteria for the sample.

Instruments

Questionnaires used in this research were:

1. Demographic Sheet

Participant’s details such as their age, gender, nationality, employment status and education were taken.

2. The Performance Failure Appraisal Inventory by David E. Conroy (2002)

The 25-item multidimensional measure of cognitive-emotional-relational appraisals is associated with fear of failure. It measures beliefs associated with aversive consequences of failure. The PFAI comprises of five dimensions or subscales of fear of failure- Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment (FSE- 7 items), Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate (FDSE- 4 items), Fear of Important Others Losing Interest (FIOLI- 5 items), Fear of having an Uncertain Future (FUF- 4 items) and Fear of Upsetting Important Others (FUIO- 5 items). The responses for the scale are on a five-point Likert-type scale ranging from ‘believe 100% of the time’ (5) to ‘do not believe at all’ (1). Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.Each item begins with either “When I am failing” or “When I am not succeeding”. Participants rated how strongly they believed each consequence was likely to happen to them after failure in competition, scores were computed by averaging across items. Reliability for the PFAI subscales range from FSE: 0.80, FDSE: 0.74, FUF: 0.80, FIOLI: 0.81, FUIO: 0.78, FF: 0.91 and the test-retest reliability >?0.80.

3. Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale by Hewitt and Flett (1991, 2004)

It is a 45-item scale that includes three subscales- Other Oriented Perfectionism, Self-Oriented Perfectionism, and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism. It is a seven-point Likert-type scale. It ranges from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (7). Higher scores on the scale are indicative of higher levels of perfectionism. There was adequate internal consistency of the three subscales, with Cronbach alphas of 0.86 for Self-Oriented Perfectionism, 0.87 for Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, and 0.82 for Other Oriented Perfectionism. The test-retest reliability of the subscales is 0.88 for Self-Oriented Perfectionism, 0.75 for Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, and 0.85 for Other Oriented Perfectionism.

Procedure

The measures were selected and arrangements were made for data collection. The questionnaires along with the Demographic Sheet were prepared. The researcher identified the individuals who meet the criteria for the sample and rapport was established with them. It was brought to the participants’ notice that their participation in the study was purely voluntary and confidentiality would be maintained throughout the study. The participants were requested to sign an ‘Informed Consent Form’. The participants were instructed to fill in the details in Demographic Sheet. Instructions for the two questionnaires were given and they were asked to respond to the items. No fixed time limit was set. However, the participants were expected to finish it within 20 minutes. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

Statistical Analysis of Data

Participants’ responses were scored according to the manuals and IBM SPSS version 24 was used for data analysis. The statistical treatments of the scores were done and Means and Standard Deviations of Fear of Failure along with its five dimensions and the Perfectionism along with its three dimensions were calculated. For testing the significant difference in the groups, age and gender, a t– test was conducted. To determine whether there was any significant correlation between Fear of Failure along with its five dimensions and the Perfectionism along with its three dimensions, Pearson’s Product Moment Correlation was used.

RESULTS

Table 1 showing mean, standard deviation and t values for Fear of Failure (GFF) and its dimensions, Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment (FSE), Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate (FDSE), Fear of having an Uncertain Future (FUF), Fear of Important Others Losing Interest (FIOLI) and Fear of Upsetting Important Others (FUIO) and Perfectionism (P) and its dimensions, Self Oriented Perfectionism (SOP), Other Oriented Perfectionism (OOP) and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (SPP).

Table 1 shows no significant difference in the levels of General Fear of Failure and its dimensions (Fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and Fear of Upsetting Important Others) and Perfectionism and its dimensions (Self Oriented Perfectionism, Other Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism), between the two age groups (18-22 years and 23-27 years), in men, in women and in the total sample. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

There is a significant difference between men and women (18-22 years) in the levels of Other Oriented Perfectionism. However, there is no significant difference in the levels of General Fear or Failure and its dimensions (Fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and Fear of Upsetting Important Others) and Perfectionism and its dimensions (Self Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism), between women and men in the age group 18-22 years.

There is a significant difference in the levels of Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure, between women and men in the age group 23-27 years. However, there is no significant difference in the levels of dimensions of Fear of Failure- Fear of experiencing shame and embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate and Fear of having an Uncertain Future, and Perfectionism and its dimensions (Self Oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism), between women and men in the age group 23-27 years.

There is a significant difference in the levels of Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others, General Fear of Failure and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism, between women and men, in the total sample (18-27 years).

Table 2 showing correlation between Fear of Failure (GFF) and its dimensions, Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment (FSE), Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate (FDSE), Fear of having an Uncertain Future (FUF), Fear of Important Others Losing Interest (FIOLI) and Fear of Upsetting Important Others (FUIO) and Perfectionism (P) and its dimensions, Self Oriented Perfectionism (SOP), Other Oriented Perfectionism (OOP) and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (SPP). Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.

Table 2 shows no significant correlation between Self Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure in men, in women, in the age group 18-22 and 23-27 years and in the total sample (18-27 years).

There is no significant correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure in women. There is a significant positive correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of Upsetting Important Others in men. However, there is no significant correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and General Fear of Failure in men.

There is no significant correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure in the age group 18-22 years.Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.  There is a significant positive correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure in the age group 23-27 years. However, there is no correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, in the age group 23-27 years.

There is a significant positive correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and Fear of Upsetting Important Others in the total sample. However, there is no correlation between Other Oriented Perfectionism and General Fear of Failure along with dimensions, namely, Fear of Experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing One’s Self Estimate and Fear of having an Uncertain Future in the total sample.

There is a significant positive correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and General Fear of Failure in women. However, there is no significant correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of having an Uncertain Future and Fear of Upsetting Important Others in women. There is a significant positive correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure in men. However, there is no significant correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of Devaluing One’s Self Estimate and Fear of having an Uncertain Future in men.

There is a significant positive correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, General Fear of Failure in the age group 18-22 years. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay. However, there is no correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others in the age group 18-22 years. There is a significant positive correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others, General Fear of Failure in the age group 23-27 years. However, there is no correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of having an Uncertain Future in the age group 23-27 years.

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There is a significant positive correlation between Socially Prescribed Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest, Fear of Upsetting Important Others and General Fear of Failure in the total sample.

There is a significant positive correlation between total Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and General Fear of Failure in women. However, there is no significant correlation between total Perfectionism and dimensions of fear of failure, namely, Fear of Devaluing One’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future and Fear of Upsetting Important Others in women. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay. There is a significant positive correlation between total Perfectionism and Fear of Upsetting Important Others in men. However, there is no correlation between total Perfectionism and Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing One’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and General Fear of Failure in men.

There is a significant positive correlation between Perfectionism and Fear of Important Others Losing Interest in the age group 18-22 years. However, there is no correlation between Perfectionism and General Fear of Failure and other dimensions, namely, Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Devaluing One’s Self Estimate, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Upsetting Important Others in the age group 18-22 years. There is a significant positive correlation between Perfectionism and Fear of Devaluing one’s Self Estimate, Fear of Upsetting Important Others, General Fear of Failure in the age group 23-27 years. However, there is no correlation between Perfectionism and Fear of Experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of having an Uncertain Future, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest in the age group 23-27 years.

There is a significant positive correlation between total Perfectionism and General Fear of Failure along with dimensions, namely, Fear of experiencing Shame and Embarrassment, Fear of Important Others Losing Interest and Fear of Upsetting Important Others in the total sample. However, there is no correlation between total Perfectionism and Fear of Devaluing One’s Self Estimate and Fear of having an Uncertain Future in the total sample. Pathological Perfectionism – Psychology Essay.