Academic achievement has too often been a metric by which students define their self-worth. For some students, this focus manifests itself through perfectionism, attaining high grades, and overvaluing extrinsic learning rewards. Students who consider their self-worth to be contingent upon their academic performance often suffer from withdrawal,…

The compulsive perfectionist is compared with "stress seekers" who pursue challenges without judging themselves as harshly. Examples of these types from the literature in terms of economic life, fiction, interpersonal relationships, and sexuality are discussed. Risk-taking and social pressure are seen as key factors in the balanced…

The poor self-image of many collegiate high achievers is due to the development of an obsessive-compulsive personality. Typical of this psychological maladjustment is the concept that external achievements are directly related to internal personal worth in a linear and absolute fashion. Characteristic symptoms include physical as well as emotional…