Abstract
This study examined differences in domain-specific levels of perfectionism in sport and academe among a sample of 255 male and female intercollegiate athletes (M age = 20.97 years). Participants completed sport- and school-modified versions of Hewitt and Flett's (1991) Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt-MPS) and an instrument designed to measure perceptions of competence in sport vs. school, and the extent to which success in sport vs. school was valued. Results of a repeated-measures MANOVA revealed that participants had higher perfectionist tendencies in sport than school on all three perfectionism dimensions measured by the Hewitt-MPS (all ps < .001). Results of single-sample t-tests indicated that participants had higher perceptions of competence in sport than in school (p < .001), and placed more importance/value on achieving success in sport than in school (p < .001). Results provide support for the continued use of domain-specific measures when assessing motivational constructs such as perfectionism in different achievement domains and highlight the potential role that perceived competence and perceived task value play in the development of perfectionism (McArdle, 2010). Individuals appear to develop stronger perfectionist orientations in domains where they feel they can succeed and where they place the most value on success.Acknowledgments: This research was supported by a grant from the Sport Science Association of Alberta