Reflective and ruminative types of self-consciousness among young adults with perfectionistic personality traits

Introduction and objective: Motives for self-observation can be diverse. This study aims to determine whether young adults with perfectionistic personality traits are closer to the ruminative or reflective type of private self-consciousness. Materials and methods: The study involved 183 healthy individuals aged 18–30 years (M = 20.87, SD = 3.24), with women accounting for 57%. The Big Three Perfectionism Scale (BTPS) by Smith and the Rumination-Reflection Questionnaire (RRQ) by Trapnell and Campbell were used. Results: The results indicate that perfectionism is positively related to the ruminative type of self-consciousness. Reflexivity, as cognitive curiosity about oneself, represents a more mature way of functioning for which perfectionism is unnecessary. In contrast, perfectionism is strongly associated with critical self-examination and has much in common with the ruminative form of self-consciousness. Self-critical perfectionism thus becomes a strategy whereby increased rumination, i.e. ruminating about past and potential failures, leads individuals to believe they are preventing future failures. Conversely, grandiose perfectionism protects against rumination. Individuals do not perceive their mistakes and, therefore, do not ruminate about them. Conclusions: Based on the Three Big Perfectionism Scale, the results confirm the association of the ruminative type of private self-consciousness with perfectionism and its absence between the reflective type and perfectionism.