Perfectionism and Reactions to Failure in Sport

• Author / Creator

  Lizmore, Michael R.

• The purposes of this dissertation were to (a) examine relationships between multidimensional perfectionism and athletes’ cognitive responses to failure in competition, (b) examine relationships between multidimensional perfectionism and athletes’ performance levels in competition, and (c) determine if athletes’ perfectionism levels in sport could be changed through exposure to a mental-training program. Three studies were conducted. The specific purpose of the first study was to investigate the degree to which different dimensions of perfectionism (i.e., perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns) were associated with athletes’ tendencies to respond with self-compassion, optimism, pessimism, and rumination following poor personal performance in sport. A sample of 239 intercollegiate team-sport athletes (M age = 20.50, SD = 1.99) completed self-report measures of perfectionism and cognitive responses to poor performance. Results of hierarchical regression analyses indicated that perfectionistic concerns were negatively associated with self-compassion and optimism, and positively associated with pessimism and rumination. Perfectionistic strivings were positively associated with self-compassion and optimism, and negatively associated with pessimism.
  The purpose of the second study was to examine the degree to which perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns were associated with performance in a competitive golf putting task. A sample of 99 intercollegiate athletes (M age = 20.51, SD = 1.79) completed a self-report measure of perfectionism and state measures of perceived threat, optimism, and cognitive anxiety prior to competing in two putting trials. The objective of the two trials (each comprising of 10 putts) was to achieve a lower cumulative straight-line distance from the target “hole” than an opponent. Participants received false-failure feedback after the first trial informing them that they were losing the competition to heighten stress. Hierarchical regression results indicated that perfectionistic strivings were positively related to superior putting performance in both trials, whereas perfectionistic concerns were not related to performance in either trial. The results from the first two studies indicate that perfectionistic strivings are generally adaptive in sport (particularly when the overlap with perfectionistic concerns is controlled) whereas perfectionistic concerns are generally maladaptive in sport.
  The third study investigated the extent to which a mental-training program could reduce athletes’ perfectionistic concerns and foster a more positive mindset towards failure in competition. A quasi-experimental mixed-methods research design was employed. A purposive sample of 16 competitive youth curling athletes (M age = 15.94, SD = .90) was given a 3-week mental-training program that was delivered in a wait-listed manner to participants during the study. Athletes completed a self-report measure of perfectionism four times throughout the study and participated in semi-structured interviews at the end of the study. Results of a repeated-measures MANOVA revealed that the athletes had significantly lower perfectionistic concerns in the post-intervention period (relative to the pre-intervention period) whereas no significant change in athletes’ perfectionistic strivings were observed. Interview data indicated that athletes attributed their involvement in the mental-training program with enhanced attentional focus, functional (re)appraisals of failure, and functional (i.e., less self-critical) self-attitudes following failure.
  Overall, the body of research contained within the dissertation provides insight into the potential roles that perfectionistic strivings and perfectionistic concerns might play in regards to athletes’ experiences and reactions to failure and/or poor performance in sport. The results of the final study indicate that athletes’ perfectionistic tendencies (i.e., perfectionistic concerns) and appraisals of failure can change over time, and may be impacted by exposure to a mental-training intervention. Implications for applied practice are discussed.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • sport
  • strivings
  • performance
  • failure
  • perfectionistic
  • Perfectionism
  • cognitive
  • intervention
  • concerns

• Graduation date

  Fall 2018

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Doctor of Philosophy

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3HM5319N

• License

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