Perfectionism and excellencism in post-secondary students: distinguishing their associations with adaptability and motivation

Objective Recent research indicates that differentiating between excellencism and perfectionism is needed to clarify the inconsistent associations between perfectionistic standards and educational outcomes. Whether pursuing perfection beyond excellence benefits students’ motivation and adaptability was examined using the Model of Excellencism and Perfectionism (MEP). Based on the MEP and Self-Determination Theory, this study examined how excellencism and perfectionistic standards are differentially associated with students’ autonomous motivation, controlled motivation, amotivation, and adaptability.Methods A cross-sectional study using an online self-reported questionnaire. Participants were 342 post-secondary students recruited through Prolific.Results Excellencism was associated with greater adaptability and higher autonomous motivation, and lower amotivation. Perfectionistic standards were positively associated with both autonomous and controlled motivations as well as amotivation. In a complementary path analysis, the null association between perfectionistic standards and adaptability was explained by antagonistic motivations that offset one another, with a positive specific indirect effect of autonomous motivation and a negative specific indirect effect of controlled motivation.Conclusions Pursuing excellence benefits motivation and adaptation. Pursuing perfectionistic standards beyond excellencism appears unnecessary for adaptability, as it relates to autonomous and controlled motivations, which are linked to adaptability in opposing ways. Perfection strivers experience antagonistic motivations that ultimately yield no advantage for adaptability.