____18. I try to do my best at everything I do.
____19. I am seldom able to meet my own high standards for performance.
____20. I am hardly ever satisfied with my performance.*
____21. I hardly ever feel that what I’ve done is good enough.
____22. I have a strong need to strive for excellence.*
____23. I often feel disappointment after completing a task because I know I could have done better.*
Notes :
Scoring:
High Standards Sum of 1, 5, 8, 12, 14, 18, 22 (short form: 8, 12, 14, 22)
Order Sum of 2, 4, 7, 10
Discrepancy Sum of 3, 6, 9, 11, 13, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21 (short form: 11, 16, 20, 23)
Asterisks indicate items in short form version.
Reproduced with permission.
Perfectionism Cognitions Inventory (PCI)
(Flett, Hewitt, Blankstein, & Gray, 1998 ).
Variable
Perfectionism is conceptualized as the frequency of automatic thoughts about the need to be perfect that is pre-
sumed to be due to the activation of a perfectionistic ideal self and experiences that result in perfectionists
experiencing thoughts about needing to perfect and related concerns about not being perfect.
Description
The PCI is a unifactorial measure that consists of 25 self-report items in the form of thoughts that reflect activa-
tion of a perfectionistic self-schema ( Flett et al., 1998 ). There are no reverse-coded items. The PCI assesses perfec-
tionism ‘ ...from a unique cognitive perspective’ (Enns & Cox, 2002, p. 50). The PCI focuses on the frequency of
thoughts involving themes of perfection and imperfection (i.e., the degree of cognitive activity) that has occurred
during the previous week. The PCI specifically identifies the self-reported automatic thoughts associated with
perfectionism over the past seven days.
The PCI item content reflects direct thoughts about the need to be perfect and thoughts of an individual’s cog-
nitive awareness of his or her imperfections. Several thoughts on the PCI such as ‘I should be perfect,’ ‘I should
never make the same mistake twice,’ and ‘I must be efficient at all times’ are very much in keeping with general
observations about an irrational thinking component to perfectionism. The PCI is also more ‘state-like’ than exist-
ing trait measures; automatic thoughts, relative to dysfunctional attitudes and other personality vulnerabilities,
operate at a surface level and vary according to situational contexts. PCI scores should fluctuate somewhat as a
reflection of current concerns and referents. Indeed, Lakey and Tanner (2013) showed that the reported frequency
of PCI thoughts varied when the PCI was used to assess the thoughts experienced and associated with being in
the presence of specific target individuals. Besser et al. (2008) showed that the PCI can be adapted into a state
version by changing the timeframe (i.e., by indicating thoughts that were experienced in the current situation)
and slightly modifying the item content to include only those perfectionism thoughts that could possibly be expe-
rienced in the situation. Similarly, Appleton, Hall, and Hill (2011) altered the general instructions so that elite
junior athletes could report the frequency of their perfectionistic thoughts during practice and competition.
Sample
The initial samples used to evaluate the PCI consisted of 234 undergraduates and a separate sample of 747
undergraduates ( Flett et al., 1998 ). The first sample completed a 36-item version derived from a pool of 55 items.
Items were deleted if they seemed to duplicate other items or were low in clarity. Eleven items were removed
after not being loaded by the large first component in a principal components analysis. The PCI means in sample
one were 35.41 ( SD523.19) for men and 38.25 ( SD522.01) for women. The PCI means in sample two were 43.08
(SD517.98) for men and 43.91 ( SD519.18) for women. Flett, Hewitt, Whelan, and Martin (2007) examined the608 21. MEASURES OF PERFECTIONISM
V. VICES AND VIRTUES