Germany – understand-culture

Merkel faults German perfectionism

March 2021. Yahoo News. German Chancellor Angela Merkel has blamed her country’s difficulties during the coronavirus pandemic — from the slow vaccine rollout to the back-and-forth over lockdown rules — partly on “a tendency toward perfectionism” and called for greater flexibility to tackle the latest surge in cases.

In an hour-long television interview with public broadcaster ARD late Sunday, Merkel acknowledged that mistakes were made by her government, including on plans for an Easter lockdown, which had to be reversed.

A German on Perfektionismus

Short and sweet. Germans are aware of their inclination towards perfectionism.

Perfectionism in 3 Minutes

When you think of the word perfectionism, you might think of those you know (or maybe yourself) who are anal, OCD, and hard to work with. Perfectionism is when you aren’t satisfied until every little detail is up to your standard of “perfect.”

The problem with this is that perfection is subjective, and our subjective judgment changes from day to day. So while something in your eyes may be perfect today, tomorrow you opinion could completely change.

YouTube comments:

“I have perfectionism and one thing I go through is if I get hit on my arm I have to hit my other arm the exact same spot and it is very annoying.”

“Perfect is the enemy of the good” – I think it’s the enemy of great and downright awesome too. I often wonder how many amazing things we never got to see because it’s creator could only see the ways in which it missed the mark. I keep this in mind a lot.

Is perfectionism an illness?

In a competitive culture that values work ethic and merit, is perfectionism a benign trait that helps us succeed, or is it a pernicious illness we need to take more seriously?

Dr. Tom Curran from LSE’s Department of Psychological and Behavioural Science researches perfectionism, its damaging effects, and why society is making it more prevalent.

The Problem with Perfectionism

We aim for perfection without a correct idea of what perfection might demand from us. To strengthen our resolve, we need to improve our picture of what sacrifices any achievement will demand.

Technical University Munich

There is no mandatory length of a thesis. Most well-written master’s theses have between 50 and 80 pages, Bachelor’s theses typically have between 40 and 60 pages. However, depending on your topic and your writing style, more or fewer pages may be appropriate.

Be aware that your thesis will only be evaluated based on the written document and the defense. If you did some nice work (that you might have shown to your adviser at some point) and forget to add it to your written document, it cannot be evaluated.

German Master’s thesis

A master’s thesis is a scientific or artistic work that is written for the completion of a master’s degree. The master’s thesis generally serves as proof that the examinee is able to write a scientific or artistic work independently, but with supervision.

The academic master’s degree is usually awarded with a university examination. The state degree Master is usually awarded through a state final examination. In Germany, this final examination of a master’s course usually consists of a course-related part, the examination or final thesis and the oral final examination (at some universities).

For quality assurance, the Standing Conference of the Ministers of Education stipulates that master’s degree courses must be completed with a final thesis (master’s thesis), “which demonstrates the ability to independently work on a problem from the respective subject using scientific methods within a specified period of time.”

In the absence of a clear regulation, the The author of the master’s thesis continues to be referred to as “Diplomand” in everyday life, even if the term “master’s student” is also found. The Master’s thesis is usually either the last examination or the penultimate examination before the final oral examination.

6 months, 80-120 pages

At many German universities, the following rule of thumb applies: achelor’s theses are 40 to 60 pages long, and Master’s theses are around 80 to 120 pages. Some universities also specify the expected scope in words, which is then between 15,000 and 20,000 words.

Still others only specify the processing time, but do not express any limitation in terms of the number of pages or words. Depending on whether you are writing your Master’s thesis in three or six months, you can use the following rules of thumb as a guide: 3 months processing time = 60-80 pages, 6 months processing time = 80-120 pages

What Goes on in a Perfectionist’s Brain

Many people see perfectionism as essential for success. After all, setting high standards and achieving big goals can feel very rewarding.

Researchers at the University of Cologne wanted to get a better sense of perfectionism at the neurobiological level.

Not only that, high Personal Standard Perfectionism scorers’ brain activity also showed a slowing-down process after they made errors, which could allow them to learn from their mistakes and eventually correct course.

Perfectionism – 7 Examples

Perfectionism is a complex characteristic that according to experts, can be adaptive (healthy, positive, functional) or maladaptive (unhealthy, negative, dysfunctional).

This article explores the drives and concerns associated with perfectionism, along with theories that offer insight into this fascinating personality trait.