Perfectionism and Competitiveness in Sports and Performance Environments

Nogueira-López A.; Nieri-Romero D. · Looking for a Perfect World: Empirical and Applied Lines (2022)

Resumen

Interest in perfectionism has been growing in recent years, becoming one of the topics of greatest relevance in a wide variety of contexts, including performance (Stoeber, 2012), sports (Hill et al., 2018), and exercise (González-Hernández et al., 2021). This chapter proposes a look at this trait and its interaction with performance contexts, and the mental health care of the individual. According to the multidimensional models of passion (Vallerand et al., 2003) and perfectionism (Stober, 2012; Stoeber & Otto, 2006), this can be understood as a dichotomous variable; firstly, the maladaptive side, characterized by anxiety and unrealistic self-demand; and secondly, the adaptive side, oriented towards improvement and growth. From an applied intervention approach, there are some theoretical frameworks that have shown good validity and effectiveness, such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy: CBT (Beck et al., 1979; Ellis & Grieger, 1977), Mindset (Dweck, 2017), Mindfulness (Kabat-Zinn, 1990, 1994); and EMDR (Shapiro, 1995, 2001, 2018), which will be reviewed and compared in order to provide useful conclusions for intervention in highly demanding sport contexts.