The Relationship between Defensive Pessimism and Perfectionism

Abstract

Defensive pessimism is a cognitive strategy that anxious individuals use in the face of challenging situations. The defensive pessimists thinks of all possible negative outcomes, sets low expectations and plans through the potential bad outcomes. This bracing against the impact of impending failure by dwelling on the possibility of lack of success helps them gain control over their anxiety and mobilizes them for the desired goal (Norem & Cantor, 1986). However, a notable feature of defensive pessimism is that they have always achieved success in the past. The current study hence aims to explore the reason for the defensive pessimists to construe new situations as intimidating and engage in prior protective restructuring despite the history of success, by establishing a relation with perfectionism. The Defensive Pessimism Questionnaire- Revised (DSQ-R) and Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (FMPS) were administered to the participants. Pearson's product moment correlation and regression analyses were computed. The statistical analysis revealed that the perfectionism scores could predict defensive pessimism. The implications, suggestions and limitations of the research have been discussed in accordance to the research findings.