Mediating the effects of self-criticism and self-oriented perfectionism on goal pursuit

The current study utilized a prospective design to examine the associations of self-criticism and self-oriented perfectionism with goal progress. The results corroborated previous findings demonstrating a negative association between self-criticism and self-reported goal progress when self-oriented perfectionism was controlled, and a positive association between self-oriented perfectionism and goal progress when self-criticism was controlled. This study extended previous research by exploring the potential mediation of these effects through goal-related self-efficacy, implementation intentions, and goal-related flow. The results showed that the effects of self-criticism on goal progress were indeed mediated by self-efficacy, implementation planning and goal-related flow, while the effects of self-oriented perfectionism were mediated by implementation planning and flow, but not self-efficacy. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.