Discounting In Perfectionism – The Ratchet Effect

People with perfectionism strive to meet extremely high standards, despite this having negative consequences for them. For many individuals with perfectionism, their feelings of self-worth are dependent upon striving for and achieving these demanding standards. 

The cognitive behavioral model of perfectionism identifies several factors which maintain perfectionism (Egan et al., 2014; Shafran et al., 2010; Shafran et al., 2014). These include:

• Setting extreme standards for oneself which are difficult to achieve. People with perfectionism pursue standards that are challenging to meet and often impossible to maintain, which inevitably results in failure.
• Self-worth is contingent on fulfilling high standards. For individuals with perfectionism, feeling good about themselves is often dependent upon meeting demanding standards in a limited number of domains. This can lead to a narrowing of interests, problems in other areas of life, and over-investment in striving and achievement.
• Selective attention. This cognitive bias causes people with perfectionism to focus their attention on faults

“People who struggle with perfectionism set demanding standards for themselves, but when they meet a goal they have set for themselves they often seem to find a way to discount or dismiss their achievement. Would you be willing to explore this with me?” 

Use this handout to explain the ratchet metaphor, and as a starting point to discuss biases of discounting in perfectionism. Example discussion points include:

• Can you give me some examples of standards that you set for yourself? Perhaps ones that other people might think are demanding?
• What do you say to yourself when you live up to your standards, or achieve one of your goals?
• Have you ever ‘ratcheted up’ and set an even more demanding standard?
• What are the benefits of ‘ratcheting up’ your standards?
• What might be the costs of ‘ratcheting up’ your standards?
• What might help you to break out of the ratchet effect?
• How might you celebrate your successes? What have

• Egan, S. J., Wade, T. D., Shafran, R., & Antony, M. M. (2014). Cognitive-behavioral treatment of perfectionism. Guilford.
• Shafran, R., Cooper, Z., & Fairburn, C. G. (2002). Clinical perfectionism: A cognitive-behavioral analysis. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 40, 773-791.
• Shafran, R., Egan, S., & Wade, T. (2010). Overcoming perfectionism: A self-help guide using cognitive behavioral techniques. Constable and Robinson.