Can cognitive restructuring reduce the disruption associated with perfectionistic concerns?

We investigated the utility of a brief cognitive restructuring intervention in inoculating perfectionists from their typical negative responses to eva luative threat. In particular, we wanted to examine whether cognitive restr ucturing could reduce perfectionists' negative affect and cognitions about a speech task. We were also interested in analyzing the pattern of within-s ession change across a variety of affective and cognitive measures as a fun ction of this cognitive intervention. Sixty female undergraduate students d elivered a speech before a small audience. We used a 2 (Group) X 2 (Conditi on) design to investigate the effects of perfectionism and intervention typ e on subjects' negative affect and cognitions related to the evaluative tas k. Participants high and low in perfectionistic concern over mistakes (CM; group) were randomly assigned to receive either a cognitive restructuring o r distraction intervention (Condition) prior to the speech task. Individual s high in CM reported significantly more negative cognitive and affective r esponses to the evaluative task than low CM subjects; however, cognitive re structuring was successful in reducing cost and probability estimates for a ll subjects' most feared predictions for the impending speech. Moreover, th ese cognitive changes were associated with lower ratings of self-reported a nxiety in comparison to subjects in the distraction condition. Interestingl y, cognitive restructuring did not affect subjects' more global ratings of negative affect or negative thoughts about the speech, Our results provide some preliminary but encouraging implications for the effectiveness of cogn itive restructuring in the treatment of perfectionism.