vol. 36 • no. 4 GIFTED OHILD TODAY

FEATURES

Using Cartoons to Teach About Perfectionism:Supporting Gifted Students' Social-Emotional DevelopmentAudrey 0. Rule, PhD' and Sarah E. Montgomery, PhD'

Abstract: Cartoon interpretation and production areteaching strategies that can assist students in a deeperunderstanding of concepts and practice of higher levelthinking skills while motivadng them through luitnor. Thisarticle presents an extended example of graduate studentsin an introductory course in gifted education creatinghumorous cartoons to explore major ideas and differenttypes of perfectionism. General concepts of adaptive(positive) and maladaptive (negative) perfectionism, alongwith causes and mitigations, are discussed and illustratedwith student-made cartoons. Students reported that creatin;cartoons was intrinsically motivating,promoted deeper levels of content learning,facilitated application of concepts, and aidedself- and overall reflection on the topic. Theprocess of the cartoon project and examplesof student-generated cartoons are providedto promote practicing educators and teachereducators with ways of adapting this teachingstrategy.

Keywords: perfectionism, gifted education,characteristics, creativity, social/emotional needs

Perfecdonism is an important social-emotional topic for gifted students oftentaught through bibliotherapy and role-

play. Another promising technique is theinterpretation and creation of cartoons. Recentresearch (Zousel, Rule, & Logan, 2013) withprimary-grade students showed that thosewho learned about perfeedonism by analyzingand completing their own cartoons learned more content andreported greater lesson enjoyment than control groups usingbibliotherapy. Another saidy involving preservice teachers inusing cartoons to teach elementaiy students about bullying(Rule, Logan, & Köhler, in press) also showed positive results.This article provides a practical model for ways in whichteaehers of gifted saidents can support learning about affective

topics such as perfectionism through cartoon analysis andcreation. We explore how practicing teachers prepadng tobecome coordinators of gifted education programs and teachersofthe gifted for their K-12 school distdcts learned and pracdcedconcepts related to perfectionism. They researched informadonand made humorous cartoons that conveyed perfectionismconcepts as an assignment for an introductory gifted educationgraduate course.

Perfectionism, striving for flawless performance, is especiallyprevalent among high achievers, particularly students who areidendfied as gifted and talented, although also recognized in

many students of the generalpopulation (Adelson, 2007;Schüler, 2000). Significantproblems may accompanyperfectionism and somescholars believe thatperfectionism can be onlymaladaptive (Burns, 1980;Delisle & Galbraith, 2002; Flett& Hewitt, 2002; Greenspon,2000; Pacht, 1984).However, other researchershave recognized positiveaspects of perfectionismthat may assist studentsin becoming successfulindividuals. Consideringthat negative characteristicsof perfectionism can leadto serious repercussions,

perfectionism is an important topic to be addressed in theeducation of the gifted and a subject that teachers of the giftedneed to be prepared to address.

Perfectionism OverviewPerfectionism involves a strong need to perform at a

flawless level in many aspeets of one's life (Flett & Hewitt,

CARTOON

CREATION ALLOWS

STUDENTS TO USE

HIGHER LEVELS OF

THINKING TO

SYNTHESIZE IDEAS, MAKE

CREATIVE CONNECTIONS,

AND EXPLORE WORD

PLAY, ANALOGY, AND

SYMBOLISM."

DOI: 10.1177/1076217513497574, From 'University of Northern Iowa, Address correspondence to: Audrey C, Rule, PhD, Department of Curriculum and Instruofion, University of Northern iowa,

618 Schindler Education Center, Cedar Faiis, iA 50614-0606, USA; emaii: audrey,ruie@uni,edu.

For reprints and permissions queries, please visit SAGE'S Web site at http://www,sagepub,ccm/journaisPermission,nav,

Copyright © 2013 The Author(s)

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GIFTED CHILD TODAY October 2013

2002). Trying to meet excessively high standards is themost conspicuous aspect of perfectionism (Pacht, 1984).Perfectionism is recognized as a multidimensional constructby most investigators (e.g.. Rice & Ashby, 2007), but there isdisagreement over whether it has adaptive or maladaptiveaspects. Research irtto adaptive perfectionism thereforecontinues to the present (e.g., Davis & Wosinski, 2012;DiPrima, Ashby, Gnilka, & Noble, 2011; Elion, Wang, Slaney,& French, 2012; Stoeber & Otto, 2006). Hamachek (1978)differentiated "normal" and "neurotic" perfectionistn. Thisdifference has been maintained through the use of the terms"adaptive" and "maladaptive" perfectionistn (Burns & Fedewa,2005) or "positive" and "negative" perfectionistn (Slade &Owens, 1998). Adaptive perfectionism is often sanctionedby society as positive striving toward excellence and worthygoals. Consequently, in this article, we will address adaptiveperfectionism first, followed by the traits and behaviors ofmaladaptive perfectionism. Then, we will examine the causesof maladaptive perfectionistn and ways to stop or mitigate itsnegative consequences. Cartoons developed by the graduatestudents preparing to be teachers of the gifted as part of acourse project are used to illustrate the key components ofperfectionism.

Healthy Perfectionism

Hamachek (1978) defined normal perfectionism as settinghigh standards for one's own performance, noting that suchpersons are able to "derive a very real sense of pleasure fromthe labors of painstaking effort," and yet "feel free to be lessprecise as the situation permits" (p. 27). It is this latter abilityto adjust self-evaluation standards as circumstances arisethat allows these persons to avoid unhealthy consequences.Frost, Marten, Lahart, and Rosenblate (1990) noted that "thepsychological problems associated with perfectionism areprobably more closely associated with these critical evaluationtendencies than with the setting of excessively high standards"(p. 450). Aside from being flexible in applying high standards toa particular area of effort, students can exhibit different degreesof perfectionism in various areas of their lives.

Bieling, Israeli, and Antony (2004) identified a componentcalled "positive striving" that included high standards,persistence, and conscientiousness. Therefore, adaptiveperfectionism can lead to higher effort and accomplishmentwith these successes, thereby positively reinforcing the elevatedgoals. In addition, adaptive perfectionists are often goodleaders of teams, inspiring others to higher achievements.

Self-oriented perfectionists, according to Mills andBlankstein's (2000) work, have a large repertoire of academiclearning strategies. They use adaptive rehearsal, elaboration,critical thinking, tnetacognition, time and study environmentmanagement, and effort management skills, which supporttheir strong motivation to succeed. They also found that theseperfectionists displayed a high need for organization and orderas shown by the cartoon in Figure 1.

By Melissa Wolf

All right,let's getsetupand inorder!

What a jumble! I mglad someone can

organize us!

Perfectionists tend to be orderly.

Figure 1. An affinity for order and organization is aperfectionist trait.

-•' ^'^ Susan Boalwright

All or nothing thinking sees only the final goal and notthe hard work and lessons learned along the way.

Figure 2. Dichotomous or black-and-white thinking ischaracteristic of neurotic perfectionists.

Maladaptive Perfectionism Traits

Dichotomous, or "all or nothing," thinking is the variablemost predictive of negative perfectionism (Egan, Piek, Dyck, &Rees, 2007). These perfectionists interpret anything less thancomplete perfection as failure. See Figure 2 for an illustrationof this idea. This attitude can lead to underachievement whenthe person encounters schoolwork that is too difficult forachievement of flawless work. The student may procrastinateor decide not to attempt the work at all, thereby avoiding theexperience of failure (Walsh & Ugumba-Agwunobi, 2002).

Perfectionists feel strong pressure to achieve in a faultlessmanner as shown in Figure 3. Students who exhibit sociallyprescribed perfectionism believe that social acceptancedepends on their perfect performance. Such persons feelshame and guilt when their performance is imperfect but do

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vol. 36 • no. 4 GIFTED CHILD TODAY

want to race? Orbetter yet, have adance contest?

No, even though you renot wearing your blue

suede shoe, i still mightlose.

Perfectionists, for fear of failure, will not even makean attempt unless they feel they will be successful.

Figure 3. Neurotic perfectionists only attempt tasks atwhich they are sure they can succeed.

SWIM TEAM!! I said the AWAYjerseys! Halftheteamis

wearing/lome Jerseys! AndNigel! How many times have I

told you? You are NOT asalmon! This is a disaster!

And this Is justour firstpradicni

Finn S neurotic perfectionism caused him tomagnify the mistakes of others and himself.

Figure 4. Neurotic perfectionists focus on mistakes.

not experience pride when it meets the highest standards(Stoeber, Kempe, & Keogh, 2008). This lack of pride in successmay be due to individuals immediately reappraising the task asinsufficiently demanding, thereby depriving themselves of anyfeeling of accomplishment (Shafran, Cooper, & Fairburn, 2002).

Perfectionists are driven by a fear of not reaching theirgoals. The discrepancy between their current performanceand their expected performance drives perfectionists to workhard, sometimes pushing them to become workaholics (Clark,Lelchook, & Taylor, 2010). Teachers and counselors needto reduce students' fear of failure and help them develophealthy living habits. Maladaptive perfectionists magnify theirmistakes and those of others, becoming overly critical. SeeFigure 4. Because they set standards much higher than canbe reasonably achieved, they are often disappointed in theirperformances. They are unable to adjust their standards to

Neurotic Perfectionism reducesplayfulness, creativity, and innovation.

Gilbert, look at this puddle! y Sam, that isLets play in it! We could / just a puddleimagine that it was a giant 1 of water, Iocean! We could go explore \ "^p"'' * f " | * °and see dolphins, sharks,and sea creatures, it will besoo much fun!!!

Figure 5. Neurotic perfectionism reduces play.

take in their current levels of performance, thereby continuingto fall short of their ideals again and again in a self-defeatingcycle (Bieling, Israeli, Smith, & Antony, 2003). Fven whenthey perform perfectly, perfectionists may find reasons fordissatisfaction (Stoeber & Yang, 2010).

Maladaptive perfectionism reduces playfulness, risk-taking, and enjoyment of the process, instead causing rigidbehavior (Maraño, 2008). See Figure 5. Perfectionism reducescreativity and innovation, qualities important to adaptabilityand economic success, because they lower the ability to takerisks and consider alternate paths. Maladaptive perfectioniststend to focus on a set of fixed black-and-white rules for whatthey should do, rarely taking into account their own desiresor acknowledging gray areas. They insist on having control ofsituations and impose rigid structure on their lives.

Maladaptive Perfectionism Behaviors

Maladaptive perfectionists set unrealistically high standardsthat often set them up for failure (Stoeber & Rambow, 2007).When their accomplishments fall short of the goal, theyare upset, but rather than adjust the standard to a rnorereasonable level, they maintain or even increase the goal(Stoeber, Hutchfield, & Wood, 2008). Eventually, neurotic

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Dad! Mom'sdusting the

flowers again!

By Jennifer Rasnnussen

Fifi's perfectionism went from normal toneurotic when she began dusting outside.

Figure 6. Neurotic perfectionists may become workaholics.

Ha! I'm goingto beat your

perfect

Perfectionists might even cheat to get an "A".

Figure 7. Neurotic perfectionists may even resort tocheating to maintain their "perfect" records.

perfectionists become reluctant to start a project for fearof failing or for thinking it is impossible to meet the self-imposed standard. Maladaptive perfectionists may apply thesestandards to everyone, resulting in disappointment in othersand a poor social life. Workaholism occurs when a maladaptiveperfectionist works excessively to maintain a flawless record ofexcessively high goals, as shown in Figure 6.

Students with maladaptive perfectionist tendencies avoidcompetitive situations and new experiences unless theybelieve they will perform well. They lose confidence afterfailure and lack the resilience to recover from such a loss(Stoeber, Hutchfield, et al, 2008); therefore, they may quitif their perception is that they are not the best in the group.Alternatively, the drive to be the best may cause somemaladaptive perfectionists to cheat as in Figure 7.

Neurotic perfectionists tend to beself-critical and unhappy.

Figure 8. Anorexia is often caused by perfectionism.

Perfectionists may wait until the last minute to study for a testor cornplete assignrnents because if they do not have enoughtime they cannot do perfect work—an ego-saving strategy(Walsh & Ugumba-Agwunobi, 2002). In this way, perfectionismcan provide a sense of protection for underachievers as theyuse their high standards as an excuse for poor achievement.

Studies have linked perfectionism to depression (Harris,Pepper, & Maack, 2008), eating disorders (e.g., Boone, Soenens,Braet, & Goosens, 2010), obsessive-compulsive personalitydisorders (Sassaroli et al., 2008), and self-harm behaviors(O'Connor, Rasmussen, & Hawton, 2010). See Figure 8.

Causes and Mitigations of Maladaptive Perfectionism

Perfectionism is often a characteristic of gifted andmultitalented students, fueling excellence and highachievement. According to one study, 87.5% of gifted studentsin Grades 7 and 8 exhibited strong tendencies towardperfectionism with almost 30% testing in the maladaptive range(Schüler, 2000). Rice and Ashby (2007) found very similarresults in a study of 1,500 undergraduate college students.These studies reveal the prevalence of perfectionism amonghigher achievers, but it is also long-recognized in the generalpopulation (Pacht, 1984).

Children are "made" and nurtured into perfectionists, ratherthan being born with this mindset. Perpetual glowing feedbackfrom parents and teachers on how their work is exceptionaltiiay cause students to focus on the final product rather thanthe process of learning. See Figure 9 for an example of howexcessive parental expectations influence perfectionism.

Adelson (2007), after analyzing case studies of fourth graderswith maladaptive perfectionism, identified ways to help easetheir problems. She recommended that parents and teachersguide students in taking pride in the process and their effortswhile using mistakes as learning opportunities. Set goals thatare lower than 100%—perhaps 90%, 80%, or less, depending

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vol. 36 • no. 4 GIFTED CHILD TODAY

Smile for thecamera, myperfect little

man!

Uh-oh, I'dbetter start

kissing babies

He's goingtobe

presidentsome day!

Wow, this cute kidhas a lot of

pressure on himalready!

Perfectionism is nurtured, beginning at homeand continuing through praise and highexpectations from parents and teachers.

Figure 9. Parental expectations and reactions influenceperfectionism in children.

on experience. Combat low self-esteem by transforming thegoal into a series of steps to accomplish. Reward the processrather than lavishing praise on final products. See Figure 10.

Students should be given the chance to take risks and fail ina nonthreatening environment. Present students opportunitiesto get outside their comfort zones and try new, challenging,different experiences. Emphasize process and revision ratherthan the final product (Adelson, 2007). Teachers can show byexample how to be imperfect by modeling self-acceptanceof mistakes and describing humorous errors they have madein the past. Teachers should stress that setbacks in findingthe correct solution to a problem are normal. Counselors andteachers can help students recognize strengths and weaknesses,accept mistakes, analyze personal problems, and develop goodattitudes toward learning, school, and society.

The following section describes the process by whichstudents made the cartoons that were featured in this section.

The Cartoon-Making ProjectAnalyzing humorous cartoons that are connected to course

content is a motivating teaching technique that promotesstudents' problem-solving skills (Berk, 2002). At first, studentsseek to recognize the incongruity in the cartoon situation asthey make connections to the content addressed—a process

Hey! Join us! This is fun\

No I can t have fununtil I swimperfectly!

By KseniaZhbanova

Neurotic perfectionism involves a focus onthe result, not on the process.

Figure 10. Neurotic perfectionists focus on the final result

rather than the process.

that resembles problem finding. Then they comprehend thepunch line, which is similar to solving the problem. Cartooncreation allows students to use higher levels of thinking tosynthesize ideas, make creative connections, and explore wordplay, analogy, and symbolism.

The instructor (first author of this article) of an introductorygraduate course for practicing K-12 teachers in gifted educationasked students to produce humorous cartoons as part oftheir application of perfectionist concepts and as practice increative production, because creativity is a major component(along with high intelligence and task commitment) of giftedbehavior (Renzulli & Reis, 1997). The practicing teachers inthe introductory graduate course on educating gifted studentsfirst read information from their textbook about perfectionismand then searched Internet sites and the professional literatureto gather more information. They each compiled a list of 20facts about this topic. They reviewed these concepts related toperfectionism by choosing four they deemed to be importantand by constructing humorous cartoons that conveyed thosefour ideas. Students chose to create cartoons from instructor-provided background scenes, which used clipart in PowerPointformat. They were free to add or delete characters, objects,talking bubbles, and other features or to substitute their ownideas by sketching them using the drawing functions or clipartin PowerPoint.

After students had turned in this assignment, the instructorcompiled the cartoons and asked each student to review allthe cartoons, selecting the 10 that he or she deemed to bemost effective in humor and content. Students wrote threespecific reasons why each of the cartoons was effective andthen made a detailed suggestion for improving each of the 10chosen cartoons. This information was anonymously sharedwith the authors of the cartoons and also used in selecting andimproving the cartoons featured in this article.

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GIFTED CHILD TODAY October 2013

An analysis of the ways in which students involved inthis projeet found the endeavor to be intellectually richand personally relevant is provided in the next section.Although the project described here is not a rigorous researchinvestigation, the results presented provide support for the useof cartoons in teaching an affective concept. It is hoped thatreaders will be inspired to use humorous cartoon-viewing,-interpretation, and -creation as a strategy to teach other giftededucation topics such as bullying, leadership, diversity, and goalsetting.

Student Learning From the ProjectPracticing teachers in the graduate course completed a

written questionnaire composed of two que.stions after theproject was complete: How helpful was this eartoon work inlearning about perfectionism? What were the components ofyour process of making the cartoons? The resulting statementswere sorted using a spreadsheet and categorized using aconstant comparison method. Similar responses to each of thequestions were grouped into categories while simultaneouslycomparing all the responses to a given question. The categorieswere refined as additional responses were read that shiftedthe category labels and defined new relation.ships (Dye,Schatz, Rosenberg, & Coleman, 2000). Overall, in their writtenresponses, students reported enjoyment of the project finding itintellectually stimulating and effective in helping them reviewperfectionist concepts.

Usefulness of the Cartoon Approach to Learning

The graduate students were practicing teachers preparing tobecome gifted education coordinators and teachers at pre-K-12schools (A' = 28; 23 female, 5 male). They recognized severalaspects of the work as being particularly helpful. Foremost,they reported that reflecting on the list of perfectionist traitswhile actively making cartoons allowed them to review andclarify information. This new learning was applied to imaginedor real-life situations and therefore learned better throughnumerous mental connections. Humor increased their interestin the task, and they enjoyed the challenge of finding waysto present puns. Making ideas into visual representationsmade the ideas more memorable. The graduate students alsonoted that generating ideas for cartoons caused self-reflectionon perfectionist tendencies in themselves and their students.Several expressed that they accessed a deep level of learningbecause they wanted to find the best connections for cartoonsand therefore considered many possible ideas and associations.The focus on the factual concepts during cartoon makinghelped the students review the principles of perfectionism.

The novel and creative activity was motivating to students.Many personally meaningful connections were made asstudents considered ideas for the cartoons. Several studentsrecognized that the psychological issues of perfectionismeasily produced humorous situations. They also noted thatcompiling the list of facts about perfectionism at the beginning

of the activity and being provided with cartoon backgroundshelped them in constructing the cartoons. Several remarkedthat the work in this project on perfectionism caused them toreflect on their own perfectionist tendencies and to considerthe behaviors of many of their students. They commented onthe importance of paying attention to the causes, effects, andmitigations of perfectionism through cartoon-making lessons totheir students' personal development.

The Teacher's Cartoon Process

The teachers involved in this project also described theirprocess in developing the cartoons. Most reported reviewingthe list of facts before starting the cartoon work. They scannedthe background scenes to see whether images stood out orwhether any ideas seemed to be connected to perfectionism,sometimes looking for specific backgrounds that matched theirfirst cartoon ideas. Students then applied the principles ofperfectionism to the provided cartoon backgrounds to makea mini story They generated puns related to the cartoonsand perfectionism ideas and listed ideas for what might behumorous for each of the backgrounds. Often, they reportedputting the work aside for a while to allow incubation of ideas.Sometimes, they examined newspaper cartoons to see whetherany ideas were sparked. They imagined what the charactersmight say to each other or how a person might identify withthe scene. Finally, they invented new and original ideas for thecartoons, discarding their work if it seemed to be trite or toosimilar to other cartoons. Talking to K-12 students about thepossible ways to approach the eartoon-making project shouldhelp them in their own process of creating cartoons.

ConclusionThis cartoon-making activity promoted creative, integrated

ways to teach key concepts important to gifted learners.Although this article is limited because it briefly exploresthe processes, products, and reflections of just one groupof students, it does provide evidence that the production ofhumorous cartoons can support student learning and self-reflection on the topic of perfectionism and might be applicableto many other topics within the curriculum. Examples ofprevious work in teaching with cartoons support this assertion.As mentioned previously, two recent studies (Rule et al., inpress; Zousel et al., 2013) of elementary students learning aboutperfectionism and bullying through cartoon interpretationand construction showed favorable results. Published studiesinclude Rule and Auge (2005), who conducted a pretest-posttest counterbalanced study of sixth-grade students learningrock and mineral concepts, and found a large effect size inmotivation and knowledge gains for concepts learned throughcartoons. Two other reports, though not formal studies,produced positive results for cartoon use in earth sciencewith middle school students (Rule, Sallis, & Donaldson, 2008)and high school students (Harman & Rule, 2006). Finally, ina project similar to the current project. Rule and Schneider

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vol. 36 • no. 4 GIFTED CHILD TODAY

(2009) asked teachers preparing to work with gifted students to

produce cartoons that combined information about the design

of gifted programs with hurnor. The graduate students in that

project, similar to those in the current project, reported that

their comprehension of concepts benefitted from processing the

course information in new, creative ways.

Teachers may want to implement the following steps in

using cartoon analysis and creation in their classroorns to

review and practice concepts. First, build content knowledge

on the topic such as having students read from texts, trade

books, articles, or websites. Second, identify general fact

statements about the topic that are important. Third, provide

cartoon examples on the topic or another somewhat related

topic (perhaps use this article for those examples). Analyze

a few examples to help students recognize the components

that rnake a cartoon effective such as humor through puns

or exaggeration, communication of emotions through facial

expressions and stances, clarity of ideas, and appropriate

placement of components. Next, apply this knowledge by

making cartoons that invite others to think more deeply about

the tnajor concepts. Peer review with praise and suggestions

for improvement substantially enhanced the cartoons presented

here—Try to itnpletnent this as part of the cartoon-making

activities. Finally, publication of the polished cartoons through

a newsletter, website, bulletin board, presentation, booklet, or

other tneans will allow others to enjoy, appreciate, and learn

the embedded concepts, thereby empowering your students to

share their knowledge with others.

Conflict of InterestThe authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with

respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this

article.

FundingThe authors received no financial support for the research,

authorship, and/or publication of this article.

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BiosAudrey C. Rule, PhD, is an associate professor of elementary

education and coordinator of the education of the gifted

endorsement and master's degree programs in the Department

of Curriculum and Instruction at the University of Northern

Iowa, Cedar Falls, Iowa. Her research interests include

curriculum materials development, spatial skills, profect-hased

learning and enrichment/gifted and talented education.

Sarah E. Montgomery, PhD, is an assistant professor of

elementary education in the Department of Curriculum and

Instruction at the University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls,

Iowa. Her research interests focus on the intersection between

social studies education and literacy education, particularly the

ways in which student production of digital media can support

critical literacy and democracy.

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