The relationship of perfectionism and peace of mind: The mediating role of implicit theories of intelligence

• Main Author: Montano, Renz Louis T.
• Format: text
• Language: English
• Published: Animo Repository 2022
• Subjects: Perfectionism (Personality trait); Peace of mind; Clinical Psychology
• Online Access: https://animorepository.dlsu.edu.ph/etdm_psych/30
• Institution: De La Salle University

Perfectionism is a multidimensional trait that has been associated with psychological distress and reduced well-being. The maladaptive Evaluation Concerns (EC) dimension has been consistently linked to maladjustment while the adaptive Positive Strivings (PS) dimension has been occasionally associated with better functioning. The present study examined how the two dimensions are related to peace of mind (PoM) or the state of peace and harmony. The current research also investigated the mediating function of implicit theories of intelligence. It was hypothesized that entity theory would mediate the relationship of EC and PoM. On the other hand, it was expected that incremental theory would mediate the effect of PS on PoM. A total of 451 (477 females, 74 males) Filipino undergraduate students took part in the present study. The results revealed that EC predicted entity theory, but the latter was not significantly related to PoM. Conversely, PS predicted higher incremental beliefs which, in turn, positively predicted PoM. This indicates that EC perfectionists are more inclined to believe that their intelligence is fixed. But their entity beliefs are not necessarily detrimental to their PoM. In contrast, perfectionists with high PS are more likely to experience greater PoM because they believe in the malleability of their abilities. Taken together, the present study provided interesting insights on the differences in the characteristics and motivation of EC and PS perfectionists.