Add To Cart

Section 3
Self-Critical Perfectionism and Self-Compassion

Question 3 | Test | Table of Contents

Read content below or listen to audio.
Left click audio track to Listen; Right click to "Save..." mp3

In the last section, we discussed methods for cognitive restructuring for self-esteem.  Three methods we discussed were self reproach evaluations, personifying the critic, and introducing the healthy voice.

In this section, we will discuss the pathological critic and how it relates to raising the self-esteem of your client who has been abused. The pathological critic is a term coined by psychologist Eugene Sagan to describe the negative inner voice that attacks and judges clients, especially those with a history of abuse. 

As you know, everyone has a critical inner voice. But would you agree that clients with low self-esteem tend to have a more vicious and vocal pathological critic? I find that these critics begin with an arsenal of shoulds which can be linked to five determining factors of the strength of the self critic.

5 Determining Factors of the Strength of the Self Critic
1. The degree to which issues of taste, personal needs, safety, or good judgment were mislabeled as moral imperatives,
2. The degree to which parents failed to differentiate between behavior and identity,
3. The frequency of the forbidding gestures,
4. The consistency of forbidding gestures
5. The frequency with which forbidding gestures were tied to parental anger or withdrawal

The three sections, that follow will provide you with brief interventions regarding responding to the critic, clouding the critic, and probing.

♦ Cognitive Behavior Therapy: An Arsenal of Shoulds
First, let’s discuss how an arsenal of shoulds might apply to your client.  The pathological critic has many weapons to use against clients.  Among the most effective are with the way clients believe they ought to be.  The critic has a way of turning the client’s shoulds against him or her.  For example, Sam’s critic called him a failure.  Sam, age 35, was a bartender.  Sam described how his critic used old ‘shoulds’ he learned as a child. 

Sam stated, "My father hit me.  He was a lawyer, so the critic says that I should be a professional and that anything else is a waste.  I feel like I should have forced myself to go to school.  I feel like I should read real books instead of the sports page.  I feel like I should be doing something in the world instead of mixing drinks and heading over to my girlfriend’s house." 

Clearly, Sam’s self-esteem was severely damaged by a critic who insisted that he be something other than himself.  The fact was that Sam liked the comradery of the bar and wasn’t the least bit intellectual.  But he continually rejected himself for not living up to his family’s expectations. 

For clients like Sam, the critic is born during early childhood experience.  When Sam’s father abused him physically, verbal abuse often accompanied it.  Sam stated, "Dad would always yell that I was a good for nothing.  I think that really got into my head."  By design, forbidding gestures are frightening at a young age.  Sam not only felt the withdrawal of parental approval very acutely, but came to believe that only by reaching what his father saw as his real potential could he avoid further punishment.  Thus, we begin to see the origin of Sam’s pathological critic.

Five Main Factors which Determine the Strength of a Client’s Pathological Self Critic.

♦ 5 Determining Factors
 
Factor # 1: First is the degree to which issues of taste, personal needs, safety, or good judgment were mislabeled as moral imperatives.  For example, in some families, if dad wants things quiet a child is made to feel morally wrong if he or she is noisy.  Perhaps clients like Sam grew up in families who made bad grades into a sin.

Factor # 2: A second determining factor of the pathological critic’s strength is the degree to which parents failed to differentiate between behavior and identity.  Would you agree that a child who hears a stern warning about the dangers of running in the street will have better self-esteem than a child who only hears that he’s a bad boy when he runs into the street?

Factor # 3: Third, describes the frequency of the forbidding gestures as a determining factor in the strength of the pathological critic.  Clearly, the frequency of negative messages from Sam’s parents had an impact on his early and present feelings of self worth. 

Factor # 4: In addition to mislabeled ethics, differentiation between behavior and identity, and the frequency of forbidding gestures, a fourth determining factor is the consistency of forbidding gestures.  Take for example a parent who did not let the child use the word ‘shit.’ Even though the child may have found that prohibition rather stuffy, if the parents were consistent, the child would manage to get along without the use of that word. 

Suppose, however, that the parents would let the child say ‘shit’ sometimes and blew up at the child for saying it at other times. Let’s also suppose that the parents of this child were equally inconsistent about other rules. At first the child might be confused, but the randomness of the attacks may lead some children to a painful conclusion.

That is it isn’t what the child does that is wrong. Instead, it is the child himself who is bad.  Children who experience similar circumstances may come to believe that there is something fundamentally wrong with them.  Have you treated a client who feels as if they have done something wrong, but because they can never get the rules straight is unable to determine what?

Factor # 5: The fifth determining factor in the strength of the pathological self critic is the frequency with which forbidding gestures were tied to parental anger or withdrawal.  As you probably know, children can tolerate a fair amount of criticism without experiencing much damage to their self worth.  However, if that criticism is accompanied by parental anger or withdrawal, it has potential to send the child messages of rejection.  Think of your client.  Is his or her pathological self critic and low self-esteem indicative of any of these five determining factors?

In this section, we discussed the pathological critic.  I find that these critics begin with an arsenal of shoulds which can be linked to five determining factors of the strength of the self critic.  These five factors are the degree to which issues of taste, personal needs, safety, or good judgment were mislabeled as moral imperatives, the degree to which parents failed to differentiate between behavior and identity, the frequency of the forbidding gestures, the consistency of forbidding gestures, and the frequency with which forbidding gestures were tied to parental anger or withdrawal.

- Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (Sep 2013) Responsive Low Self-Esteem: Low Explicit Self-Esteem, Implicit Self-Esteem, and Reactions to Performance Outcomes. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology, 32(7), 703-732.

In the next section, we will discuss responding to the critic.  Once your client, like Sam, begins to hear internal criticism as dysotonic, he or she can begin responding.  I find that ineffective response styles manifest in three different ways.  These are passive response, aggressive response, and passive aggressive response.
Reviewed 2023

Peer-Reviewed Journal Article References:
Bernichon, T., Cook, K. E., & Brown, J. D. (2003). Seeking self-evaluative feedback: The interactive role of global self-esteem and specific self-views. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 84(1), 194–204.

Dunkley, D. M., Starrs, C. J., Gouveia, L., & Moroz, M. (Feb 10 , 2020). Self-critical perfectionism and lower daily perceived control predict depressive and anxious symptoms over four years. Journal of Counseling Psychology, No Pagination Specified.

Halamová, J., Kanovský, M., & Pacúchová, M. (2018) Item-response theory psychometric analysis and factor structure of the Self-Compassion and Self-Criticism Scales. Swiss Journal of Psychology, Vol 77(4), 137-147.

Henschke, E., & Sedlmeier, P. (2023). What is self-love? Redefinition of a controversial construct. The Humanistic Psychologist, 51(3), 281–302. https://doi.org/10.1037/hum0000266

Joeng, J. R. & Turner, S. L. (Jul 2015). Mediators between self-criticism and depression: Fear of compassion, self-compassion, and importance to others. Journal of Counseling Psychology, 62(3), 453-463.

Jordan, C. H., Logel, C., Spencer, S. J., Zanna, M. P., Wood, J. V., & Holmes, J. G. (Sep 2013). Responsive Low Self-Esteem: Low Explicit Self-Esteem, Implicit Self-Esteem, and Reactions to Performance Outcomes. Journal of Social & Clinical Psychology32(7), 703-732.

Lv, J., Jiang, Y., Li, R., Chen, Y., Gu, X., Zhou, J., Zheng, Y., Yan, L., Chen, Y., Zhang, X., Zhao, X., Luo, W., Lang, Y., Wang, Z., Gao, C., & Zeng, X. (2023). Effects of loving-kindness and compassion meditations on self-compassion: A systematic review and meta-analysis. Clinical Psychology: Science and Practice. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/cps0000177

McGrath, D. S., Sherry, S. B., Stewart, S. H., Mushquash, A. R., Allen, S. L., Nealis, Logan J., & Sherry, D. L. (Jul 2012). Reciprocal relations between self-critical perfectionism and depressive symptoms: Evidence from a short-term, four-wave longitudinal study. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 44(3), 169-181.

Miller, K. & Kelly, A. (Apr 2020). Is self-compassion contagious? An examination of whether hearing a display of self-compassion impacts self-compassion in the listener. Canadian Journal of Behavioural Science, 52(2), 159-170.

Pickard, J. A., Deane, F. P., & Gonsalvez, C. J. (2023). Effects of a brief mindfulness intervention program: Changes in mindfulness and self-compassion predict increased tolerance of uncertainty in trainee psychologists. Training and Education in Professional Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/tep0000466

QUESTION 3
What are five determining factors regarding the strength of the self critic?
To select and enter your answer go to Test.


Test
Section 4
Table of Contents
Top