THE QUEST FOR PERFECTION: AVOIDING GUILT OR AVOIDING SHAME?

The cognitive style of perfectionists is noted together with the emotional and behavioral outcome of their irrational thinking patterns. Perfectionism in narcissism is viewed as an attempt to avoid shame and humiliation for not living up to an archaic grandiose view of the self. In contrast, neurotic perfectionism is an attempt to avoid guilt for not living up to the demands of a harsh, internalized, and differentiated superego.