title: The effects of self-criticism and self-oriented perfectionism on goal pursuit.
abstract: Five separate studies examined the associations of self-criticism and self-oriented perfectionism with goal pursuit across a variety of domains. Although self-criticism has previously been shown to be related to diminished goal progress, a controversy remains regarding the potential association between aspects of "positive perfectionism," such as self-oriented perfectionism, and enhanced goal progress. The results of the five studies demonstrated a consistent pattern of negative association between self-criticism and goal progress. The results also showed a positive association between self-oriented perfectionism and goal progress when self-criticism was controlled. The important role of self-criticism for understanding the impact of perfectionistic concerns is highlighted by these results. Implications for the debate concerning the possible positive effects of perfectionistic strivings are also discussed.
authors.affiliation: University of Massachusetts Dartmouth, Department of Psychology, North Dartmouth, MA 02747-2300, USA. tpowers@umassd.edu
authors.forename: Theodore A
authors.initials: TA
authors.lastname: Powers
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Koestner
authors.forename: David C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Zuroff
authors.forename: Marina
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Milyavskaya
authors.forename: Amy A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Gorin
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006040:Goals; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010551:Personality; D011792:Quebec; D012647:Self-Assessment; D055815:Young Adult