Perfectionism

On the BSc Psychology course at UCL I teach a year 1 module called 'Qualitative and Mixed Research Methods'. For the lab report component, we first collect anonymous open text data from the students about some aspect of their life experiences. They then analyse this using thematic analysis. A side benefit of this approach to assessment is the insight it provides me into the lives of my students, and this blog post is intended to share those insights.

In 2025 the project focused on Perfectionism. The overall research question was:

'To what extent do university students experience perfectionism, and what are the ways in which it affects their experience of their degree, particularly submitting coursework and undertaking exams?'

Participants: This data was collected at the end of term 2 in the 2025/25 academic year from a combined group of 195 Experimental Psychology and Psychology and Language Sciences students (ages 17-23, M = 19.1, SD=0.7, 84.6% females, 15.4% males). 78 students responded to the survey call but we did not collect demographics from them to maximise anonymity.

Method: Students were sent a link to a survey and given the following definition of perfectionism:

Perfectionism is a psychological phenomenon involving the tendency to demand / expect of oneself an extremely high or even flawless level of performance, possibly out of step with what is realistic. 

Quantitative: They were then asked to rate themselves on a scale from 0-100 their response to the following:

To what extent do you experience perfectionism with respect to your degree work?

A histogram of these responses can be seen below.

When interpreting this graph one must be aware of the skewed sample effect. Only 78 students provided a quantitative response and they might be more likely to experience perfectionism. Still, we can see at least around 50 students out of the total cohort reporting a high level of perfectionism (75+).

Qualitative: The students were then asked to write 200-400 words in an open text box answering the following question:

To what extent do you experience perfectionism with respect to your degree work? If you do, how does it manifest in terms of (1) attending lectures and taking part in group work, (2) completing and submitting coursework and (3) undertaking exams?

The students were then asked to analyse these responses for their lab report component. Generally the students (now in their analyst role) picked out consistent themes in their reports.

To compose the following set of themes I looked at 5-10 of the highest graded reports and amalgamated / reworded the most consistent themes.

Perfectionist psychology

High personal standards

Many students expressed high personal standards. This was sometimes expressed as a striving for a high ideal or a fear of failure, or both:

• ‘I need to obtain certain results, otherwise I might think less of myself’ (P28)

• ‘[I’m] disappointed when I do not achieve the highest grade’ (P5)

• '...it would be better to suffer for weeks and woke [sic] myself to [sic] hard to get a piece of work done than deal with the disappointment of not getting a high enough grade.' (P28)

• 'inherent need to…prove yourself' (P1).

Externally imposed standards

In some instances these standards were explicitly linked to external sources, such as family and friends:

• ‘Family and friends expect a high standard of work… I feel as if I’ve failed if there any flaws to my work’ (P27)

• '...people expect me to always do that well so im scared to submit something that is below standard' (P22)

In other cases the presumed expectations of the university were mentioned:

• • • ‘I feel like since I’m at UCL I should be creating very impressive or near perfect work because that is what’s expected of a student at a top university’ (P27)

Others hinted that past experiences e.g. such as at school had set these kinds of standards:

• '100% scores [were] used as the example of what to strive for.' (P22)

Coursework

Procrastination

Perfectionism sometimes meant that students found it hard to get started with coursework and put it off. One felt the need to find the 'perfect moment to begin' (P30), while another could not start if they 'do not know the answer to an essay immediately' (P18).

• ‘I feel like I procrastinate…. Because the thought of not achieving perfection is scary’ (P27). 

• ‘fear of it not being perfect the first time’ (P4)

• This fear of not meeting high standards makes me delay starting…While this might temporarily relieve my stress…I end up rushing to finish everything under pressure...I'm staring at the blank… I feel as though it [my work] needs to be of high quality from the first sentence' (P30)

In other cases a more complex psychological phenomenon was reported:

• ‘[I] put off work in order to provide an alternative excuse as to why I may perform more poorly’ (P11)

One student reported using extensions 'not to improve the work… but to put off facing the task' (P29).

Perfectionism and obsessiveness / compulsions / over-working

For others, perfectionism manifested in the form of intense working on the piece of coursework.

• 'I find myself rewriting the same sentence multiple times in different forms until it "sounds" more or less perfect.' (P4)

Other responses depicted a much greater extent of perfectionism, with some seeming to express a compulsive need to review their work (“I check my work…more than 10 times before submitting”; P8). Some students explicitly described themselves as “obsessive” (P31)).

• ‘I do re write a lot of things… until I can’t see a flaw… it can get tiring and I lose motivation’ (P2)

• 'If I get a week to do it, I will probably spend like 7 hours a day for the entire week working on it.' (P10)

Struggling to submit

For others, while they might not have trouble starting, the final act of submitting a possibly-imperfect piece of work was very challenging

•  ‘I tend to drag essays out and rewrite… until I’m really happy with it’ (P2)

• 'I never submit anything before the deadline, because it can always be better' (P12).

• 'I feel that if I submit it early, I might think of something I want to change later' (P24).

Compared to exams, coursework was reported as offering more time for extensive refinement, allowing perfectionism to flourish

• 'I experience perfectionism quite profoundly in coursework… as there is more time available to critique’ (P15)

Students reported a strong vision of a ‘judging’ marker, despite knowing marking was anonymous:

• 'Even after completion, I am anxious the coursework will not be viewed as a good piece of work in the marker’s mind' (P13)

• '...give what the markers expected' (P25).

Others focused on the positive side of this tendency to check work many times before submission:

• ‘I often check over my work multiple times and rewrite sections… I don’t think that it negatively affects my coursework’ (P14)

Exams

Exams have a very different dynamic to coursework, with the former allowing an extended period for checking and re-checking one's work. Exams have a long preparation period followed by a rapid timed assessment period. These different dynamics interacted with perfectionist tendencies differently.

Preparation

Students said less about the preparation phase, but many expressed a high work ethic and occasionally an obsessive level of focus:

• ‘I make sure to do all of the recommended reading, even for material I don’t think will be necessary for the exam… it often takes an unreasonably long time’ (P23).

• ‘Once I’ve started making notes, I cannot quit halfway through, I must do the whole topic even if it’s not the best use of my time’ (P30).

• 'For exams, I feel compelled to know every little detail' (P24)

During the exam

Many framed the exam itself as less conducive to perfectionism due to their time-limited nature

• ‘Exams I don’t really experience perfectionism as there isn’t enough time’ (P20)

• 'The time pressure allows me to have a bit more grace for myself and just forget about it after the time is up' (P10).

However, perfectionism during the exam still appeared for some, finding it difficult to move past small errors and focus on the bigger picture:

• ‘...when it starts badly… the exams will not be perfect anymore, which demotivates me’ (P12).

• 'Even with my handwriting… if I forget to cross a ‘t’ or dot an ‘i’, I will waste a second of writing time to fix it' (P30).

• ‘I spend too much time on little details… even though I know they are trivial’ (P13).

For some, the excuse of the time-constraint wasn't enough, continuing to lament their inability to produce perfect work even when impossible:

• '…brought me a lot of anxiety as I panic a lot in between…how can I give what I reckon as perfect within the limited amount of time” (P19).

• ‘I always feel like I need to push myself harder… but I never really get that sense of satisfaction that I’ve done enough’ (P23)

Some recognised the positive effects of perfectionist tendencies in exams, but also the need for moderation:

• '[perfectionism] causes me to score high marks but often run out of time’ (P30)

Effects on wellbeing over time

Some students vividly depicted the impact that the emotional and chronic over-working effects of perfectionism had on them. One student noted studying 'like a machine' (P8).

• ‘not eating or sleeping enough until the work is complete to a high enough standard’ (P1)

• 'This is really stressful and demotivating to me because I exert so much effort and energy and still feel like it’s never good enough' (P8)

Students reported chronic stress, anxiety, and exhaustion, often feeling emotionally drained by the constant pressure to be perfect. For some, stress persisted even without immediate deadlines, creating continuous pressure on something they couldn't pinpoint:

• 'This can make my life quite stressful in the long run… I always seem to have something academic to do… I can never be fully relaxed, even if I only have very little work' (P12).

Others expressed a general dissatisfaction even following success:

• 'I need to push myself harder… to make it perfect… I never really get satisfaction that I’ve done enough' (P23).

• 'Often when I set a goal for myself and attain it, I don't celebrate it because in my mind it was a requirement for me to do so' (P29)

Perfectionism and group work

Students weren't specifically asked about group work, however one volunteered an interesting take. While we might imagine perfectionist tendencies being relieved in group work, as the other group members could provide an alternative reason for failure like the time constraint of exams. However P16 felt differently: 

• 'I find it harder to manage my perfectionist tendencies when… tasks are out of my control, such as in group work where I have to trust and rely partly on others" (P16).

Coping strategies and non-perfectionism

Despite many participants reporting perfectionist tendencies, some reported submitting work despite its imperfection. Some of these responses were from participants who reported not being perfectionist ('As long as I pass, I am generally satisfied'; P17), the rest from those who seem to be perfectionist only to a moderate extent and sometimes reach a point where they accept imperfection

• I like to re-read the work…but again if i’m very tired, i just submit it. (P9).

Some—but few—participants talked about trying to manage their perfectionism, either through specific plans ('I find if I am well prepared then I tend to manage my perfectionist tendencies better'; P16) or by attempting to temporarily ignore the perfectionist thoughts:

• 'When taking exams, sometimes I spend too much time on little details… I try to ignore it and just focus on finishing the exam…come back to perfecting it only if there is enough time at the end'. (P13)

Summary

It is important not to over generalise, and it is clear from the histogram that perfectionism is not universal among our students, with some feeling it very little or not at all.

For those who did experience perfectionism, it manifested to varying degrees of strength, and in some common ways, but also with differences.

For coursework some students struggled to begin, some worked themselves extremely hard and some struggled to finally submit. Procrastination due to perfectionism felt particularly tragic, as the desire to submit perfect work led to the students rushing to get the work done close to the deadline, which inevitably would then not be up to their high standards. One problem raised by a student was the use of extensions just to further the time until they had to start the work. Making small changes and submitting close to the deadline was perhaps less problematic, but in some cases could become obsessive and stressful, focusing on tiny details unlikely to make a large impact to a grade. More generally those students who over-work themselves expressed a highly fatiguing and emotionally draining experience over time that could lead to burn out in the long run. Despite all this work these students typically reported a general feeling of dissatisfaction even following success.

For exams, a similar 'over-working' dynamic was expressed by some students, needing to be perfectly prepared or focusing on small details. Responses regarding the exam itself were more mixed, with some being more forgiving to themselves due to the impossibility of producing perfect work under such time constraints. For others, perhaps with stronger perfectionist tendencies, even this wasn't enough, and they still found the inability to produce perfect work in that environment stressful and emotionally distressing.

Some coping strategies were offered by students, however perfectionist tendencies are not easily wished away. Given the make up of our students we need to bring discussion of perfectionism (and related imposter syndrome) into our entire degree program, and attempt to normalise it, encouraging students to discuss at and share coping strategies.