ابعاد کمال گرایی، بازداری رفتاری و نشخوار فکری

The behavioral inhibition system (BIS) is believed to underscore individual differences in perfectionism, but existing research has yielded an inconsistent pattern of associations. The current study sought to clarify the associations among trait perfectionism, behavioral inhibition, and behavioral activation in two samples (N’s of 112 and 234). We also investigated the association between these factors and rumination. All participants completed measures of perfectionism and BIS/BAS activation. Sample 2 participants also completed a trait measure of rumination. Data analyses showed across samples that self-oriented perfectionism is associated with BAS and BIS activation, suggesting approach and avoidance tendencies. Self-oriented perfectionism was associated with BAS-Drive but not with BAS fun-seeking. In contrast, socially prescribed perfectionism was linked with BIS scores. Further, socially prescribed perfectionism was correlated with trait rumination, and behavioral inhibition partially controlled this relationship. These results demonstrate links between perfectionism and BIS activation and suggest that anxious forms of distress and maladaptive cognitive styles among perfectionists are mediated by BIS activation. The findings suggest that certain perfectionists are predisposed to distress and cognitive rumination as a result of a strong BIS.

In recent years, there has been increasing attention paid not only to the deleterious effects of trait perfectionism, but also to factors involved in its development and maintenance. One area receiving substantial interest is the cognitive processing of threat and reward stimuli. Perfectionism is marked by several cognitive biases, including a tendency towards rumination and generalization of failures, strong attention to errors and a tendency to interpret ambiguous feedback as critical or negative (Alden et al., 1994 and Gilbert et al., 2006). Recent attempts to explain these biases have focused on sensitivity of the behavioral inhibition and approach systems (BIS/BAS), a neurologically based model of goal regulation. However, the mixed findings to date necessitate further research. Accordingly, the current study re-examines the extent to which trait perfectionism is associated with indices representing the behavioral activation and behavioral inhibition systems. Furthermore, the BIS is proposed as a mediating variable in the association between perfectionism and rumination, strengthening the argument for its role in the development and maintenance of perfectionism.