Perfectionism in Sport Scale (PSS)

Abstract

The Perfectionism in Sport Scale (PSS) is a specialized psychometric instrument designed to measure various dimensions of perfectionism as manifested specifically within athletic contexts. Developed initially by Anshel and Eom (2003) and later refined by Anshel, Kim, and Henry (2009), the scale moves beyond general perfectionism measures to assess the unique pressures and self-imposed standards experienced by athletes. The PSS typically examines facets such as personal standards, concern over mistakes, coach criticism, and parental expectations, providing a comprehensive profile of an athlete’s perfectionistic tendencies. The instrument utilizes a multidimensional approach to differentiate between adaptive and maladaptive traits related to athletic performance.

Keywords

Perfectionism, Sport Psychology, Athlete Assessment, Coach Criticism, Parental Expectations, Self-Criticism, Sport Performance, Psychometrics.

Authors

Mark H. Anshel, Hye Jung Eom, Jwa K. Kim, Ruth Henry.

Purpose

The primary purpose of the PSS is to provide a reliable and valid measure for researchers and practitioners in Sport Psychology to quantify the multidimensional nature of perfectionism among athletes. Traditional perfectionism scales often lack context specificity, making it difficult to assess how these traits influence sport performance, motivation, and potential burnout. The PSS addresses this gap by focusing exclusively on the demands and relationships unique to the competitive athletic environment.

The scale aims to differentiate between adaptive (e.g., high personal standards) and maladaptive (e.g., concern over mistakes, external criticism) aspects of perfectionism. This distinction is crucial for developing targeted psychological interventions designed to optimize athletic well-being and performance outcomes while mitigating the negative effects of excessive self-criticism and perceived external pressure.

Construct

The PSS measures perfectionism, conceptualized not as a monolithic trait, but as a multidimensional construct influenced by intrapersonal standards and interpersonal pressures arising from the athletic environment. The refined version of the PSS (Anshel et al., 2009) typically assesses core domains relevant to the athlete’s experience, often categorized into factors such as Parental Criticism, Coach Expectations and Criticism, Self-Criticism, and Personal Standards.

High scores on the external pressure factors (Parental or Coach Criticism) often correlate with higher levels of maladaptive perfectionism, leading to increased competitive anxiety, frustration, and fear of failure. Conversely, high scores on Personal Standards are generally associated with adaptive perfectionism, driving achievement motivation, disciplined training, and goal setting.

Validity

Initial studies by Anshel and Eom (2003) provided evidence for the construct validity of the PSS, demonstrating that the scale’s items adequately represent the theoretical dimensions of perfectionism in sport. Subsequent validation studies, such as the 2009 refinement, further supported the scale’s structure, particularly regarding its ability to distinguish reliably between different sources of perfectionistic pressure (i.e., parents versus coaches).

The PSS has shown expected relationships with other relevant psychological constructs, including achievement motivation, competitive anxiety, and self-esteem, confirming its criterion validity. Specifically, factors related to negative evaluation and Concern over Mistakes consistently correlate positively with negative psychological outcomes, confirming the PSS’s utility in identifying athletes at risk for maladaptive coping strategies.

Reliability

The internal consistency of the PSS has generally been reported as acceptable to high across its various subscales. Studies employing the refined PSS (2009) typically report Cronbach’s alpha coefficients ranging from approximately 0.70 to over 0.90 for the major factors, indicating good reliability. For instance, the Self-Criticism subscale and the Coach Expectations/Criticism subscale usually demonstrate strong internal consistency, suggesting that the items within each factor measure a unified psychological construct.

The consistent internal consistency found across diverse athletic populations and different competitive levels suggests that the PSS is a stable measure of perfectionistic tendencies within the sporting domain, making it suitable for both cross-sectional and longitudinal research.

Factor Analysis

The PSS was developed through rigorous Factor Analysis methods to ensure that it captures dimensions of perfectionism unique to the athletic context. The 2009 study by Anshel, Kim, and Henry utilized Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) to validate a multidimensional structure. This structure typically establishes four key factors, though the precise item loading can vary depending on the specific population studied (e.g., gender differences were specifically explored).

The established factors often include: Parental Criticism (PC), Coach’s Criticism (CC) or Coach Expectations and Criticism (PE/C), Concern over Mistakes (CM) or Self-Criticism (SC), and Personal Standards (PS) or a related factor such as Neatness/Organization (N/O). This factor structure provides evidence that perfectionism in sport is not solely an internal drive but is heavily influenced by perceived external pressures.

Instrument

Test Type: Self-report questionnaire, Psychometric scale.

Format: 5-point Likert scale, where respondents rate their agreement with each statement. The anchors are typically 1 = strongly disagree; 2 = disagree; 3 = neutral; 4 = agree; 5 = strongly agree.

Language Available: Primarily English; usage in other languages may exist via translation and validation studies.

Population Group: Athletes (competitive, elite, and non-elite).

Age Group: Adolescents and Adults (typically competitive athletes of high school age and older).

Population Details: Used across various sports and levels of competition, including collegiate and professional athletes, to assess sport-specific perfectionism.

Test Methodology: Respondents indicate their level of agreement with statements concerning their personal standards, reactions to physical or mental errors, and perceived criticism or perfectionistic expectations from coaches and parents.

Keywords

Sport psychology, Perfectionism, Self-regulation, Athlete mental health, Coaching, Pressure, Performance anxiety, Psychometric instrument.

Authors

Author ORCID Identifier: Not provided in source material.

Affiliation Email addresses: Not provided in source material.

Correspondence Address: Not provided in source material.

Permissions & Fee and Test Year

The initial version of the PSS was published in 2003 (Anshel & Eom). A significant reconceptualization and refinement were published in 2009 (Anshel, Kim & Henry). Specific information regarding usage fees or formal permissions for commercial use should be directed to the primary author, Mark H. Anshel. The instrument is generally available for non-commercial academic research use through reference to the original publications.

The original PDF detailing related research can be downloaded here: http://www.drugsandalcohol.ie/19312/1/UCD_Research_The_Development_and_Validation_of_a_Doping_Scale.pdf

Reference’s

Anshel‚ M. H. (1991). A survey of elite athletes on the perceived causes of using banned drugs in sport. Journal of Sport Behavior‚ 14‚ 283-307.

Anshel‚ M. H. (1993). Drugs in sport: Causes and cures. In J. M. Williams (Ed.)‚ Applied sport psychology: Personal growth to peak performance (2nd ed.) (pp. 310-327). Mountain View CA: Mayfield Publishing Co.

Anshel‚ M. H.‚ & Eom‚ H. J. (2003). Exploring the dimensions of perfectionism in sport. International Journal of Sport Psychology‚ 34‚ 255- 271.

Anshel‚ M. H. (2005). Chemical use: Chemical roulette in sport. In S. Murphy (Ed.)‚ The sport psych handbook (pp. 255-276). Champaign‚ IL: Human Kinetics.

Flett‚ G. L.‚ & Hewitt‚ P. L. (2005). The perils of perfectionism in sports and exercise. Current Directions in Psychological Science‚ 13‚ 14- 18.

Anshel‚ Mark H.‚ Kim‚ Jwa K.‚ Henry‚ Ruth. (2009). Reconceptualizing Indicants of Sport Perfectionism as a Function of Gender. Journal of Sport Behavior; Mobile32.4 (Dec 2009): 395-418.

Stoeber‚ Joachim and Madigan‚ Daniel J. (2016) Measuring perfectionism in sport‚ dance‚ and exercise: Review‚ critique‚ recommendations. In: Hill‚ Andrew P. ed. The psychology of perfectionism in sport‚ dance and exercise. Routledge‚ London‚ pp. 31-56.

Items of the Perfectionism in Sport Scale (PSS)

IMPORTANT: The following scale items must be preserved in their original language and must not be changed in any way.

Anshel et al‚ 2003 (Initial Items)

1. If I perform poorly in a competitive event I feel I have failed as an athlete.
2. I set higher goals for myself than most people.
3. My coach becomes angry with me or punishes me for performing less than perfectly.
4. When I am working on something‚ I cannot relax until it is perfect.
5. I feel very upset/angry if I make a physical or mental error during a contest/game.
6. I never feel that I can meet my coach’s standards.
7. I strive for perfection in my performance.
8. Even while performing successfully‚ my coach tends to point out my mistakes during competition.
9. My teammates/coach/fellow competitors will think less of me if I make a mistake.
10. I expect higher performance in my daily tasks than most people.
11. My coach rarely compliments me on my performance.
12. If I ask someone to do something‚ I expect it to be done perfectly.
13. My coach’s standards tend to be too high for me.
14. Before and during competition I hope I do not make any mistakes.
15. One of my goals is to be perfect at everything I do.
16. If I win a competition or generally perform well‚ I tend to criticize myself if I have made an error.
17. I can rarely meet my coach’s expectations of me.
18. I become frustrated/ angry if I make a small mistake during competition.
19. I have extremely high goals.
20. My coach usually expects me to perform perfectly.
21. Even the smallest mistake bothers me when I am competing.
22. I must always be successful at everything that I do.
23. I analyze my mistakes over and over so that I can improve on them in the future.
24. No matter how well I perform‚ my coach asks me to perform better.

Anshel‚ Kim & Henry‚ 2009 (Refined Items with Factors)

Factor 1: Parental Criticism (PC)

1. Mom or dad was happy only if my performance is outstanding.
2. Mom or dad expected me to be perfect in sport.
3. I never felt like I could meet my parents’ standards.
4. Mom or dad never tended to criticize my performance‚ even after complimenting me.
5. I never felt like I could meet my parents’ expectations.
6. As a child‚ I was punished for doing things less than perfect.
7. Either parent always expected excellence from me as an athlete.
8. Mom or dad never tried to understand the reasons for my mistakes.
9. My mom or dad treated me differently after winning than after losing in sport.
10. After winning or performing successfully‚ at least one of my parents pointed out something I did not do well during the competition.

Factor 2: Self-Criticism (SC)

11. Even the smallest mistake bothered me when I am competing.
12. I criticized myself very hard after making an error.
13. If I won the competition or generally performed well‚ I still tended to criticize myself if I have made an error.
14. Making a mistake‚ even a “small” one‚ bothered me.
15. I felt very upset or angry if I made a physical or mental error during the contest.
16. I always strive for perfection in my sport performance.*
17. When I evaluate myself as an athlete‚ I tend to think about my weaknesses rather than about my strenths.
18. Even after I win‚ I do not feel happy about my performance.

Factor 3: Neatness/Organization (N/O)

19. Neatness is very important to me.
20. I try to be a neat (tidy) person.
21. I am a neat (tidy) person.
22. Being organized is very important to me.
23. I am not an organized person.

Factor 4: Coach Expectations and Criticism (PE/C)

24. My coach would become angry with me or punish me if I performed below his expectations.
25. My coach rarely compliments me on my performance.
26. My coach does not usually try to understand the reasons for my mistakes.
27. My coach usually expects me to perform perfectly.
28. I can rarely meet my coach’s expectations of me.
29. No matter how well I performed‚ my coach asks me to perform better.
30. I would not refer to my coach as particularly sensitive.
31. Even after I perform successfully‚ my coach tends to point out my mistakes during competition.