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If you've ever prepared for a job interview or have heard anything about them there's a good chance you've come across this famously tough question: What's your biggest weakness?
如果你曾经为面试做过准备，或者听说过有关面试的事，你很可能会遇到一个棘手问题：你最大的弱点是什么？
Come on, really?!
得了吧，真的吗？！
Generally, interviewers ask it because they want to see if you have some self-awareness.
一般来说，面试官问这个问题是想看你是否有自我意识。
But hey, you're at a job interview — you're supposed to be selling yourself!
但是，你正在进行面试啊，你应该推销自己呀！
To get around the question, a lot of people choose to say that their biggest weakness is being a perfectionist, something that I have never claimed.
为了回避这个问题，很多人选择说他们最大的弱点是完美主义，我从没这么说过。
But depending on the person you're talking to, you might actually be sending a different message than you think you are.
但这取决与你交谈的人，你发出的信息可能实际上与想象的不同。
People often think of perfectionism as a good thing, and consider it this strong desire to do something well.
人们常常认为完美主义是件好事，认为它是一种想做好事情的强烈愿望。
But when psychologists talk about it, they're referring to a risk factor for clinical disorders.
但是当心理学家谈论它时，他们指的是临床疾病的一个危险因素。
For them, there are healthy and unhealthy levels of wanting to succeed.
对他们来说，想要成功有健康和不健康的两种水平。
And the distinction is really important for someone's mental health.
这种区别对于一个人的心理健康非常重要。
Usually, when someone casually says that they're "such a perfectionist," they mean that they have high standards, or that they're motivated to achieve ambitious goals.
通常，当有人漫不经心地说自己是“完美主义者”时，他们是说自己标准高，或者是他们有动力去实现雄心勃勃的目标。
And generally, that's okay.
一般来说，这样没关系。
It's great to be conscientious and want to do a good job, especially if you can regroup and move on when you screw up.
认真负责并想把工作做好很好，尤其是你把事情搞砸时，可以整理思绪并继续前行。
A review in 2006 even showed that, according to a few studies, people with these traits might have higher subjective well-beings.
2006年的一份评述中甚至表明，根据一些研究，具有这些特征的人可能拥有更高的主观幸福感。
Some researchers call this attitude "positive strivings" or "functional perfectionism" but they're often pretty careful about their wording.
一些研究人员称这种态度为“积极奋斗”或“功能完美主义”，但他们通常对措辞非常严谨。
Because when most psychologists talk about perfectionism, they mean something different than what people typically think.
因为当大多数心理学家谈论完美主义时，他们的意思与人们通常的想法不同。
For them, perfectionism in the clinical sense takes the desire to do a good job one step too far.
对他们来说，临床意义上的完美主义是把做好工作的愿望带得有点远了。
There are a few types of it, but to get the general idea, imagine a person who just got an A on a test.
它有几种类型，但为了得到一个大致的看法，想象一下一个人刚在考试中得了A。
Someone who's just conscientious would be okay with that overall, even if they missed a few questions.
一个有责任心的人总体上能接受这一点，即使他们遗漏了一些问题。
But a true perfectionist would feel like a failure just from those few mistakes.
但一个真正的完美主义者只会因为这几个错误而感到失败。
And even if they got 100% on the next test, they would move those goalposts again maybe by saying the test was too easy, or that the class wasn't challenging enough.
即使他们在下一个测验中得了100分，他们也会再次改变条件，说可能因为测验太简单，或是这门课的挑战性不够。
Often, these perfectionists believe their self-worth is tied to never making a mistake, or that people will think less of them if they do.
通常，这些完美主义者相信他们的自我价值与从不犯错紧密相连，或者如果他们犯错的话，自我价值就会降低。
Which is not healthy.
这样是不合理的。
One common framework scientists use to study perfectionism divides it into three different dimensions: self-oriented, socially-prescribed, and other-oriented.
科学家用来研究完美主义的一个共同框架是把它分为三个不同的维度：自我导向、社会规定和他人导向。
Self-oriented perfectionism is maybe the most well-known kind.
自我导向的完美主义也许是最有名的一种。
It means that you have an unattainably high standard for yourself and get frustrated if you don't meet it.
这意味着你对自己要达到的标准定的过高，无法达到，如果没有达到这个标准，你会感到沮丧。
Socially-prescribed perfectionism is similar, but it's what happens when that high standard is coming from your friends and family.
社会规定的完美主义和这个类似，但这种是说这个高标准来自你得朋友和家人。
In other words, you're more worried about letting them down than yourself.
换句话说，和让自己失望相比，你更担心会让他们失望。
Living under that kind of pressure isn't helpful for anyone, and both of these types of perfectionism have been associated with mental health trouble,
在这种压力下生活对任何人都没有帮助，这两种完美主义都与心理健康问题有关，
from general anxiety disorder and social anxiety to eating disorders and suicidal thoughts.
从一般性焦虑症、社交焦虑症到饮食失调、自杀意念。
They also seem to make symptoms of depression worse over time, and can make the symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder harder to treat.
随着时间的推移，他们似乎也会使抑郁症的症状恶化，并使强迫症的症状更难治疗。
The third kind of perfectionism in this framework is called others-oriented, and while it's a little different, it's still not good for you.
在这个框架中，第三种完美主义称为“他人导向”，虽然它有点不同，但对你还是不好。
It's where someone applies their unattainably high standard to everyone around them instead of themselves.
它是说有人用他们无法达到的高标准去要求身边的每个人，而不是要求他们自己。
If you've ever had this boss, I apologize on their behalf.
如果你曾有过这样老板，我代表他们向你道歉。
This isn't as well-studied as the other types, but it seems to be a risk factor for things like narcissistic personality disorder, and can also create a tendency to blame others for problems.
有关这种类型的研究不像其他几种那么深入，但它似乎是自恋型人格障碍的一个危险因素，也可能会造成一种将问题归咎于他人的倾向。
Which isn't necessarily a clinical thing, but it is still not great for relationships.
这不一定算是临床疾病，但对人际关系来说仍然不太好。
And unfortunately, it seems like all three kinds of perfectionism have been increasing, according to some research.
不幸的是，根据一些研究，这三种完美主义者的人数似乎都在增加。
One study that showed this was published in 2017 in Psychological Bulletin, and it looked at college students in the US, Canada, and the UK between 1989 and 2016.
发表于2017年《心理学公报》上的一项研究考察了1989年至2016年间美国、加拿大和英国的大学生，结果发现了这一趋势。
Specifically, it looked at surveys these students had taken, which measured those three kinds of perfectionism.
具体来说，研究人员考察了这些学生所做的调查问卷，问卷衡量了这三种完美主义观。
And the results showed that the more recent generations of students have reported more perfectionism than older cohorts did at their age.
研究结果显示，近几代学生报告的完美主义比以前的同龄人报告的数量要多。
That means this isn't something to just brush off.
这意味着不能忽略这种趋势。
But the nice thing is, perfectionism can totally be treated.
但好在完美主义可以被治愈。
In some cases, it can be done by treating psychological disorders, since perfectionism is linked to so many of them.
在某些情况下，可以通过治疗心理障碍治愈完美主义，因为完美主义与许多心理障碍有关。
For example, in a 2007 study published in Depression and Anxiety, about 100 patients with social anxiety disorder were treated with cognitive behavioral therapy, or CBT.
例如，发表在2007年《抑郁与焦虑》期刊上的一项研究中，大约100名社交焦虑障碍的患者接受了认知行为疗法的治疗。
This is a therapy that tries to change the way people feel by targeting their beliefs and automatic thoughts, and it normally works pretty well for social anxieties.
这种疗法通过聚焦患者的信念和自动化思维来改变他们的感受，通常对治疗社交焦虑症非常有效。
It worked this time, too, but it also lowered people's reported measures of perfectionism specifically, their worries about being seen making mistakes.
这次它也起作用了，同时还降低了人们报告的对完美主义的测查分数，特别是他们对被人发现犯错的担忧。
On the flip side, some therapies have been designed to target perfectionism specifically.
另一方面，还有一些专门针对完美主义而设计的治疗方法。
So even if someone isn't dealing with a disorder, there are options.
所以，即使不是为了治疗某种疾病，也有方法可寻。
In 2007, a study from the journal Behaviour Research and Therapy tested whether CBT could do this.
2007年，《行为研究与治疗》期刊上的一项研究测试了认知行为疗法是否能做到这一点。
The researchers had people do various behavioral experiments, like intentionally making mistakes in public.
研究人员让人们做各种行为实验，比如在公共场合故意犯错。
Or they tried to restructure some beliefs, like always needing to be busy.
或者让他们试着重新建构一些信念，比如总需要保持忙碌。
In the end, out of 20 participants who got the treatment, 15 showed improvement — which is pretty promising.
最后，在接受治疗的20名参与者中，15名表现出症状改善，真是令人倍感希望啊。
A more recent paper from 2018 even showed you might not need the therapist for this method to work.
2018年的一篇最新论文甚至表明，要让这种方法生效，可能都不需要治疗师参与。
In the study, 120 people completed a short online self-help course based on cognitive therapy for perfectionism.
在这项研究中，120人完成了一个基于完美主义认知疗法简短的在线自助课程。
And afterward, they all had much lower levels of perfectionism on average again, especially worries about being seen making mistakes.
之后，他们的完美主义平均水平都降低了，尤其是担心被别人看到犯错。
So the good news is, if you're starting to think all this "clinical perfectionism" stuff might sound like you, it seems like professional treatment can help.
好消息是，如果你开始认为所有这些“临床性完美主义”的症状听起来都像你自己，那么专业治疗似乎可以帮助你。
Because while it feels really great to succeed, it's not worth sacrificing your mental health to do it.
因为尽管成功让人感觉良好，但牺牲精神健康就不值得的了。
Thanks for watching this episode of SciShow, and special thanks to all our patrons on Patreon.
感谢收看本期心理科学秀，并特别感谢Patreon上的所有赞助商。
We're really excited to make content like this, and to have your support while we do it.
我们很高兴能制作这样内容的节目，而且在制作过程中还能得到你的支持
If you want to help us keep making free online psychology content, go on over to patreon.com/scishow.
如果你想帮助我们继续制作免费的在线心理学视频，请访问patreon.com/scishow。
