The Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE) is a recently developed measure that distinguishes between striving towards perfection and striving towards excellence.
This distinction is crucial because perfectionism has been linked to both positive and negative outcomes, particularly in adolescents.
By separating these concepts, researchers can better understand the nuanced effects of different types of achievement striving on mental health, academic performance, and personal development.
This research is important for developing targeted interventions and support strategies for adolescents.
Bien, K., Wagner, J., & Brandt, N. D. (2024). Who tends to be a perfectionistic adolescent? Distinguishing perfectionism from excellencism and investigating the links with the Big Five and self‐esteem. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12739
Key Points
- The study introduces and evaluates a German version of the Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE) in adolescents, distinguishing between striving towards perfection and striving towards excellence.
- Striving towards perfection and excellence are distinguishable in adolescents, but more strongly correlated than in adults.
- Perfectionism and excellencism show different associations with the Big Five personality traits and self-esteem:
- Striving towards perfection is associated with lower openness and self-esteem, and higher neuroticism.
- Striving towards excellence is associated with higher levels of extraversion, agreeableness, conscientiousness, openness, and self-esteem.
- The study found limited differences in perfectionism and excellencism across genders and school types.
- This research contributes to understanding perfectionism in adolescence and highlights the importance of distinguishing between perfectionism and excellencism in future studies.
Rationale
Perfectionism is a significant concept in psychology due to its role in psychological adjustment and maladjustment (Flett & Hewitt, 2020; Smith et al., 2022).
Adolescence is considered a sensitive period for the development of perfectionism (Flett & Hewitt, 2022), with increasing levels observed in younger cohorts (Curran & Hill, 2019).
However, there has been a lack of clear differentiation between striving towards perfection and striving towards excellence in existing measures (Gaudreau, 2019; Osenk et al., 2020).
The Model of Excellencism and Perfectionism (MEP) and the Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE) were recently introduced to address this issue (Gaudreau, 2019; Gaudreau et al., 2022).
While initial evidence supports the distinction between perfectionism and excellencism in adult samples, its applicability to adolescence remains largely unexplored.
This study aims to enhance our understanding of perfectionism in adolescence by evaluating the psychometric properties of a German version of the SCOPE and investigating its nomological net with other personality characteristics in a diverse sample of adolescents.
Method
Procedure
The study used data from the first measurement point of the SEED (Socio-Emotional Development in School) project.
Participants completed questionnaires via the m-Path App on their private mobile devices.
Sample
The sample consisted of 788 10th-grade students (mean age = 15.49 years, SD = 0.68 years) from 12 different schools and 54 classes in Germany.
The sample was balanced in terms of gender (50% female) and academic background (57% from academically-oriented schools, 43% from comprehensive schools).
Measures
- Scale of Perfectionism and Excellencism (SCOPE): A 22-item measure assessing striving towards perfection and excellence.
- Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS): Used to assess personal standards.
- Big Five Inventory 2 (BFI-2): Used to measure the Big Five personality traits.
- Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSE-short): Used to assess self-esteem.
Statistical measures
The study employed structural equation modeling (SEM) using the lavaan package in R. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) were used to test the factor structure of the SCOPE.
Multiple regression analyses were conducted to examine associations between perfectionism, excellencism, and other personality characteristics.
Results
- Factor Structure:
- The two-factor structure of the SCOPE (striving towards perfection and striving towards excellence) was confirmed in adolescents.
- Both SCOPE subscales showed high internal consistency (ω = .95 for perfectionism, ω = .94 for excellencism).
- Associations with Personal Standards:
- Striving towards perfection showed a small positive association with personal standards (β = .26, p < .001).
- Striving towards excellence showed a moderate positive association with personal standards (β = .39, p < .001).
- Associations with Big Five Personality Traits:
- Striving towards perfection was negatively associated with openness (β = -.19, p = .003) and positively associated with neuroticism (β = .26, p < .001).
- Striving towards excellence was positively associated with extraversion (β = .29, p < .001), agreeableness (β = .22, p = .005), conscientiousness (β = .25, p < .001), and openness (β = .47, p < .001).
- Associations with Self-Esteem:
- Striving towards perfection was negatively associated with self-esteem (β = -.25, p < .001).
- Striving towards excellence was positively associated with self-esteem (β = .15, p = .006).
- Gender Differences:
- Girls showed slightly higher levels of striving towards perfection than boys, but this effect was not robust after controlling for multiple testing.
- School Type Differences:
- Students from comprehensive schools showed higher levels of striving towards perfection than students from academically-oriented schools.
- Network Analysis:
- The network model revealed pairwise cross-sectional associations between striving towards perfection and excellence, as well as between these constructs and various personality traits.
- No moderator effects of striving towards perfection were found in the personality network.
These findings highlight the distinct nature of perfectionism and excellencism in adolescents and their differential associations with other personality characteristics.
Insight
This study provides important insights into the nature of perfectionism and excellencism in adolescence.
The findings support the distinction between striving towards perfection and excellence, even in adolescents, where personality characteristics are still developing and differentiating.
However, the stronger correlation between perfectionism and excellencism in adolescents compared to adults suggests that these constructs may become more differentiated with age.
The study reveals different personality profiles associated with perfectionism and excellencism.
Adolescents who strive towards perfection tend to be less open to new experiences, less self-confident, and more prone to anxiety and worry.
In contrast, those who strive towards excellence show a more adaptive personality profile, being more extraverted, agreeable, conscientious, open to experiences, and self-confident.
These findings challenge previous assumptions about the relationship between perfectionism and conscientiousness, suggesting that the positive associations found in earlier studies might be due to the conflation of perfectionism and excellencism.
This has implications for understanding the role of perfectionism in academic achievement and other outcomes.
The study also highlights the importance of distinguishing between perfectionism and excellencism when examining their relationships with other constructs.
For example, the opposing associations with openness suggest that perfectionistic adolescents might be less creative and adaptable than their excellence-striving peers.
Future research could explore the developmental trajectories of perfectionism and excellencism from adolescence to adulthood, investigate how these constructs relate to academic and mental health outcomes over time, and examine potential interventions to promote healthy striving towards excellence rather than potentially maladaptive perfectionism.
Strengths
This study had several methodological strengths, including:
- Preregistered study design with theoretically and empirically derived hypotheses
- Large, sufficiently-powered sample balanced in terms of gender and academic background
- Use of a sample outside the core Anglosphere, addressing the need for more diverse perfectionism research
- Embedding the SCOPE scales into the nomological net of central personality characteristics
- Rigorous statistical analyses, including structural equation modeling and moderated network modeling
Limitations
This study also had several methodological limitations, including:
- Cross-sectional design limits conclusions about stability and causal relationships
- Reliance on self-report measures may inflate observed associations due to common method bias
- Use of only one additional perfectionism measure (FMPS) for convergent and discriminant validity
- Sample limited to German adolescents, potentially limiting generalizability to other cultures or age groups
Implications
The findings have several important implications:
- The distinction between perfectionism and excellencism is relevant even in adolescence, suggesting the need for more nuanced approaches to understanding and measuring perfectionism in this age group.
- The different personality profiles associated with perfectionism and excellencism suggest that interventions aimed at promoting healthy achievement striving in adolescents should focus on fostering excellencism rather than perfectionism.
- The negative association between perfectionism and openness, coupled with the positive association between excellencism and openness, has implications for creativity and academic achievement. Educators and parents should be aware that pushing for perfection might inadvertently stifle creativity and adaptability.
- The finding that perfectionism is associated with lower self-esteem and higher neuroticism in adolescents highlights the potential risks of perfectionism for mental health. This underscores the importance of early interventions to prevent the development of maladaptive perfectionism.
- The lack of substantial gender and school type differences suggests that perfectionism and excellencism are relevant across different adolescent groups, indicating a need for broad-based approaches to addressing these constructs in educational and clinical settings.
- The stronger correlation between perfectionism and excellencism in adolescents compared to adults suggests that interventions during adolescence might be particularly effective in shaping healthier achievement orientations before these constructs become more rigidly differentiated.
These findings can inform the development of educational programs, counseling approaches, and parenting strategies that promote healthy striving towards excellence while mitigating the potential negative effects of perfectionism.
References
Primary reference
Bien, K., Wagner, J., & Brandt, N. D. (2024). Who tends to be a perfectionistic adolescent? Distinguishing perfectionism from excellencism and investigating the links with the Big Five and self‐esteem. British Journal of Psychology. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjop.12739
Other references
Curran, T., & Hill, A. P. (2019). Perfectionism is increasing over time: A meta-analysis of birth cohort differences from 1989 to 2016. Psychological Bulletin, 145(4), 410-429. https://doi.org/10.1037/bul0000138
Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2020). Reflections on three decades of research on multidimensional perfectionism: An introduction to the special issue on further advances in the assessment of perfectionism. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 38(1), 3-14. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282919881928
Flett, G. L., & Hewitt, P. L. (2022). Perfectionism in childhood and adolescence: A developmental approach. American Psychological Association.
Gaudreau, P. (2019). On the distinction between personal standards perfectionism and excellencism: A theory elaboration and research agenda. Perspectives on Psychological Science, 14(2), 197-215. https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691618797940
Gaudreau, P., Schellenberg, B. J., Gareau, A., Kljajic, K., & Manoni-Millar, S. (2022). Because excellencism is more than good enough: On the need to distinguish the pursuit of excellence from the pursuit of perfection. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 122(6), 1117.
Osenk, I., Williamson, P., & Wade, T. D. (2020). Does perfectionism or pursuit of excellence contribute to successful learning? A meta-analytic review. Psychological assessment, 32(10), 972. https://doi.org/10.1037/pas0000942
Smith, M. M., Sherry, S. B., Ge, S. Y., Hewitt, P. L., Flett, G. L., & Baggley, D. L. (2022). Multidimensional perfectionism turns 30: A review of known knowns and known unknowns. Canadian Psychology/Psychologie canadienne, 63(1), 16. https://doi.org/10.1037/cap0000288
Keep Learning
- How might cultural differences influence the development and expression of perfectionism and excellencism in adolescents?
- What role do parenting styles play in shaping perfectionism versus excellencism in children and adolescents?
- How might the distinction between perfectionism and excellencism inform the development of interventions for perfectionism-related mental health issues, such as anxiety and depression?
- In what ways could educational systems be adapted to promote healthy striving towards excellence while discouraging maladaptive perfectionism?
- How might the relationship between perfectionism, excellencism, and the Big Five personality traits change over the lifespan, from adolescence through adulthood?
- What are the potential long-term consequences of perfectionism versus excellencism on career success, life satisfaction, and mental health?
- How might social media and increased digital connectivity influence the development of perfectionism and excellencism in contemporary adolescents?
- What neurobiological differences, if any, might underlie the tendencies towards perfectionism versus excellencism?
