Self-Oriented Perfectionism and its Relationship to Positive and Negative Affect: The Mediation of Positive and Negative Perfectionism Cognitions

Past research indicates that Self-Oriented Perfectionism (SOP: P. L. Hewitt & G. L. Flett, 1991) has been linked to psychopathology but can have both positive and negative elements. The purpose of the present study is to examine whether the relationship of SOP to positive and negative affect would be mediated by the presence of specific cognitions regarding “Personal Standards (PS),” and “Concern over Mistakes (CM)” as well as goal motivations. Two mediations involved in SOP were hypothesized: (1) in the presence of approach goals, the cognition of PS emerges from activated SOP and leads to positive affect; and (2) in the presence of avoidant goals, the cognition of CM emerges from activated SOP and leads to negative affect. In Study 1, 358 college students completed the research questionnaire, and structural equation modeling was used to test the mediation model. In Study 2, 60 participants, 30 rated high and 30 rated low in SOP, were presented with either an approach or an avoidant goal for an experimental task, and asked to rate their perfectionism cognitions and affects. The findings provided partial support for the hypotheses.