Exploring Domain-Specific Perfectionism

The main objective of this research was to explore the extent to which perfectionism is a general personality trait across areas of functioning rather than a context-specific trait. The study also explored the degree to which domain-specific contingent self-worth, perceived competence, and task value were associated with domain-specific perfectionism. In a sample of 187 academically talented youth, a comparison of perfectionistic tendencies and cognitive appraisal processes in the school versus sports domain revealed significantly higher levels of perfectionism, perceptions of competence, task value, and contingent self-worth in the school domain. Hierarchical regression analysis showed a significant main effect for contingencies of self-worth on perfectionistic tendencies in both the school and sports domains. The results argue for the centrality of contingent self-worth to the understanding of perfectionism.