Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS)

Description

The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (MPS) developed by Hewitt and Flett is a 45-item psychometric instrument designed to assess different dimensions of perfectionism as a personality trait.

The scale conceptualizes perfectionism as a multidimensional construct and distinguishes among three major forms: perfectionism directed toward the self, perfectionistic expectations directed toward others, and perfectionism perceived as being imposed by the social environment.

Purpose

The main purpose of the MPS is the systematic assessment of perfectionistic attitudes, expectations, and demands that individuals may hold toward themselves, toward other people, or believe that others hold toward them.

This multidimensional approach makes it possible to distinguish between different forms of perfectionism that may be associated with different cognitive, behavioral, and emotional patterns.

Scale Structure

The MPS consists of 45 items organized into three main subscales.

Self-Oriented Perfectionism (SOP): refers to the tendency to set very high standards for oneself, strive for perfection, and demand a high level of personal performance.

Other-Oriented Perfectionism (OOP): refers to the tendency to impose high or perfectionistic expectations on other people and to expect them to perform at an exceptionally high level.

Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (SPP): refers to the perception that others impose excessively high standards, expect perfection, and may respond negatively to mistakes or failure.

Scoring

Participants are asked to read each statement and indicate the extent to which they agree or disagree with it.

Responses are provided on a 7-point Likert-type scale, where:

1 = Strongly disagree

7 = Strongly agree

and 4 represents the neutral midpoint for respondents who are undecided or neither agree nor disagree.

Statistical Analysis

The MPS allows separate scores to be calculated for each of the three dimensions of perfectionism.

These subscale scores may be used to examine the extent to which an individual demonstrates self-oriented, other-oriented, or socially prescribed perfectionism.

Depending on the study design, the scores may be used in descriptive analyses, correlation analyses, between-group comparisons, and other statistical procedures examining relationships between perfectionism and psychological or behavioral variables.

Validity and Reliability

The source document reports internal consistency coefficients for each of the three MPS subscales.

The reported Cronbach’s alpha values are:

Self-Oriented Perfectionism (SOP): α = 0.89

Socially Prescribed Perfectionism (SPP): α = 0.86

Other-Oriented Perfectionism (OOP): α = 0.79.

These values indicate satisfactory to high internal consistency across the three dimensions.

The source also refers to studies by Hewitt, Flett, and colleagues concerning the development, validity, reliability, and psychometric properties of the scale.

Applications

The MPS may be used in psychological and research settings to investigate perfectionism as a multidimensional personality construct.

It may support research on the relationships between perfectionistic tendencies and psychological variables such as anxiety, depression, and other forms of psychological distress. The source document includes references examining associations between perfectionism, anxiety, neuroticism, and depression.

Distinguishing among the three dimensions of perfectionism enables a more detailed understanding of how high standards and perfectionistic expectations are expressed at personal, interpersonal, and social levels.

References

Flett GL, Hewitt PL, Dyck DG. Perfectionism, neuroticism, and anxiety. Personality and Individual Differences. 1989;10:731–735.

Hewitt PL, Flett GL. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Development and validation. Canadian Psychology. 1989;30:339.

Hewitt PL, Flett GL. Perfectionism in the self and social contexts: Conceptualization, assessment, and association with psychopathology. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. 1991;60:456–470.

Hewitt PL, Flett GL, Turnbull-Donovan W, Mikail SF. The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Reliability, validity, and psychometric properties in psychiatric samples. Psychological Assessment. 1991;3:464–468.

Flett GL, Hewitt PL, Endler NS, Tassone C. Perfectionism and components of state and trait anxiety. Current Psychology. 1995;13:326–350.

Hewitt PL, Flett GL, Ediger E. Perfectionism and depression: Longitudinal assessment of a specific vulnerability hypothesis. Journal of Abnormal Psychology. 1996;105:276–280.

Flett GL, Hewitt PL, editors. Perfectionism: Theory, Research, and Treatment. Washington, DC: American Psychological Association; 2002.