When you're a perfectionist, control is both your best friend and enemy. Getting everything in your life to be just-so is a totally absorbing task, but if having your apartment in constant presentation order helps you sleep better at night, then rock on (this humble author has your back). It's this drive for the top and determination to outdo whatever it is you last out-did that keeps some people going, so when something catches you off guard — say, a suggestive Facebook post on your significant other's wall from someone they could potentially be attracted to — you get a little agitated.
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A recent study by Roanoke College links what they call "Facebook jealousy" to GPA. Students of varying academic range were asked to predict their reaction to seeing a Facebook post like, "What are you up to later?" on their significant other's wall from a member of the sex of which they're most attracted. Jealousy arose, and notions of infidelity crept into their heads. “The perceived infidelity likely upsets their attempts at perfection across the board,” said Denise Friedman, a Roanoke College associate professor of psychology. She associates perfectionism with higher GPAs because perfectionists tend to have a greater sense of self-control and are more conscientious of what that pesky "relationship status" on your profile means.
To further their study, the researchers threw in a casual " ;) " emoticon to their ambiguous post. Women were hardly phased by the winking face, but the men were. Apparently, men are more jealous over infidelity than women. But the most jealous types, it appears, are the ones getting the best grades. (Jezebel)
Image: Courtesy of Hayden Manders.