Self-Assessment
Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale
Measure three distinct types of perfectionism: the standards you set for yourself, the expectations you place on others, and the pressure you feel from the people around you.
Adapted from Hewitt & Flett's MPS research — not the official instrument
What This Measures
Perfectionism is more than just wanting to do a good job. Psychologists Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett identified three separate dimensions of perfectionism, each with different causes and consequences:
Self-Oriented
The high standards you set for yourself and your own performance.
Other-Oriented
The expectations and demands you place on the people around you.
Socially Prescribed
The pressure you feel from others to meet their standards of perfection.
You will see 24 statements. Rate how much each one describes you on a scale from 1 (Strongly Disagree) to 7 (Strongly Agree). There are no right or wrong answers. Answer based on how you typically feel and act.
Question 1 of 24
Your Perfectionism Profile
Remember: This is a self-reflection tool, not a clinical diagnosis. Perfectionism exists on a spectrum. High scores in certain areas (particularly socially prescribed perfectionism) have been linked to stress and mental health challenges in research. If your perfectionism feels overwhelming, consider speaking with a mental health professional.
The Research Behind This Test
The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale was developed by psychologists Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett in 1991. Their work showed that perfectionism is not a single trait. It operates across three separate dimensions, each with distinct psychological effects.
From the Research
"The perfectionism construct is multidimensional, comprising both personal and social components. We describe three dimensions of perfectionism: self-oriented perfectionism, other-oriented perfectionism, and socially prescribed perfectionism."
— Hewitt, P.L. & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the Self and Social Contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470.
Self-Oriented (SOP)
Setting extremely high personal standards, being harshly self-critical, and needing everything you do to be flawless. This is an internally driven form of perfectionism. It can fuel high achievement, but at extreme levels it leads to chronic self-dissatisfaction and procrastination.
Other-Oriented (OOP)
Expecting the people around you to meet your high standards. This means being demanding of friends, family, or colleagues, and feeling critical when they fall short. Research links high OOP to interpersonal friction and traits associated with narcissism.
Socially Prescribed (SPP)
Believing that other people require you to be perfect. This is the perception that your worth depends on meeting external expectations. Of the three dimensions, SPP is the most consistently linked to anxiety, depression, and stress in the research literature.
Reliability Data
"The coefficient alphas were .86 for self-oriented perfectionism, .82 for other-oriented perfectionism, and .87 for socially prescribed perfectionism."
— Hewitt, P.L. & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the Self and Social Contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470.
Clinical Implications
"Self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism relate differentially to indices of personality disorders and other psychological maladjustment."
— Hewitt, P.L., Flett, G.L., Turnbull-Donovan, W. & Mikail, S.F. (1991). The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Reliability, validity, and psychometric properties in psychiatric samples. Psychological Assessment, 3(3), 464-468.
What the Research Shows
- Test-retest reliability ranges from 0.60 to 0.69 in clinical samples over several months, and up to 0.88 in student samples over shorter intervals. This means the traits measured are fairly stable over time.
- Socially prescribed perfectionism shows the strongest associations with stress, depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and perceived parental pressure in the research literature.
- Self-oriented perfectionism correlates with achievement striving but also with self-criticism. At extreme levels, it is linked to depression.
- Other-oriented perfectionism is associated with interpersonal difficulties, including traits linked to narcissism and Type A behavioral patterns.
How We Built This Assessment
The original Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale by Hewitt and Flett contains 45 items and is published commercially through Multi-Health Systems (MHS). The exact item wording is copyrighted and restricted to research use.
This assessment is an adapted version. We wrote 24 original items (8 per subscale) that measure the same three constructs defined in the original research. Each item was crafted to reflect the conceptual content of the original scale's facets without copying protected wording.
What we used
- Hewitt & Flett (1991) for the theoretical framework and three-factor model
- Cox, Enns & Clara (2002) for factor structure analysis showing that shorter forms can represent the three dimensions (Psychological Assessment, 14(3), 365-373)
- Flett & Hewitt (2016) for comprehensive validity data and normative comparisons from their chapter in Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Constructs
- Hewitt & Flett (2004) technical manual normative data for score interpretation benchmarks
How scoring works
Each of the 24 items uses a 7-point agreement scale, matching the original MPS format. Five items are reverse-scored to reduce response bias. Subscale scores are calculated by summing the (adjusted) item scores. Your per-item average is then compared against published normative data from community samples to determine where you fall on each dimension.
A note on accuracy: This adapted version has not undergone formal peer-reviewed validation. The underlying three-factor model is well-established, but our specific item set may produce slightly different results than the official 45-item instrument. Scores are approximate and meant for personal insight, not clinical assessment.
How Different Groups Score
Average per-item scores (on a 1-7 scale) from published normative data across three populations. Based on Hewitt & Flett (2004) technical manual data with combined samples of over 4,000 participants.
Self-Oriented
Other-Oriented
Socially Prescribed
Note: Socially prescribed perfectionism scores are notably higher in clinical populations compared to community and student samples, consistent with its stronger association with psychological distress. Data source: Hewitt & Flett (2004) MPS Technical Manual.
About This Perfectionism Assessment
This test is a research-inspired adaptation for self-reflection. It is not the official Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale published by Multi-Health Systems (MHS).
The original Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale (Hewitt & Flett, 1991) is copyrighted and distributed by Multi-Health Systems Inc. The 45-item instrument is restricted to research use without commercial license. Our 24-item version uses original wording crafted by our team, measuring the same three constructs (self-oriented, other-oriented, and socially prescribed perfectionism) defined in the published literature. We are not affiliated with Hewitt, Flett, or MHS.
This tool is for educational self-reflection. Perfectionism is a personality trait, not a clinical disorder. High scores do not mean you have OCD, anxiety, or any other condition. If your perfectionism causes significant distress or interferes with daily life, consider speaking with a psychologist or counselor. Research shows cognitive-behavioral approaches can help reduce maladaptive perfectionism.
- Hewitt, P.L. & Flett, G.L. (1991). Perfectionism in the self and social contexts. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 60(3), 456-470. DOI
- Hewitt, P.L., Flett, G.L., Turnbull-Donovan, W. & Mikail, S.F. (1991). The Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Reliability, validity, and psychometric properties. Psychological Assessment, 3(3), 464-468. DOI
- Hewitt, P.L. & Flett, G.L. (2004). Multidimensional Perfectionism Scale: Technical Manual. Multi-Health Systems, Toronto.
- Cox, B.J., Enns, M.W. & Clara, I.P. (2002). The multidimensional structure of perfectionism in clinically distressed and college student samples. Psychological Assessment, 14(3), 365-373. DOI
- Flett, G.L. & Hewitt, P.L. (2016). Measures of perfectionism. In G.J. Boyle et al. (Eds.), Measures of Personality and Social Psychological Constructs. Academic Press.