Adonis Diaries

test your perfectionism in 3 minutes

this test is part of a highly-regarded scientific test called the DAS, developed by the renown psychologist Dr. Arlene Weissman.

read each of the following statements and notice how you feel about each ‘most of the time‘. check with yourself how much you agree or disagree with each statement. then write down for each whether you:

• agree
• neutral
• disagree

do this for the 5 statements before reading the rest of this post, otherwise you’ll ruin the test for yourself.

because we are all different, there’s no ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ answer to any of these statements. here are the 5 statements:

• if I cannot do something well, there’s little point in doing it at all
• it is shameful for a person to display his weakness
• a person should try to be the best at everything he undertakes
• i should be upset if i make a mistake
• if i don’t set the highest standards for myself, i am likely to end up a second-rate person

calculate your results and see what they mean:

• ‘agree’ counts as  -1
• ‘neutral’ counts as  0
• ‘disagree’ counts as  +1
• add up your score. the range is from -5 to +5

here’s how to interpret your score according to Dr. Arlene Weissman:

• a negative score suggests that you demand perfectionism and believe that failures are bad. you expect to look, feel, and think superbly at all times. you rarely experience the satisfaction of achieving a goal, because as soon as you achieve a goal it’s usually less than perfect, and another one instantly replaces it. you live in unrealistic personal standards that undermine all your accomplishments. if you bring your expectations in line with reality, you will be regularly pleased and rewarded instead of frustrated.
• a positive score suggests you have the capacity to set meaningful, flexible, and realistic standards. you get more satisfaction from experiencing the journey than from reaching the destination. you see mistakes as golden opportunities to learn. you are likely much more productive than your perfectionist associates.

resource: Burns, David D. (1999). Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Avon Books (Whole Care). pp. 261-287

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