کمال گرایی و اضطراب رقابتی در ورزشکاران: تمایز تلاش برای واکنش های منفی به کمال و نقص

Whereas some researchers have argued that perfectionism in sports is maladaptive because it is related to dysfunctional characteristics such as higher competitive anxiety, the present article argues that striving for perfection is not maladaptive and is unrelated to competitive anxiety. Four samples of athletes (high school athletes, female soccer players, and two samples of university student athletes) completed measures of perfectionism during competitions and competitive anxiety. Across samples, results show that overall perfectionism was associated with higher cognitive and somatic competitive anxiety. However, when striving for perfection and negative reactions to imperfection were differentiated, only the latter were associated with higher anxiety, whereas striving for perfection was unrelated to anxiety. Moreover, once the influence of negative reactions to imperfection was partialled out, striving for perfection was associated with lower anxiety and higher self-confidence. The present findings suggest that striving for perfection in sports is not maladaptive. On the contrary, athletes who strive for perfection and successfully control their negative reactions to imperfection may even experience less anxiety and more self-confidence during competitions.

Perfectionism is a personality trait characterized by striving for flawlessness and setting excessively high standards for performance, accompanied by tendencies toward overly critical evaluations of one’s behavior (Flett & Hewitt, 2002). In sports, some researchers see perfectionism as an adaptive trait that helps to achieve elite performance (Gould, Dieffenbach, & Moffett, 2002). Other researchers, however, see perfectionism as a maladaptive trait that hinders, rather than helps athletic performance (Flett & Hewitt, 2005). Consequently, athletes may face what Hewitt and Flett call the “perfectionism paradox”. Although in many sports athletes are expected to deliver perfect performance outcomes, perfectionism in athletes has been shown to be related to characteristics that may undermine performance, particularly competitive anxiety. Consequently, perfectionism in athletes may prevent the very outcomes that it seeks to promote (Flett & Hewitt, 2005).