Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [84]-94). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Missouri-Columbia, 2003. / Typescript. Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [84]-94). Also available on the Internet.

Thesis (M.A.) - Simon Fraser University, 2007. / Theses (Faculty of Education) / Simon Fraser University. Senior supervisor: Stephen Smith -- Faculty of Education. Also issued in digital format and available on the World Wide Web.

Dissonant Voices has a twofold aspiration. First, it is a philosophical treatment of everyday pedagogical interactions between children and their elders, between teachers and pupils. More specifically it is an exploration of the possibilities to go on with dissonant voices that interrupt established practices – our attunement – in behaviour, practice and thinking. Voices that are incomprehensible or expressions that are unacceptable, morally or otherwise. The text works on a tension between two inclinations: an inclination to wave off, discourage, or change an expression that is unacceptable or unintelligible; and an inclination to be tolerant and accept the dissonant expression as doing something worthwhile, but different. The second aspiration is a philosophical engagement with children’s literature. Reading children’s literature becomes a form of philosophising, a way to explore the complexity of a range of philosophical issues. This turn to literature marks a dissatisfaction with what philosophy can accomplish through argumentation and what philosophy can do with a particular and limited set of concepts for a subject, such as ethics. It is a way to go beyond philosophising as the founding of theories that justify particular responses. The philosophy of dissonance and children’s literature becomes a way to destabilise justifications of our established practices and ways of interacting. The philosophical investigations of dissonance are meant to make manifest the possibilities and risks of engaging in interactions beyond established agreement or attunements. Thinking of the dissonant voice as an expression beyond established practices calls for improvisation. Such improvisations become a perfectionist education where both the child and the elder, the teacher and the student, search for as yet unattained forms of interaction and take responsibility for every word and action of the interaction. The investigation goes through a number of picture books and novels for children such as Harry Potter, Garmann’s Summer, and books by Shaun Tan, Astrid Lindgren and Dr. Seuss as well narratives by J.R.R. Tolkien, Henrik Ibsen, Jane Austen and Henry David Thoreau. These works of fiction are read in conversation with philosophical works of, and inspired by, Ludwig Wittgenstein and Stanley Cavell, their moral perfectionism and ordinary language philosophy.

The major theme of the current thesis was the definition, measurement, and development of perfectionism in elite junior sport. The first purpose was to examine the psychometric properties associated with Hewitt and Flett’s (1991) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS-HF) when complete by a sample of elite junior athletes. In study one, a confirmatory factor analysis failed to support the original structure of 45-item MPS-HF. Subsequent exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses revealed a more parsimonious 15-item factor structure representing self-oriented (SOP), socially prescribed (SPP), and other-oriented perfectionism (OOP). Having established a reconstituted version of the MPS-HF, a second purpose of the research programme was to consider the origins of perfectionism in elite junior athletes using a cross-sectional design. Initially, in study two a social learning model was supported, with 18%-26% of variance in athletes’ perfectionism predicted by parents’ perfectionism. Building upon this finding in study three, a structural equation model revealed that parenting styles, including empathy and psychological control, mediated the parent-athletic child SPP relationship. In study four, a significant pathway emerged between parents’ achievement goals and athletes’ dispositional perfectionism, offering support for a social expectations model of perfectionism development. Specifically, parents’ task and ego orientations were positively associated with athletes’ SOP. In contrast, athletes’ SPP was predicted by parents’ ego orientation. Study four also demonstrated the nature and form of motivational regulation associated with athletes’ SOP and SPP. That is, a pathway emerged between athletes’ SPP and controlled forms of regulation, while athletes’ SOP was correlated with self-determined and controlled motivation. Finally, in study five, the coach-created motivational climate accounted for approximately 19% of variance in athletes’ perfectionistic cognitions, highlighting the role of additional social agents in the development of athletes’ perfectionism. The results of this research programme contribute to existing knowledge of perfectionism by forwarding reliable measures of SOP and SPP for employment in sport, and revealing a complex array of pathways that underpin the development of perfectionism in elite junior athletes. Ultimately, by preventing the occurrence of such pathways, athletic children may be protected from the perils of perfectionism.

The purpose of the study is to examine the influence of parental contributions to perfectionism on depressive symptoms for Asian American adolescents and whether perceived parental support and/or social support may buffer/moderate the relationship. Perceived support from parents and peers may serve as protective factors from experiencing distress associated with the high pressures experienced by Asian Americans to succeed academically and be perfect in school. Asian American adolescents will fill out self-report measures for dimensions of perfectionism, depressive symptoms, and perceived parental and social support. Multiple regressions will be used to test the hypothesis of this study. Implications for the proposed study suggested the development of an intervention to help cultivate coping skills related to parent-driven stress for Asian American adolescents. / text

Arbetstillfredsställelse innebär hur människor anpassar sig och trivs på arbetet. Forskning har visat att personer med hög självkänsla ofta upplever arbetstillfredställellse i högre grad än de med låg självkänsla. Det har också framkommit att människor som uppvisar perfektionistiska drag ofta har hög motivation men kan ha sämre välbefinnande. Syftet med studien var att undersöka om arbetstillfredsställelse är relaterad till perfektionism samt vilken roll självkänsla spelar i perfektionism. En enkätundersökning genomfördes med 60 deltagare från ett internationellt företag. Resultatet visade att både perfektionism och självkänsla hade ett positivt samband med arbetstillfredsställelse men det framkom en interaktion som visade att det endast var perfektionister med hög självkänsla som var högt tillfredställda på sin arbetsplats.

Perfectionism has long been recognized as an important personality trait that has a significant impact on emotional and social well-being. More recently, it has been recognized that there is a stylistic aspect to perfectionism that focuses on a desire to appear perfect. This perfectionistic self-presentation, and in particular, the desire for concealment of imperfections, has been related to psychopathology in past research. However, it is proposed that perfectionistic self-presentation presents a particular concern from a clinical perspective because of it's indirect effects on pathology; a desire to conceal imperfections is especially problematic to the extent that it impacts the experience of therapy and the therapy relationship. The current study examined the cognitive, affective/physiological, and behavioral manifestations of perfectionistic self-presentation in a clinical sample. Ninety clinical subjects completed self-report measures of perfectionistic self-presentation, trait perfectionism, impression management, mood, appraisals, and self-handicapping. A brief structured assessment interview that included a discussion of past mistakes, was conducted by trained clinical interviewers. Physiological monitors recorded heart rate and skin conductance level throughout the interview, and the interview was videotaped. Post-interview measures of mood, appraisals, and self-handicapping, were also completed. Results at the bivariate level showed that the self-protective dimensions of perfectionistic self-presentation were associated with more distress both prior to and following the interview, higher heart rate and greater change in heart rate when discussing mistakes (and greater skin conductance for men), greater claims of disability from self-handicaps, and appraisals of the interviewer as both threatening (wanting more than the participant could provide) and disappointed following the interview. Regression analyses showed that the desire to avoid disclosing imperfections was a unique predictor of appraisals of threat over and above demographics, trait perfectionism, and other measures of distress (interaction anxiety and depression) and impression management, and of appraisals of the interviewer as disappointed following the interview, over and above demographics and trait perfectionism. The block change score for perfectionistic self-presentation predicting interviewer satisfaction was marginally significant over and above emotional distress and impression managment. The desire to avoid displaying imperfections was a unique predictor of lower threat appraisals. Perfectionistic self-presentation also predicted higher heart rate when discussing errors, over and above demographics and other measures of distress and impression management, and greater change in heart rate from relaxation; this relation held when controlling for demographics, trait perfectionism, and emotional distress and impression management. Perfectionistic self-presentation did not predict defensive behaviors and was not a unique predictor of self-reported negative affect. The results are discussed in terms of the implications for therapy and the therapeutic alliance.

Various dimensions of perfectionism are proposed, but are seldom integrated. This research develops and tests an integrative theory of perfectionism. Theory predicts personality traits (perfectionistic concerns, but not perfectionistic strivings) precede and predict changes in characteristic adaptations (perfectionistic self-presentation and perfectionism cognitions). Theory also predicts characteristic adaptations precede and predict decreases in subjective well-being (SWB), and are associated with a particular patterned form of perfectionistic narrative identity (i.e., heightened agency and lowered communion). This research tests this integrative theory. A sample of 127 emerging adults (ages 18-25) transitioning to university for the first time was recruited (78% female; 81% Caucasian). A 3-wave, 130-day longitudinal design with quantitative and qualitative components was used. Participants completed questionnaire measures of perfectionism and subjective well-being at all waves, and completed semi-structured life story interviews at Waves 1 and 3. Interviews were transcribed and coded for themes of agency (i.e., themes of achievement, status, power, and self-mastery) and communion (i.e., themes of love, dialogue, caring, and community). Results are presented in Chapters 2, 4 and 5. In Chapter 2, perfectionistic concerns led to increased perfectionistic self-presentation, which in turn led to decreases in SWB. In contrast, perfectionistic strivings did not predict longitudinal change in perfectionistic self-presentation or SWB. These findings supported hypotheses. In Chapter 4, perfectionistic concerns and perfectionism cognitions were positively correlated with agency. Perfectionism cognitions mediated the relationship between perfectionistic concerns and agency. A qualitative thematic analysis revealed themes of agency focused on performance-related concerns, with undertones of self-doubt and unrealistic high standards. These findings supported hypotheses. In Chapter 5, perfectionistic concerns and SWB were unrelated to communion, contrary to expectations. However, themes of communion exhibited good inter-rater reliability, test-retest reliability, and face validity. Hypotheses regarding communion were not supported. Overall, most hypotheses were supported. By conceptualizing perfectionistic personality as a dynamic, multifaceted, and integrated system, there are numerous implications for developmental, clinical, and personality psychology. These implications, along with the strengths and limitations of this study, are discussed.

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