Perfectionism cognitions and memory performance: A signal detection analysis of perfectionism-relevant, negative, positive, and neutral words

Perfectionism cognitions are associated with cognitive biases (including memory), depression, and anxiety. Memory biases related to perfectionism may contribute to perfectionism's role as a transdiagnostic risk factor and high comorbidity rates. However, very limited research exists on the relationship between perfectionism and memory. The current study examined (1) if perfectionism cognitions are related to memory performance, and (2) if perfectionism cognitions are related to sensitivity or decision bias. A convenience sample of 191 university students completed a recognition task with perfectionism-relevant, negative, positive, and neutral stimuli, and the Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory. The results showed perfectionism cognitions were correlated with and predicted memory accuracy for perfectionism-relevant and negative words only, suggesting individuals higher in perfectionism cognitions may exhibit an enhanced memory for perfectionism-relevant and negative stimuli. Signal detection analysis showed higher perfectionism cognitions were also related to (1) a higher memory discriminative ability, and (2) a more liberal response bias, for perfectionism words only. Furthering our understanding of how perfectionism cognitions impact cognitive processes is an important step to identify potential mechanisms in the relation between perfectionism cognitions and distress, and identify targets for intervention.