PERFECTIONISM / 002 [WHERE DOES PERFECTIONISM COME FROM?]

Question
Why do some athletes become perfectionists?

Study
In this book chapter, researchers reviewed the studies on how perfectionism develops in sport, dance and exercise. They used a model with four ways parents can pass perfectionism on to their children, and added a fifth: the coach.

Findings
The four routes are: copying (children copy a parent who is a perfectionist), expectations (approval seems to depend on meeting high standards), harsh parenting (a cold, critical and controlling home) and anxious parenting (parents who constantly worry about mistakes). In sport, young elite athletes who saw their parents as perfectionists were more likely to be perfectionists in the same way. Athletes who felt a lot of pressure and criticism from their parents worried more about mistakes, but did not set higher standards. Coaches can play a similar role.

What It Means for Athletes
Perfectionism doesn't come out of nowhere. The people around you shape it, especially in how they react to your mistakes. Most of this research asked athletes how they see their parents at one moment in time, so it shows a link rather than proof. Still, it means that helping a perfectionist athlete works best when parents and coaches are involved too.

Try this: parents and coaches, after the next match ask two questions before you mention the score: What did you enjoy? What did you learn? Athletes, when your inner critic speaks up, ask yourself whose voice it sounds like.

Source
Appleton, P. R., & Curran, T. (2016). The origins of perfectionism in sport, dance, and exercise. In A. P. Hill (Ed.), The psychology of perfectionism in sport, dance and exercise (pp. 57 to 81). Routledge.

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