Thomas Curran: Our dangerous obsession with perfectionism is getting worse
토마스 쿠란(Thomas Curran): 점점 더해가는 완벽주의에 대한 집착
Thomas Curran studies the personality characteristic of perfectionism, how it develops and its impact on mental health. Full bio
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have you heard that one?
or perhaps with family at Thanksgiving.
가족들과의 모임에서요.
at job interviews:
that supposedly holds us back,
are quite happy to hold our hands up
and serious point
for perfection is so pervasive
that concept in its own terms.
말 그대로 해석하는 경향이 있어요.
어떤 것일까요.
of celebration in perfection?
as an insignia of worth.
제 연구에 따르면
that perfectionists are more successful.
근거는 거의 없습니다.
that they're never quite perfect enough.
없다는 점에 집착하죠.
a host of psychological difficulties,
원인이라는 걸 알고 있습니다.
anxiety, anorexia, bulimia
is that over the last 25 years,
at an alarming rate.
증가 중이라는 것입니다.
among young people than ever before.
더 많이 발견되고 있죠.
across the last two decades.
emerge across Canada,
the United Kingdom.
목격되고 있습니다.
as society is changing.
증가하고 있는데
a changed sense of personal identity
변화된 개인정체성을 나타내고
in which young people interact
소통하는 방식 역시
about our preeminent, market-based society
우리 사회 만의 특징이 있는데
like unrestricted choice
that we feel are contributing
매우 위험한 수준까지
with the attainment of the perfect life
완벽한 삶이라는것에 더 많이
status and wealth.
사회적지위와 부이죠.
미국에서 태어난 젊은이들은
to report being materially rich
물질적 풍요로움이
생각하는 비율이
and their grandparents.
than did older generations,
of their income on image goods
개인 이미지와 사회적지위를 위한
their lives and their lifestyles
삶, 살아가는 방식은
on the ubiquitous social media platforms
생생하게 보여지게 되죠.
is far more important than the reality.
현실보다 훨씬 더 중요하죠.
furnished for young people
세뇌 시킨 것 중 하나는
a perfectible life
for those who want it badly enough.
of the American dream.
the self-made person, hard work.
that we're captains of our own destiny.
개척해야 한다는 생각
our wealth, our status
personal value.
가치와 연결시킵니다.
equality of opportunity,
of our own destiny
reality for young people
끊임없는 평가의 대상이라는
ongoing economic tribunal.
for which merit can be quantified
척도로서 사용되고
into schools, classes and colleges.
대학에 갈지 결정하죠.
is so publicly played out
and performance.
도구로서 말이에요.
big city high schools
and the end of 12th grade.
고등학교를 마칠 때까지요.
a strong need to strive,
젊은 사람들이 그리도
at the center of modern life.
목매는 것은요.
to define themselves
강요받아 온 거예요.
of grades, percentiles and lead tables.
점수, 등위, 선행표 등으로요.
on their insecurities.
불안함을 이용합니다.
how they are performing
to other people.
보여질지에 대한 불안감을요.
their imperfections.
강조하는 사회인 거죠.
more perfectly next time, or else,
수행해야 한다는 압박을 주고
is especially pervasive --
풍조가 얼마나 만연한지
어떻게 행동해야 하나?"
as that Instagram influencer,
팔로워가 많아야 해."
of perfectionism firsthand.
in my mind very vividly.
아주 또렷한데요.
그는 야망이 있었는데요.
he was exceptionally high-achieving,
grades for his work.
his successes as abject failures,
how he'd let himself and others down.
얼마나 실망시키는지 털어놓곤 했죠.
than other people
his unrelenting work ethic,
what he saw as his inner weakness
to the harmfulness of perfectionism
완벽주의의 해로움을 보여줍니다.
perfecting things or perfecting tasks.
완벽하게 하는 것에 대한 게 아니에요.
is about perfecting the self.
완벽한 자신을 만드는데 있죠.
perfecting an imperfect self.
like a mountain of achievement
to imagine ourselves scaling.
상상을 하게 만들죠.
"Once I've reached that summit,
"저 정상에 오르기만 하면 사람들은
and I'll be worth something."
대단한 사람으로 봐줄거야." 라고
lowlands of insecurity and shame,
밑바닥으로 다시 내려오게 되고
a perfectionist just cannot step off.
멈출 수가 없는 거죠.
이미 알고 있었어요.
to a host of psychological problems,
원인이란 걸요.
a good way to measure it.
Paul Hewitt and Gordon Flett,
두 캐나다인들이
a self-report measure of perfectionism.
측정할 수 있는 방법을 소개합니다.
you can measure this,
three core elements of perfectionism.
세 가지 유형에 대해서 말합니다.
prescribed perfectionism,
is excessively demanding:
하고 있다는 생각입니다.
are too demanding of me."
other-oriented perfectionism,
standards on other people:
강요하는 것이죠.
I expect it to be done perfectly."
완벽하게 해주길 기대해."
three elements of perfectionism
완벽주의의 세 가지 유형 모두
like heightened depression,
element of perfectionism
expects me to be perfect.
바란다는 생각이죠.
with serious mental illness.
많은 관련성이 있어요.
at the forefront of my mind,
상황을 생각하다 보니
elements of perfectionism were changing.
변하고 있는지 궁금했는데요.
is focused on immediate family relations,
직계 가족 관계에 집중되었지만
at a broader level.
that had ever been collected
developed that perfectionism measure,
27년 동안 모은 것이죠,
in college students.
대학생들만 따로 모아봤어요.
more than 40,000 young people
and British colleges,
we looked to see if there was a trend.
어떤 경향이 있는지 살폈죠.
more than three years
crunch the numbers,
uncovered something alarming.
큰 문제점을 발견하게 됐는데
have increased over time.
시간이 가며 증가해왔고
saw the largest increase, and by far.
가장 많이 증가했다는 것이죠.
report clinically relevant levels
완벽주의자 경향을 나타냈습니다.
typically see in clinical populations.
나타나는 수치입니다.
had doubled to 18 percent.
두 배로 늘어 18%가 됐고
based on the models that we tested
실험 대상을 기반으로 하면
in three young people
of socially prescribed perfectionism.
될 거라고 예상됩니다.
of perfectionism
with serious mental illness,
연관성이 가장 큽니다.
feel a unrelenting need
yesterday's expectation of perfection,
to an even higher degree
그보다 더 올려 버리죠.
that the better they do,
of helplessness and, worse, hopelessness.
절망감의 원천이 되죠.
hold on to certain things --
해야만 합니다.
conscientious and hardworking.
양심적이고, 근면함입니다.
when things don't go well,
스스로를 조금 느슨하게 하면
into greater personal peace and success.
성공에 쓸 수 있어요.
we can do as caregivers.
해야할 일이 있습니다.
in our formative years,
만들어지기 때문에
when they've tried but failed.
지지해주는 것입니다.
their understandable urge
오늘날 치열한 경쟁사회에서
to helicopter-parent,
참아낼 수 있어야 합니다.
successes and failures as their own.
자신의 책임으로 받아 들이죠.
raises important questions
매우 중요한 문제를 제기합니다.
on competition, evaluation and testing
for public figures to say
a little bit more resilience
있어야 한다고요.
and unprecedented pressures.
문제에 맞닥 드렸을 때요.
washing our hands of the core issue
책임을 회피 중이라고 생각해요.
in which young people need less perfection
덜 완벽해도 되는 세상
is an enormous challenge,
도전이에요.
in the 24/7 spotlight
지표, 순위, 소셜미디어
to other people.
from that mountaintop,
but to try scaling that peak again.
다시 그 정상을 올라야만 한다면요.
up and down the same mountain
오르락내리락 하는 것이
was a man called Sisyphus,
남자를 통해 나타냈는데요.
the same boulder up a hill,
밀어 올리도록 벌을 받았죠.
and have to start again.
똑같은 일을 반복해야하죠.
or meaningful in their lives
future generations
절망적인 삶을 살도록요.
fundamentally inhuman
escape the trap of perfectionism,
탈출할 수 있게 도와주려면
that in a chaotic world,
이 혼란스러운 세상속에서
"괜찮아."
outgrow this self-defeating snare
나올 수 있도록 도와주려면
that has outgrown that very same delusion.
키워야 할 것입니다.
to enjoy mental, emotional
to celebrate the joys
of everyday living and loving.
살아가고 사랑하는 존재로서요.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Thomas Curran - Social and personality psychologistThomas Curran studies the personality characteristic of perfectionism, how it develops and its impact on mental health.
Why you should listen
Social and personality psychologist Thomas Curran is a member of the Centre for Motivation and Health Behavior Change in Bath, UK; the Motivation, Personality, and Well-being research group in York, UK; and is currently an assistant professor in the Department for Health at the University of Bath. His research rose to prominence following a 2017 publication of the first systems-level cohort study to show that perfectionism is on the rise in American, Canadian and British college students. Since then, he has written and spoken extensively on how we have created societies perfectly calibrated to promote perfectionism, which is contributing to almost epidemic levels of serious mental illness among young people. Curran is the author of over 30 published papers and has received numerous awards for his scholarship and research.
Thomas Curran | Speaker | TED.com