A longitudinal idiographic examination of perfectionistic athletes' experiences of success and failure

Abstract

Longitudinal research examining perfectionistic athletes’ experiences of success and failure may help illuminate the degree to which perfectionism is healthy and/or unhealthy (Flett & Hewitt, 2005). Accordingly, this study examined how perfectionistic athletes experienced and responded to success and failure across a season. Participants were four male intercollegiate athletes (aged 22 to 27 years) whose Sport Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale 2 (Gotwals & Dunn, 2009) responses reflected healthy or unhealthy perfectionism. Each athlete maintained a season-long audio-diary of his thoughts, feelings, and behaviours after each competition. Athletes also participated in pre- and post-season interviews. Idiographic narratives were created for each athlete. Participants 1 and 2, both healthy perfectionists, reported effort and mistakes as contributors to success and failure, referred to objective indicators when evaluating personal performance, and emphasized the importance of refocusing after positive and negative outcomes. Participant 2 also tended to attribute failure to external factors and reported the ability to adjust goals when goal attainment was unlikely. Participant 3, an unhealthy perfectionist who experienced mainly successes throughout the season, reported a balanced and rational approach to evaluating his performances which was learned through maturity and experience. Participant 4, also an unhealthy perfectionist, demonstrated highly negative responses to failure that were founded in the belief that performances defined an important aspect of his identity. Findings suggest that experiences of success were similar among participants, yet responses to failure appeared to differ. Previous experiences in high performance sport and adherence to irrational thinking styles are discussed as potential contributing factors. 

Acknowledgments: This study was supported by grants awarded by Lakehead University's Research Office and Regional Research Committee.