Perfectionism Assessment

Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale

Perfectionism is not one thing. It is six. This assessment maps your unique perfectionism profile across the dimensions identified by Frost and colleagues.

35 questions About 5 minutes Based on Frost et al. (1990)

From the Research

"The present study describes the development of a multidimensional scale to measure perfectionism. Factor analysis yielded six dimensions: Concern over Mistakes, Personal Standards, Parental Expectations, Parental Criticism, Doubts about Actions, and Organization."

Frost, R.O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism . Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449-468.

Six Dimensions of Perfectionism

Tap any dimension to learn more about what it measures.

Concern over Mistakes

Negative reactions to errors and a tendency to interpret mistakes as failure

This is the dimension most strongly associated with psychological distress. People who score high here tend to equate making mistakes with losing the respect of others, and may feel that a single error reflects poorly on them as a whole person. Research by Frost et al. found this dimension had the strongest correlation with overall clinical perfectionism.
9 items in this subscale
Doubts about Actions

A persistent sense that tasks are never truly completed or done correctly

This dimension captures the nagging feeling that your work is not quite right, even after you have finished it. It is closely related to indecisiveness and checking behaviors. Together with Concern over Mistakes, these two dimensions form what researchers call "maladaptive evaluation concerns."
4 items in this subscale
Parental Expectations

Perception that parents set very high standards during upbringing

This dimension reflects the degree to which someone perceived their parents as having high expectations for their performance. It captures the internalized pressure to meet family standards. While parental expectations are not inherently harmful, the perception of extreme or inflexible expectations can shape perfectionist tendencies that persist well into adulthood.
5 items in this subscale
Parental Criticism

Perception that parents were overly critical of shortcomings

This goes beyond expectations. Where Parental Expectations captures "they wanted a lot from me," Parental Criticism captures "they let me know when I fell short." Together these two dimensions form what researchers call "perceived parental pressure," a key developmental factor in how perfectionism takes root.
4 items in this subscale
Personal Standards

Setting very high performance goals and placing importance on meeting them

This is the dimension most closely associated with positive outcomes. People with high Personal Standards tend to be motivated, achievement-oriented, and conscientious. However, when paired with high Concern over Mistakes, it can shift from healthy striving to anxious perfectionism. Context matters.
7 items in this subscale
Organization

Emphasis on order, neatness, and having things arranged properly

Organization is the most independent dimension. It correlates only weakly with the other five, which is why many researchers (including Stöber, 1998) exclude it from the overall perfectionism total. It reflects a preference for tidiness and structure, not necessarily a problematic trait.
6 items in this subscale

Adaptive vs. Maladaptive: Not all perfectionism is harmful. Researchers distinguish between maladaptive evaluation concerns (Concern over Mistakes + Doubts about Actions) and adaptive striving (Personal Standards + Organization). The first predicts anxiety and depression; the second predicts achievement and conscientiousness.

Your Perfectionism Profile

Based on your 35 responses

-- of 145

Overall Perfectionism (excluding Organization) · Range: 29 to 145

Your dominant pattern

Four-Factor Breakdown

Following Stöber (1998), your results are organized into four consolidated factors.

Maladaptive Evaluation Concerns --
1365
Perceived Parental Pressure --
945
Striving for Excellence --
735
Need for Order --
630

All Six Subscales

How to Read These Results

There are no universal cutoff scores for the Frost MPS. Instead, your scores are best understood in relative terms: which dimensions are highest for you, and how they interact with each other. A high score in Personal Standards paired with a low score in Concern over Mistakes looks very different from the reverse.

Research generally associates maladaptive perfectionism with higher scores on Concern over Mistakes and Doubts about Actions, while adaptive perfectionism is characterized by high Personal Standards with lower evaluative concerns.

What you can do with this: Understanding your perfectionism profile is the first step. If your Maladaptive Evaluation Concerns score is notably higher than your other dimensions, consider exploring cognitive-behavioral approaches that target the thinking patterns behind self-criticism and fear of mistakes.

About This Assessment

The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale was developed in 1990 by Randy O. Frost and colleagues at Smith College. Before Frost's work, perfectionism was typically treated as a single trait. The FMPS changed this by showing that perfectionism has six distinct components, some of which are associated with positive outcomes and others with negative ones.

The original validation study involved 232 female college students. Factor analysis revealed six clear dimensions, and the scale demonstrated strong internal consistency across all subscales (Cronbach's alpha ranging from .77 to .93). The scale has since been used in hundreds of studies across clinical, educational, and occupational settings.

In 1998, Joachim Stöber proposed a four-factor model that consolidated the six original subscales into broader categories. This model combines Concern over Mistakes with Doubts about Actions, and Parental Expectations with Parental Criticism, while keeping Personal Standards and Organization separate. Our results section follows this consolidated structure while still showing all six individual subscale scores.

Research using the Frost MPS has produced several consistent findings across populations and settings:

  • Concern over Mistakes is the strongest predictor of psychological distress, showing significant correlations with depression (r = .37), anxiety (r = .44), and lower self-esteem across multiple studies.
  • Personal Standards shows a more complex pattern. When isolated from evaluative concerns, it correlates with positive outcomes like higher GPA, greater conscientiousness, and better work performance.
  • Parker and Adkins (1995) found that gifted students scored significantly higher on Personal Standards and Organization but not on Concern over Mistakes, supporting the distinction between healthy and unhealthy perfectionism.
  • The two parental dimensions (Expectations and Criticism) show moderate correlations with each other (typically r = .50 to .60), but their relationships with outcomes diverge. Parental Criticism is more strongly associated with negative affect, while Parental Expectations alone may not be harmful.
  • Organization consistently shows weak correlations with all other subscales, supporting its exclusion from total perfectionism scores (Stöber, 1998).

The original Frost MPS is a copyrighted instrument. The items in this assessment are adapted and reworded to reflect the same underlying constructs measured by each of Frost's six subscales, while using different phrasing. This approach preserves the dimensional structure and scoring framework while creating an independent assessment.

This adaptation maintains the original 35-item structure and 5-point Likert response format (1 = Strongly Disagree to 5 = Strongly Agree). Items are assigned to the same subscales as in the original instrument. Scoring follows the standard procedure: all items are scored in the same direction with no reverse scoring, and subscale scores are computed by summing the relevant items. The total perfectionism score excludes the Organization subscale, consistent with recommendations from Stöber (1998) and other researchers.

For the four-factor presentation, we follow Stöber's (1998) consolidation: Concern over Mistakes plus Doubts about Actions form "Maladaptive Evaluation Concerns," Parental Expectations plus Parental Criticism form "Perceived Parental Pressure," and Personal Standards and Organization remain as individual factors.

Reference

"A four-factor model, combining Concern over Mistakes with Doubts about Actions and Parental Expectations with Parental Criticism, provided a more parsimonious and equally well-fitting solution."

Stöber, J. (1998). The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale revisited: More perfect with four (instead of six) dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(4), 481-491.

Two Scales, Different Angles

If you have taken our other Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (based on Hewitt & Flett, 1991), you may wonder how they differ. Both measure perfectionism as multidimensional, but they ask different questions.

Frost MPS (this test)
  • Six dimensions: Concern over Mistakes, Doubts about Actions, Parental Expectations, Parental Criticism, Personal Standards, Organization
  • Focuses on the sources and expressions of perfectionism
  • 35 items, roughly 5 minutes
  • Distinguishes adaptive and maladaptive components
Hewitt & Flett MPS
  • Three dimensions: Self-Oriented, Other-Oriented, Socially Prescribed Perfectionism
  • Focuses on who the perfectionism is directed toward
  • Shorter format, about 3 minutes
  • Captures interpersonal dynamics of perfectionism

The two scales complement each other. Frost's approach tells you what kind of perfectionism you experience. Hewitt and Flett's tells you where it is directed. Taking both gives a more complete picture.

This is an adapted self-assessment tool inspired by the Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Frost et al., 1990). It is not the original copyrighted instrument and has not been independently validated as a standalone measure. The items have been reworded to reflect the same constructs while using different phrasing.

This tool is provided for educational and self-reflection purposes only. It is not a diagnostic instrument and should not be used as a substitute for professional psychological assessment. If you are experiencing significant distress related to perfectionism, please consult a qualified mental health professional.

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  • Frost, R.O., Marten, P., Lahart, C., & Rosenblate, R. (1990). The dimensions of perfectionism. Cognitive Therapy and Research, 14(5), 449-468.
  • Stöber, J. (1998). The Frost Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale revisited: More perfect with four (instead of six) dimensions. Personality and Individual Differences, 24(4), 481-491.
  • Parker, W.D., & Adkins, K.K. (1995). Perfectionism and the gifted. Roeper Review, 17(3), 173-176.
  • Hewitt, P.L., & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470.