Maximizers vs Perfectionists
October 4 2009, 5:25 AM
Maximizing is not a measure of efficiency. It is a state of mind. If your goal is to get the best, then you will not be comfortable with compromises dictated by the constraints imposed by reality. You will not experience the kind of satisfaction with your choices that satisficers will. In every area of your life, you will always be open to the possibility that you might find something better if you just keep looking.
Maximising and PerfectionismWhen we go beyond consumption and into the realms of performance, it's important to distinguish between what we mean by "maximisers" and what describes "perfectionists." We have given some of the respondents who filled out our Maximization Scale a scale to measure perfectionism, ans we have found that, while responses on the two scales are correlated, maximizing and perfectionism are not interchangeable. A perfectionist is not satisfied with doing a "good enough" job if he or she can do better. A musician keeps practising and practising a piece even after she has reached a level of performance that virtually every one in the audience will regard as flawless. A top student keeps revising a paper long past the point where it is good enough to get an A. Tiger Woods works tirelessly on his game long after he has attained excellence that no one had previously thought possible. When it comes to achievement, being a perfectionist has clear advantages. Thus perfectionists, like maximisers, seek to achieve the best. But I think there is an important difference between them. While maximisers and perfectionists both have very high standards, I think that the perfectionists have very high standards that they don't expect to meet, whereas maximisers have very high standards that they do expect to meet. Which may explain why we found that those who score high on perfectionism, unlike maximisers, are not depressed, regretful or unhappy. Perfectionists may not be as happy with the results of their actions as they should be, but they seem to be happier with the results of their actions than maximisers are with the results of theirs. From: Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice
Maximising and PerfectionismWhen we go beyond consumption and into the realms of performance, it's important to distinguish between what we mean by "maximisers" and what describes "perfectionists." We have given some of the respondents who filled out our Maximization Scale a scale to measure perfectionism, ans we have found that, while responses on the two scales are correlated, maximizing and perfectionism are not interchangeable. A perfectionist is not satisfied with doing a "good enough" job if he or she can do better. A musician keeps practising and practising a piece even after she has reached a level of performance that virtually every one in the audience will regard as flawless. A top student keeps revising a paper long past the point where it is good enough to get an A. Tiger Woods works tirelessly on his game long after he has attained excellence that no one had previously thought possible. When it comes to achievement, being a perfectionist has clear advantages. Thus perfectionists, like maximisers, seek to achieve the best. But I think there is an important difference between them. While maximisers and perfectionists both have very high standards, I think that the perfectionists have very high standards that they don't expect to meet, whereas maximisers have very high standards that they do expect to meet. Which may explain why we found that those who score high on perfectionism, unlike maximisers, are not depressed, regretful or unhappy. Perfectionists may not be as happy with the results of their actions as they should be, but they seem to be happier with the results of their actions than maximisers are with the results of theirs. From: Barry Schwartz - The Paradox of Choice