Dayna L. Lee-Baggley

The Impact of Perfectionistic Self-Presentation on the Cognitive, Affective, and Physiological Experience of a Clinical Interview

Abstract Perfectionistic self-presentation is proposed as a deleterious interpersonal style that has an influence in clinical contexts that involves promoting a public image of perfection and avoiding displays and self-disclosures of imperfections. A sample of 90 clinical patients taking part in a clinical interview were assessed in terms of their levels of perfectionistic self-presentation and trait perfectionism and their affective, cognitive, and physiological reactions. Perfectionistic self-presentation dimensions were associated with (1) greater distress before and after the interview, (2) negative expectations and greater threat prior to the interview, and (3) post-interview dissatisfaction. Analyses of physiological data found that perfectionistic self-presentation was associated with higher levels of heart rate when discussing past mistakes, and, as expected, the need to avoid disclosing imperfections predicted higher levels of and greater change in heart rate when discussing past mistakes. Analyses that controlled for trait perfectionism and emotional distress showed that the need to avoid disclosing imperfections was a unique predictor of (1) appraisals of the interviewer as threatening before the interview and as dissatisfied after the interview; (2) negative pre and post self-evaluations of performance; and (3) greater change in heart rate when discussing mistakes. Perfectionistic self-presentation is discussed as an interpersonal style that can influence therapeutic alliance and treatment success.

Coping with the threat of severe acute respiratory syndrome: Role of threat appraisals and coping responses in health behaviors

The present study examines the psychological impact of severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) by exploring the coping strategies and health behaviors enacted in response to the SARS epidemic. Hierarchical linear regression indicated that the use of wishful thinking in response to the threat of SARS was related to both avoiding public places and avoiding people perceived to be possibleu200a carriersu200a ofu200a theu200a SARSu200a virus,u200a butu200a wasu200a notu200a associatedu200a withu200a theu200a useu200a of more adaptive health behaviors, such as using disinfectants and hand washing. Conversely, those who reported engaging in empathic responding in response to the threat of SARS were both less likely to report avoiding people perceived as being at a high risk for SARS and more likely to report engaging in effective health behaviors. Support seeking was not a significant predictor of the health behaviors examined in the present study. Results are discussed in terms of coping with health threats and health promotion.

Perfectionism and undergoing cosmetic surgery

This study compared 16 women who had undergone cosmetic surgery (i.e., patients) to 16 women who had not (i.e., controls). Patients and controls were matched on relevant demographics (e.g., age). Socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., perceiving that others demand perfection of oneself) and perfectionistic self-promotion (i.e., assertively promoting one’s supposed perfection to others) were significantly elevated in patients relative to controls. Extreme perfectionism was also shown to substantially increase the likelihood of undergoing cosmetic surgery. Results are discussed with respect to perfectionists’ cognitive style, interpersonal needs, chronic dissatisfaction, and hyper-competitive orientation. Perfectionism is considered as a possible contraindication for cosmetic surgery.

Coping and health behaviours in times of global health crises: Lessons from SARS and West Nile

Abstract We examined perceived threats of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and West Nile Virus using an Internet-based questionnaire. Higher levels of perceived threats of diseases were associated with increases in a variety of ways of coping, including empathic responding and wishful thinking. In turn, we examined how coping with the perceived health threat was related to two specific health related behaviours: taking recommended precautions, and avoiding people in an attempt to avoid disease. The findings from linear regression indicated that empathic responding, in response to the threat of a virulent agent, was related to taking recommended and effective health precautions. On the other hand, wishful thinking was associated with those behaviours that may potentially lead to economic hardship in afflicted areas, such as avoiding people perceived to be at risk for an infectious agent. Implications for health promotion are discussed.

Perfectionism as a contraindication for cosmetic surgery: a reply to Clodius (2007)

Millions of individuals undergo cosmetic surgery every year [1]. However, little is known about the extent to which, or the ways in which, personality traits or selfpresentational styles influence cosmetic surgery. Therefore, we welcome Clodius’ commentary and encourage further dialogue on the role of personality processes in cosmetic surgery. We have contributed to this dialogue by asserting that perfectionism is a personality trait likely to influence the entire cosmetic surgery process, from interest in, to satisfaction with, cosmetic surgery [8, 12–14]. Although we applaud Josef [9] and Clodius [2] for highlighting the importance of personality processes in post-surgical outcomes, a central issue with their interesting typology is whether it aids cosmetic surgeons in identifying and in understanding “hyper-” or “para-aesthetic” patients before surgery. In our view, the Josef–Clodius typology appears best suited to helping cosmetic surgeons categorize dissatisfied patients after surgery. In contrast to Clodius, we now outline a model describing both identifiable features of perfectionism and mechanisms through which perfectionism creates surgical dissatisfaction (SD). By so doing, we intend to explain why, as asserted in our prior work [12], perfectionism represents a contraindication for cosmetic surgery. Before describing this model, evidence linking perfectionism to cosmetic surgery is reviewed. Cosmetic surgery patients are viewed by others as being perfectionistic [3]. Case histories also suggest that perfectionism may fuel an insatiable appetite for cosmetic surgery [4], and both surgeons [11] and psychologists [8] have nominated perfectionism as a contraindication for cosmetic surgery. Furthermore, empirical research suggests that perfectionism is related to contemplating cosmetic surgery [13, 14] and that perfectionism is elevated among female cosmetic surgery patients compared to carefully matched controls [12]. Overall, this literature suggests that perfectionism is relevant to understanding the process of cosmetic surgery and that perfectionism may influence SD. We now outline a model expressing the manner in which we believe perfectionism is likely to produce SD. Our model (see Fig. 1) proposes that perfectionism engenders SD via multiple pathways. Prior studies [12–14] using the Hewitt–Flett multidimensional perfectionism model [6, 7] indicate that three perfectionism dimensions are particularly relevant to cosmetic surgery: socially prescribed perfectionism (i.e., viewing other people as demanding perfection of oneself), perfectionistic selfpresentation (i.e., promoting a public image of perfection), and nondisplay of imperfection (i.e., concern over behavioral displays of imperfection around other people). In our model, perfectionism is understood as a distressing preoccupation with perfection as reflected in high levels of one or more of the above perfectionism dimensions. Perfectionism is not only believed to exert a direct influence on SD, it is also hypothesized to bring about SD through interpersonal hypersensitivity (see dotted black Eur J Plast Surg (2007) 29:357–359 DOI 10.1007/s00238-007-0111-4

Threats to communion and agency mediate associations between stressor type and daily coping

ABSTRACT Background and Objectives: Basic human values have been categorized into two dimensions: those that are self or agentically focused, and those that are other or communally focused. We apply this model to cognitive appraisals of stress and argue that threat appraisals also fall into these two dimensions. The mediating roles of communal and agentic threats in linking stressors with coping responses were examined. Design: A daily process methodology was used. Methods: Three-hundred and fifty undergraduate students were followed midday and evening over one week, completing structured electronic diaries regarding their experiences of the past half-day. Participants described stressors in open-ended format, which were then coded into social stress, achievement stress, and other stress categories. They also completed scales measuring stress appraisals and coping. Results: Communal threat mediated links between social stressors and empathic responding, support seeking, and confrontation. Agentic threat mediated links between achievement stressors and empathic responding, support seeking, confrontation, and problem solving. Conclusions: Individuals tend to cope in ways that maintain communion when they perceive communion to be threatened; they tend to cope in ways that maintain agency when they perceive agency to be threatened.