Two studies explored whether perfectionism moderates the impact of implementation intentions on goal progress. Study 1 used an implementation intention manipulation to examine the effects of these plans in interaction with perfectionism on the progress of New Year’s resolutions. Study 2 added a repeated implementation intention condition and monitored affect and monthly goal progress. The results of both studies revealed a significant backfire effect of the implementation intentions on goal progress for participants high on a particular dimension of perfectionism (socially prescribed perfectionism). These perfectionists reported doing significantly worse at reaching their personal goals when they were asked to formulate implementation intentions than when they completed a control exercise. There also was evidence that implementation planning aroused negative affect for socially prescribed perfectionists. These results are the first to suggest that implementation planning may be contra-indicated for individuals with self-critical tendencies.
Aarts, H., Dijksterhuis, A., & Midden, C. (1999). To plan or not to plan: Goal achievement of interrupting the performance of mundane behaviors. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 971-979.
2.
Blankstein, K. R., & Dunkley, D. M. (2002). Evaluative concerns, self-critical, and personal standards perfectionism: A structural equation modeling strategy. In G. L. Flett & P. L. Hewitt (Eds.), Perfectionism: Theory, research and treatment (pp. 285-315). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
3.
Blatt, S. J. (1995). The destructiveness of perfectionism: Implications for the treatment of depression. American Psychologist, 50(12), 1003-1020.
4.
Brandstätter, V., Lengfelder, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2001). Implementation intentions and efficient action initiation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 81, 946-960.
5.
Campbell, J. D., & DiPaula, A. (2002). Perfectionistic self-beliefs: Their relation to personality and goal pursuit. In G. L. Flett & P. L. Hewitt (Eds.), Perfectionism: Theory, research and treatment (pp. 181-198). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
6.
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M. (2000). The “what” and “why” of goal pursuits: Human needs and the self-determination of behavior. Psychological Inquiry, 11, 227-268.
7.
Diener, E., & Emmons, R. A. (1984). The independence of positive and negative affect. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 47, 1105-1117.
8.
Dunkley, D. M., Zuroff, D. C., & Blankstein, K. R. (2003). Self-critical perfectionism and daily affect: Dispositional and situational influences on stress and coping. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84, 234-252.
9.
Emmons, R. A. (1992). Abstract versus concrete goals: Personal striving level, physical illness, and psychological well-being. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 62, 292-300.
10.
Enns, M. W., & Cox, B. J. (1999). Perfectionism and depression symptom severity in major depressive disorder. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 37, 783-794.
11.
Enns, M. W., & Cox, B. J. (2002). The nature and assessment of perfectionism: A critical analysis. In G. L. Flett & P. L. Hewitt (Eds.), Perfectionism: Theory, research and treatment (pp. 33-62). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
12.
Frost, R. O., & DiBartolo, P. M. (2002). Perfectionism, anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. In G.L. Flett&P.L. Hewitt (Eds.), Perfectionism: Theory, research and treatment (pp. 341-371). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
13.
Frost, R. O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449-468.
14.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1996). The volitional benefits of planning. In P. M. Gollwitzer & J. A. Bargh (Eds.), The psychology of action: Linking cognition and motivation to behavior (pp. 287-312). New York: Guilford.
15.
Gollwitzer, P. M. (1999). Implementation intentions: Strong effects of simple plans. American Psychologist, 54, 493-503.
16.
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Brandstatter, V. (1997). Implementation intentions and effective goal pursuit. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 73, 186-199.
17.
Gollwitzer, P. M., & Schaal, B. (1998). Metacognition in action: The importance of implementation intentions. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 2, 124-136.
18.
Hewitt, P. L., & Flett, G. L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470.
19.
Koestner, R., Lekes, N., Powers, T. A., & Chicoine, E. (2002). Attaining goals: Self-concordance plus implementation intentions equals success. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 83, 231-244.
20.
Koole, S., & Spijker, M. V. (2000). Overcoming the planning fallacy through willpower: Effects of implementation intentions on actual and predicted task-completion times. European Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 873-888.
21.
Lengfelder, A., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (2001). Reflective and reflexive action control in patients with frontal brain lesions. Neuropsychology, 15, 80-100.
22.
Mills, J. S., & Blankstein, K. R. (2000). Perfectionism, intrinsic vs. extrinsic, and motivated strategies for learning: A multidimensional analysis of university students. Personality and Individual Differences, 29, 1191-1204.
23.
Orbell, S., Hodgkins, S., & Sheeran, P. (1997). Implementation intentions and the theory of planned behavior. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 23, 945-954.
24.
Orbell, S., & Sheeran, P. (2000). Motivational and volitional processes in action initiation: A field study of the role of implementation intentions. Journal of Applied Social Psychology, 30, 780-797.
25.
Powers, T. A., Zuroff, D. C., & Topciu, R. A. (2004). Covert and overt expressions of self-criticism and perfectionism and their relation to depression. European Journal of Personality, 18, 61-72.
26.
Rheaume, J., Freeston, M.H., Ladouceur, R., Bouchard, C., Gallant, L., Talbot, F., et al. (2000). Functional and dysfunctional perfectionists: Are they different on compulsive-like behaviors?Behavior Research and Therapy, 38, 119-128.
27.
Shafran, R., & Mansell, W. (2001). Perfectionism and psychopathology: A review of research and treatment. Clinical Psychology Review, 21(6), 879-906.
28.
Sheeran, P., & Orbell, S. (1999). Implementation intentions and repeated behavior: Augmenting the predictive validity of the theory of planned behavior. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 349-369.
29.
Sheldon, K. M., & Kasser, T. (1998). Pursuing personal goals: Skills enable progress, but not all progress is beneficial. Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin, 24, 1319-1331.
30.
Taylor, S. E., & Gollwitzer, P. M. (1995). Effects of mindset on positive illusions. Journal of Personality & Social Psychology, 69, 213-226.
31.
Verplanken, B., & Faes, S. (1999). Goal intentions, bad habits, and the effects of forming implementation intentions on healthy eating. European Journal of Social Psychology, 29, 591-604.
