PhronesisWe apply the Displacement Framework to clinical perfectionism (Shafran, Cooper & Fairburn, 2002), formalizing it as a self-evaluation wrong attractor W_perf distinct from healthy high standards. The self-evaluation ground state S°_eval is defined as decoupled worth — self-worth stable across performance variation, standards demanding but fixed (not self-escalating), performance feedback processed as information rather than verdict on identity.
The wrong attractor is formally modeled with displacement equation D(ξ_perf) = f(π* − π, λ) where the standard π* is itself a function of prior performance: π*(t) = g(π(t−Δt)), generating the moving goalpost — when a standard is met, it shifts upward. Three maintaining mechanisms are identified: the moving goalpost (success absorbed without updating self-worth), selective attention to failure (accomplishments discounted as externally caused, failures amplified and generalized), and all-or-nothing thinking (eliminating intermediate positive self-evaluation).
The temporary relief structure is formally analogous to addiction: standards → pursuit → achievement → brief worth-relief → standard escalation → renewed D(ξ), with tolerance developing such that Φ is non-decreasing despite increasing achievement. Clinical perfectionism is formalized as a transdiagnostic wrong-attractor amplifier across eating disorders (body as perfectionism domain), OCD (perfectionism about contamination/symmetry/moral standards), depression (perfectionism maintaining harsh self-criticism), and social anxiety (perfectionism about social performance).
Perfectionism-driven procrastination is formalized as identity-protective avoidance. Nine formal propositions are derived. Return paths include CBT-P behavioral experiments with deliberately imperfect performance and ACT defusion from the performance-worth link.