The DOI matches its Crossref record; 1 of the 1 references it cites were found in a registry or an index.
Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology.
Abstract
This article attempted to demonstrate that the perfectionism construct is multidimensional, comprising both personal and social components, and that these components contribute to severe levels of psychopathology. We describe three dimensions of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism. Four studies confirm the multidimensionality of the construct and show that these dimensions can be assessed in a reliable and valid manner. Finally, a study with 77 psychiatric patients shows that self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism relate differentially to indices of personality disorders and other psychological maladjustment. A multidimensional approach to the study of perfectionism is warranted, particularly in terms of the association between perfectionism and maladjustment.
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“In this study, the internal consistency (Cronbach α at baseline) was 0.86 for the overall scale.”
From Schema-Informed Digital Mental Health Intervention for Maladaptive Cognitive-Emotional Patterns: Randomized Controlled Trial (2025) · cites this paper as [19]
In the citing paper
“According to the multidimensional view of perfectionism, two higher-order dimensions of trait perfectionism are commonly identified from the most frequently used and well-validated measures in the field”
From A Meta–Analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism (2017) · cites this paper as P. L. Hewitt & Flett, 1991
In the citing paper
“In contrast, the MPS-HF (P. L. Hewitt & Flett, 1991) and the APSR (Slaney et al., 2001), revised, each assesses perfectionistic concerns with one subscale, socially-prescribed perfectionism (SPP) for the MPS-HF, and discrepancy, for the APSR.”
From A Meta–Analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism (2017) · cites this paper as P. L. Hewitt & Flett, 1991
In the citing paper
“Indeed, Hewitt and Flett (1991) along with Hewitt, Flett, Besser, Sherry, and McGee (2003) have provided a strong theoretical foundation and direct empirical evidence to support a multidimensional conceptualization of perfectionism that includes both intra and interpersonal dimensions of perfectionism.”
From A Meta–Analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism (2017) · cites this paper as Hewitt and Flett (1991)
In the citing paper
“with studies using the discrepancy subscale of the APSR (Slaney et al., 2001) demonstrating effects that were almost twice the magnitude of those found with the socially prescribed perfectionism subscale of the MPS-HF (P. L. Hewitt & Flett, 1991)”
From A Meta–Analytic and Conceptual Update on the Associations between Procrastination and Multidimensional Perfectionism (2017) · cites this paper as P. L. Hewitt & Flett, 1991
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Items 1,001–1,032 of 1,032
Positive and Negative Perfectionism and the Big Five Personality Factors
Egan, S. J., Piek, J. P., & Dyck, M. J. (2015) · Behaviour Change · doi:10.1017/bec.2015.3 · Cited by 26
“The Hewitt Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (HMPS; Hewitt & Flett, 1991) has subscales of self-oriented perfectionism (SOP): striving for personal standards; socially-prescribed perfectionism (SPP): thinking others hold high standards for the individual; and other-oriented perfectionism (OOP):…”
MethodMechanisms of Change in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Body Dysmorphic Disorder
Fang, A., Steketee, G. S., Keshaviah, A. P., Didie, E. R., Phillips, K. A., & Wilhelm, S. (2020) · Cognitive Therapy and Research · doi:10.1007/s10608-020-10080-w · Cited by 28
Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: the portuguese version
Amaral, A. P., Soares, M. J., Pereira, A. T., Bos, S. C., Marques, M., Valente, J., Nogueira, V., de Azevedo, M. H. P., & Macedo, A. (2013) · Archives of Clinical Psychiatry (São Paulo) · doi:10.1590/s0101-60832013000400004 · Cited by 25
Slade, P., Haywood, A., & King, H. (2008) · British Journal of Health Psychology · doi:10.1348/135910708x304441 · Cited by 25
“This could be explained in terms of ‘other-oriented perfectionism’ (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) or the tendency to set unrealistically high standards for the behaviour of significant others.”
BackgroundMultidimensional perfectionism, depression and relational health in women with eating disturbances
Patterson, R. E., Wang, K. T., & Slaney, R. B. (2012) · Eating Behaviors · doi:10.1016/j.eatbeh.2012.03.004 · Cited by 25
Perfectionism and clinical disorders among employees
Yperen, N. W. V., Verbraak, M. J. P. M., & Spoor, E. (2011) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2011.01.040 · Cited by 27
“For example, Hewitt and Flett (1991) found higher levels of socially prescribed perfectionism in a group of patients with anxiety disorders than in healthy respondents.”
BackgroundSirois, F. M., & Molnar, D. S. (2017) · Journal of Research in Personality · doi:10.1016/j.jrp.2017.06.003 · Cited by 32
Curzio, O., Maestro, S., Rossi, G., Calderoni, S., Giombini, L., Scardigli, S., Ragione, L., & Muratori, F. (2018) · European psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.12.024 · Cited by 23
“%) p* Subtypes % AN-R 87.0 BN-BP 76.5 BED 21.8 Female % 92.6 92.2 74.8 0.000 Male % 7.4 7.8 25.2 0.000 Age 7-13 years % 23.3 3.9 39.1 0.000 Age 14-18 years % 76.7 96.1 60.9 0.000 M ± SD Median Min and max M ± SD Median Min and max M ± SD Median Min and max p** Age 14.9 ± 1.7 15 10-18 15.7 ± 1.1 16 13-18 13.9 ± 2.6 14…”
InfluentialPsychological Heterogeneity Among Honors College Students
Cross, T. L., Cross, J. R., Mammadov, S., Ward, T. J., Neumeister, K. S., & Andersen, L. (2018) · journal for the education of the gifted · doi:10.1177/0162353218781754 · Cited by 31
Academic competence and achievement goals: Self-pressure and disruptive behaviors as mediators
Duchesne, S., & Larose, S. (2018) · Learning and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.lindif.2018.09.008 · Cited by 33
What are the roles of perfectionism and responsibility in checking and cleaning compulsions?
Yorulmaz, O., Karanci, A. N., & Tekok-Kılıç, A. (2005) · Journal of Anxiety Disorders · doi:10.1016/j.janxdis.2005.02.009 · Cited by 29
Beshārat, M. A., Azizi, K., & Poursharifi, H. (2011) · Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences · doi:10.1016/j.sbspro.2011.03.276 · Cited by 25
“These findings are consistent with the existing literature that has provided evidence of a relative relationship between parenting styles and dimensions of perfectionism in children (Craddock, Church, & Sands, 2009; Flett et al., 1995; Hewitt & Flett, 1991; Kawamura et al., 2002; Rice et al., 1996).”
BackgroundMethodResultInfluentialReilly, E. E., Stey, P., & Lapsley, D. K. (2015) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2015.08.038 · Cited by 24
“Although certain types of perfectionism may be adaptive, SPP, or expectations that individuals in one's social environment expect perfection (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), has been denoted as a particularly important facet of “maladaptive perfectionism” (Bieling, Israeli, & Antony, 2004; Klibert,…”
BackgroundDunn, J. G. H., Gotwals, J. K., Dunn, J. C., Selzler, A., Lizmore, M. R., Vaartstra, M. B., Sapieja, K. M., & Gamache, V. E. (2016) · Psychology of sport and exercise · doi:10.1016/j.psychsport.2016.08.006 · Cited by 25
Cleare, S., Wetherall, K., Eschle, S., Forrester, R. L., Drummond, J., & O'Connor, D. B. (2021) · Preventive Medicine · doi:10.1016/j.ypmed.2021.106592 · Cited by 29
“The MPS has exhibited good validity and reliability in many studies (Hewitt and Flett, 1991) and the reliability was acceptable in this study ( α = 0.87).”
BackgroundMethodInfluentialPerfectionism, Substance Use, and Mental Health in College Students: A Longitudinal Analysis
Nelsen, S. K., Kayaalp, A., & Page, K. J. (2023) · Journal of American College Health · doi:10.1080/07448481.2021.1891076 · Cited by 21
“the construct into two subtypes as adaptive and maladaptive perfectionism.(25,29,30) Further, Parker(31) proposed a tripartite”
BackgroundSelective attention in perfectionism: Dissociating valence from perfectionism-relevance
Howell, J. A., McEvoy, P. M., Grafton, B., Macleod, C., Kane, R. T., Anderson, R. A., & Egan, S. J. (2016) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2016.01.004 · Cited by 20
“Specifically, in this study, Kobori and Tanno (2012) screened 243 undergraduate students on the self-oriented perfectionism subscale of the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism scale (HMPS; Hewitt & Flett, 1991).”
BackgroundThe Role of Self-Compassion Among Adaptive and Maladaptive Perfectionists in University Students
Kawamoto, A., Sheth, R., Yang, M., Demps, L., & Sevig, T. (2023) · The Counseling Psychologist · doi:10.1177/00110000221129606 · Cited by 19
“…widely used measures of perfectionism, the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost et al., 1990), the Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), and the Almost Perfect Scale-Revised (APS-R; Slaney et al., 2001), assess both conceptually similar as well as different…”
MethodPerfectly imperfect: The use of cognitive bias modification to reduce perfectionism
Dodd, D. R., Parsons, E. M., Clerkin, E. M., Forrest, L. N., Velkoff, E. A., Kunstman, J. W., & Smith, A. R. (2019) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.04.002 · Cited by 17
Saddler, C. D., & Sacks, L. A. (1993) · Psychological Reports · doi:10.1177/00332941930733pt123 · Cited by 17
Zeifman, R. J., Antony, M. M., & Kuo, J. R. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2019.109612 · Cited by 18
Tonta, K. E., Howell, J. A., Hasking, P. A., Boyes, M. E., & Clarke, P. J. F. (2019) · Journal of Behavior Therapy and Experimental Psychiatry · doi:10.1016/j.jbtep.2019.02.009 · Cited by 15
Temporal discounting predicts procrastination in the real world
Zhang, P. Y., & Ma, W. J. (2024) · Scientific Reports · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-65110-4 · Cited by 13
“We included the Barratt Impulsivity Scale 63 , the Brief Self-Control Scale 64 , and perfectionism scales 65,66 to test their association with behavioral procrastination and whether they mediate the correlation between temporal discounting and procrastination.”
MethodRandall, E. T., Gray, L. S., & Fletcher, A. A. (2018) · Journal of Pediatric Psychology · doi:10.1093/jpepsy/jsx106 · Cited by 12
Donegan, E., Frey, B. N., McCabe, R. E., Streiner, D. L., & Green, S. M. (2022) · Behavior Therapy · doi:10.1016/j.beth.2022.02.005 · Cited by 10
Canning, J. R., Patock-Peckham, J. A., Walters, K. J., Bauman, D. C., Frohe, T., & Leeman, R. F. (2020) · Personality and Individual Differences · doi:10.1016/j.paid.2020.109909 · Cited by 10
Wade, T. D., Egan, S. J., Wleklinski, M., O’Brien, A., Fitzallen, G., & Shafran, R. (2021) · BMC Psychology · doi:10.1186/s40359-021-00620-8 · Cited by 9
“Respective example items: I hate being less than the best at things; The fewer mistakes I make, the more people will like me Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale [2] the two most widely used subscales are Self-oriented Perfectionism and Socially Prescribed Perfectionism.”
BackgroundBiased interpretation in perfectionistic concerns: an experimental investigation
Howell, J. A., McEvoy, P. M., Grafton, B., Macleod, C., Kane, R. T., Anderson, R. A., & Egan, S. J. (2019) · Anxiety, Stress, & Coping · doi:10.1080/10615806.2019.1586888 · Cited by 7
“Hence, it remains unknown whether interpretive bias is implicated in other facets of elevated perfectionism, for example as assessed by the socially prescribed perfectionism subscale of the HMPS (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) or the Discrepancy subscale of the APSR (Slaney et al., 2001).”
BackgroundMethodJeong, S., Kim, H., Lho, S. K., Hwang, I., Mun, S., Kim, S., Lim, H., Kim, H., Shin, M.-S., & Moon, W. (2025) · Journal of Medical Internet Research · doi:10.2196/65892 · Cited by 2
“The primary outcome of the Riggy program was perfectionism, which reflects distress associated with the unrelenting standards schema, and was measured using the HMPS [19].”
A testdiszmorfiás zavar pszichológiai vonatkozásai
Szászi, B., & Szabó, P. (2023) · Magyar Pszichologiai Szemle · doi:10.1556/0016.2023.00042 · Cited by 1
Krause, K. L., Stewart, K. E., Cassin, S. E., & Antony, M. M. (2018) · Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy · doi:10.1891/0889-8391.32.4.241 · Cited by 1
“…et al. (2009) found that elevated levels of self-oriented perfectionism, as measured by the Hewitt and Flett Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991), was associated with choosing a more difficult goal (i.e., answering more items correctly on a Stroop task) following success…”
MethodStewart (2001) · doi:10.1002/1098-108x(200103)29:2
Metadata
- Authors
- Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L.
- Venue
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology
- Published
- 1991
- Volume
- 60
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 456-470
- ISSN
- 0022-3514 (ISSN-L)
- 1939-1315
- OpenAlex
- W4239426612
- Cited by
- 3,378
- References
- 0
- Citations by year
- 2026: 185 · 2025: 213 · 2024: 153 · 2023: 155 · 2022: 154 · 2021: 189 · 2020: 181 · 2019: 153 · 2018: 166 · 2017: 158 · 2016: 162 · 2015: 164 · 2014: 158 · 2013: 102 · 2012: 140
- FWCI
- 18.84
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Perfectionism, Procrastination, Anxiety Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Personality Traits and Psychology
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
- Keywords
- perfectionism, self-perfectionism, social perfectionism, psychopathology, conceptualization, assessment, personality traits
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Female, Humans, Male, Personality Assessment, Personality Development, Personality Disorders, Personality Tests, Risk Factors, Self Concept, Social Adjustment, Social Desirability, Type A Personality
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