New research published by the Journal of Clinical Psychology suggests that individuals with perfectionist mindsets are more likely to view their problems as outside their control. This gives us insight on why perfectionistic individuals have a hard time coping with stressful situations. Cognitive reappraisal is an emotional regulation strategy that could help perfectionists start viewing issues as more controllable.
Study author Vrinda Kalia wanted to look deeper into seeing whether there was a relationship between one attribute that helped cognitive flexibility and another attribute that hindered goal achievement (i.e. perfectionism). The researchers used Amazon’s Mechanical Turk to survey 486 adults about three types of perfectionist tendencies, two facets of cognitive flexibility, and two emotional regulation strategies.
Through this study, it was discovered that all three types of perfectionism negatively corresponded with the tendency to believe one can control difficult situations. The subjects that agreed with perfectionistic statements were also more likely to agree with statements indicating that they feel as though they have no power to change things in challenging scenarios.
In terms of emotional regulation strategies, the researchers discovered that all three forms of perfectionism were associated with a maladaptive coping method that consists of concealing or inhibiting the expression of one’s emotions, known as expressive suppression. It was also found that frequent use of cognitive reappraisal could help suppress the link between perfectionism and cognitive inflexibility.
The ability for an individual to regulate one's emotions is incredibly important for success in life. Expressive regulation, or pretending everything is okay, is a way to regulate your feelings. However, it is generally not the most helpful strategy. Cognitive reappraisal is a more beneficial regulation technique, and it consists of reframing the situation and how you are feeling about it.
Kalia describes these ideas by stating, “Let’s say it’s something simple like a friend’s birthday party in the middle of the week and that does not give the person enough time to exercise for 30 minutes. Instead of saying, ‘it’s okay I’ll park my car a mile away from work and walk it so I can do something toward my exercise goal,’ the perfectionist would be focused on making sure they are able to stick to the plan of 30 minutes for 5 days of the week regardless of how much it costs them. And as the costs pile up, the exercise routine would become a bigger and bigger burden until the person can’t take it anymore and gives up exercising. A person who can reappraise the situation (by saying something like the following ‘my friend is important to me and her birthday come around only once a year so I will miss one day of exercise so I can be a good friend’) will be more likely to stick to their exercise routine in the long run because it will be less of a burden.”
However, frequent use of cognitive reappraisal strengthened the link between perfectionism and cognitive inflexibility, rather than weakened it, in individuals with higher levels of narcissistic perfectionism. This form of perfectionism is generally less studied, and it means one believes themself to be superior to other people and expects high standards of behavior from those around them. Using the aforementioned strategy reduced emotional flexibility in these individuals. Kalia explains, “In the example I used above, the narcissist perfectionist would believe that they were justified in focusing on their own health over their friend’s birthday and be annoyed with their friend for having a birthday party in the middle of the week. This reappraisal would make things harder for them, not easier, in the long-term. So reappraisal is not always good, it can also be harmful.”
Perfectionism requires more studying in order to fully understand its impact on goal pursuit, but understanding as much as we currently know can be beneficial for those with perfectionistic tendencies. Practicing cognitive reappraisal and learning to be flexible can be difficult, but it is necessary in order to face the effects of perfectionism. As more studies come to light, it is important to note that perfectionism is not uncommon and does not have to be a journey one has to walk alone.