Perfectionism paradox: Perfectionistic concerns (not perfectionistic strivings) affect the relationship between perceived risk and choice

Abstract

We investigate whether, when, and why perfectionism moderates the relationship between perceived risk and choice. Two studies (N = 1784) using different choice domains (appearance and performance) and different samples (women and general population) show consistent results. People with high (vs. low) perfectionistic concerns (PC) are less sensitive to high risks and, hence, are more willing to consider options (i.e., products and services) that entail greater risks. These effects emerge because high-PC (vs. low-PC) individuals have more favorable appraisals, believing that the product or service's benefits are worth its risks even when these risks are substantial. The effects observed for high-vs. low-PC do not obtain for people who are high (vs. low) on a second dimension of perfectionism called perfectionistic strivings (PS). Our findings suggest that high-PC individuals may be a vulnerable segment in society, particularly since (a) people are frequently confronted with decisions about options that promise perfectionistic outcomes, (b) these options can come with high levels of risk, and (c) perfectionistic tendencies have become more prevalent over time. We discuss the implications of these findings for policymakers and future research. | INTRODUCTIONPerfectionism in society has been on the rise in recent years. A longitudinal study between 1989 and 2016 finds that perfectionism has linearly increased among younger individuals in the US (Curran & Hill, 2019). Today, teenagers often believe that they must be or appear perfect to win approval from friends, social media followers, or parents (Curran & Hill, 2019). Adults also seem to be under pressure to project an image of oneself as perfect to others. Organizations increasingly expect and require their employees to attain extremely high (i.e., perfectionistic) performance, go beyond assigned work duties, and take the initiative in everything they do (Janssen & van Yperen, 2004;Schaufeli et al., 2008). These results suggest that setting high standards in general and pursuing perfection, in particular, may be desired and demanded by today's society.To cope with these demands, consumers turn to the marketplace in their quest for perfection. For example, Google reveals that people have searched for the phrase "how to get the perfect body" more than 2.2 billion times, "how to plan the perfect wedding" more than 236 million times, and "how to find the perfect home" more than 6.0 billion times on Google. Moreover, the media extensively covers anecdotal accounts of consumers' attempts to purchase perfection (Clarke, 2020). On social media, especially younger consumers try to project a perfect image of themselves with things they buy, consume,

Mediating Mechanisms of Perfectionism: Clinical Comorbidity of OCD and ED

“…Furthermore, our results corroborate with previous understandings on the following levels: the influence that goals manage to have on perfectionism (83)(84)(85)(86)(87)(88)(89), the effect mediated by emotional regulation (90-94) and anxiety (85,(95)(96)(97). At this point, few studies referred in OCD patients report the performance that goals exert on perfectionism levels (98,99), as well as on AN (69, 100, 101) and BN (102,103).…”

Consequences of applying soft‐sell themes in e‐cigarette advertisements

“…Maladaptive behavior has been linked to consumers' low self‐efficacy (Ceylan et al, 2022). In that sense, consumers approach to high‐risk products (i.e., e‐cigarettes ads) could be impacted by their relaxed mindset in processing information about health risks associated with e‐cigarette consumption.…”

The moderating role of time perspective profiles in the association of workaholism, work engagement and perfectionism among Japanese employees

“…Perhaps this aspect of perfectionism has always been seen as a negative concept associated with negative consequences (Stoeber and Damian, 2016). PFC' relationship with depression and negative affect (Frost et al, 1993), stress (Achtziger and Bayer, 2013) and test anxiety (Ceylan et al, 2022) and have been reported. Although, as mentioned, many studies have investigated the relationship between workaholism and perfectionism, there are limited studies on perfectionism as two dimensional.…”

“…Perfectionistic strivings (PFS) and perfectionistic concerns (PFCs), which are the names suggested by Stoeber and Otto (2006), will be used in this research to avoid confusion. In recent years, studies that differentiate the two dimensions of perfectionism have increased even further, such as Ceylan et al. (2022).…”

“…PFC' relationship with depression and negative affect (Frost et al. , 1993), stress (Achtziger and Bayer, 2013) and test anxiety (Ceylan et al. , 2022) and have been reported.…”