Perfectionistic profiles among elite athletes and differences in their motivational orientations The main aim of the research was to understand perfectionist profiles in a sample that was constituted by elite athletes and the dissimilarities that may exist between them concerning fundamental variables in terms of motivation.&nbsp. Even though there is emerging research that has assessed perfectionist clusters as far as the general population is concerned, very few studies apart from this have dwelled on such profiles in terms of athlete samples. Regardless of theoretical constructions developed by this research, there is a general agreement that perfectionism is a construct of multidimensional nature entailing intro and inter-personal attributes that are associated with tendencies to seek very high standards regarding performance.According to this research, prior investigations concerning perfectionism in sports that were centered on the individual have considered the differences existing between perfectionist clusters regarding the degree of anxiety prior to a competition and directions, anger, feelings concerning modes of parenting as well as burn out. These aspects developed the secondary goal of the research, which involved determining whether the profiles of perfectionists were different when other meaningful variables were considered. While trying to get more literature on this aspect, the study considered maladaptive and adaptive characteristics, which could possibly be a source of clues concerning the functional characteristics associated with the profiles of perfectionists. In particular, the research dwelled on independent and connected motivational variables such as achievement objectives as well as intrinsic and extrinsic motivation, and fears of failing.It is clear from this article that perfectionism is a prevalent attribute in the case of athletes. however, it has been argued by some researchers that perfectionism in sporting disciplines is maladaptive since it undermines the performance of the athletes while at the same time hindering their development and growth. This point of view does not consider the aspect of perfectionism as a multidimensional attribute and only limited aspects of perfectionism are predominantly maladaptive while others are not.