Who is a pedant: pedantic, perfectionist, psychology.

Updated July 23, 2021
Hello, dear readers of the KtoNaNovenkogo.ru blog. They talk about pedantry in different ways: respectfully and mockingly, with a hint of irony, admiration and even despair.

When it comes to such a multifaceted quality, it is easy to get confused in terms. Let us consider in detail pedantry, what it is and how it manifests itself, with the meticulousness of a true pedant.

Who is a pedant

A pedant is a very precise, neat and tidy person, with a penchant for following rules and requirements, as well as scrupulous attention to order. Pedantry manifests itself differently in different people, but it still affects certain aspects of life. Such a person can be very neat and pay a lot of attention to how his clothes look. But, at the same time, if a follower of fashion trends examines his wardrobe, he will not find anything interesting in it.

In some cases, pedantry is painful and can even take a manic form. It is impossible to answer unequivocally the question of whether such a trait is an advantage or a disadvantage for the pedant himself. For some this is a big plus, but for others it is a minus, because of which it is impossible to live and work like other people. For example, pedantic lawyers can express their thoughts correctly and accurately and select words so as to avoid misinterpretation. In addition, they are successful in this matter, because... constantly use a list of references that can help in a specific matter. As for personal life, pedantry often gets in the way.

Diagnostics

You can easily check whether pedantry is inherent in you. You must immediately, without hesitation, answer “yes” or “no” to the questions below:

I put money in my wallet in a certain order.
I enjoy doing things that require great responsibility.
It seems to me that people are not demanding enough of each other.
It’s hard for me not to pay attention to poorly folded shoes and clothes, I want to fix everything.
I do everything carefully and diligently.
I can't sleep if I've been thinking about a question all day.
I am sure that all things should have their place.
If the work is not completed, it can be postponed until the next day.
Before leaving the house, be sure to check that everything is turned off.
Any drinks must be poured to the brim of the container.
Obsessive ideas often appear.
I don't think it's necessary to make a plan for the day.
If I see that someone is not coping with something, then I want to do everything myself.
I can take my mind off the problem by doing long work.

So, for answers “no” to questions numbered 2, 8 and 12, write down 1 point. Answers “yes” to all other questions also receive one point. We count everything together.

The sum of points is the level of pedantry.

0-4 – low level of pedantry.
5-9 – average level.
10-14 – high level.

So, a pedantic character can manifest itself both on the good side and on the bad side. The main thing is to feel moderation in this matter, there is a very thin line here

It is very important not to go too far, not to step over this line and not turn from a serious responsible person into a boring pedant

How did the term come about?

To understand who a pedantic person is, you need to know the meaning of the words “pedantry” and “pedant”. They appeared in the Russian language from Latin, and into it through French. Translated from French, pédant means “teacher.” This word comes from the Latin paedagogans, which translates as “teacher.” Initially, in Russian, this word was used to describe a teacher who requires students to follow all the rules.

It's important to consider the context here because education today is very different from what it was 200 years ago. Then the teacher acted as a mentor who taught children literacy and the wisdom of life. And the word “pedant” stuck with the most picky teachers who were proud of their own learning and flaunted it. In the modern world, this definition is applied to an overly neat person who follows all the rules and requirements, even of a formal nature.

Definition in psychology

In the literature on psychology, there is the concept of “pathological pedantry,” which defines a person’s precise and strong desire for order, and his actions can reach complete delirium. Strangers, often observing such an individual from the outside, think that he has mental disorders.

For example, he can come up with things that he must do. This could be a ready-made menu for the whole week or a schedule of when and what set of clothes to wear. Anankast never forgets anything, but he must be sure that he has turned off the water, gas, etc., so he constantly checks everything. It takes a pedant much more time to complete any task than an ordinary person, even if it is related to everyday issues.

Such people often wash dishes before eating, as well as vegetables before cooking, in order to do everything thoroughly. Psychologists are convinced that pathological pedantry is the inability to distinguish the important from the unimportant.

Pedantic people are ideal candidates for performing important tasks, because... they will not submit a project until they are confident that it is accurate and meets the requirements. This is due to the psychology of anankasts - they don’t know any other way.

General information

Scrupulousness, following all the rules defines a pedantic person.
The meaning of pedantry is meticulous adherence to certain requirements and rules that are established by society, taking into account all the little things. It can manifest itself in exposing the mistakes of other people, in the selection of shoes and clothes according to the requirements of etiquette.

When we say a pedantic person, we imagine a reserved, neat, punctual person who carefully fulfills his duties and does not need outside supervision. Pedantry does not immediately manifest itself as a pathological condition. When you meet such a person for the first time, you can see a meticulous person who is accustomed to order in everything. However, over time it becomes clear that such an individual cannot make decisions independently and is unable to move from theory to practice.

A pedantic person is a neat person who tends to follow formalities and rules. Such people may be considered boring, and colleagues may refuse to communicate with them. They never commit actions without thinking them through, without weighing all the pros and cons. Such people are respected by their colleagues and appreciated by their superiors. A love for little things may be appropriate in certain professions and useful in everyday life, but a pedantic attitude can be completely unbearable. The behavioral characteristics of such an individual can be difficult to perceive, both by others and by himself. For pedants, taking care of health is important. That is why you are unlikely to meet a drug addict or alcoholic among such people. And it’s not about moral principles, but about the fear of losing control over oneself. Such people are unable to completely relax, because there are always some rules that must be followed and they must be in tension.

Many people have the makings of pedantry, which manifest themselves to a lesser or greater extent. It’s normal when a teacher has such inclinations and spends his energy searching for grammatical errors in a test text or when a specialist is engaged in systematizing a client database. Pedantry would be appropriate here. The same cannot be said about a situation where a family demands perfect cleanliness. This can acquire a state of obsession and become tyranny for the whole family.

Signs of pedants

A pedantic person can be easily recognized by his appearance and behavior. He is always neat and well-groomed, with a neat hairstyle, there is no facial hair or it is simply carefully styled. There is no doubt that the pedant will not leave the house in crumpled things or dirty shoes. His wardrobe almost always contains new things, from which it is impossible to tell whether they have been worn or not. Basically, pedants prefer simple clothes of a classic style. They do not have the goal of impressing others by walking around in fashionable things.

Behavior is a more important criterion than appearance and clothing. External neatness and grooming only reflect the internal demands of a pedant towards himself and others. His pedantry is evident both in work and in his personal life. In a profession, this personality trait can be useful. Pedants make first-class accountants, successful lawyers, and outstanding scientists. But for the family, this is a real punishment, because in everyday life, excessive meticulousness does not make people happy.

What does pedantry mean in life?

The encyclopedists of the past, the well-known Brockhaus and Efron, gave a conclusion to pedantry as a phenomenon found in various areas of life, but most of all in scientific and pedagogical activity. Even then, the word “pedant” carried an unkind connotation. A pedant was considered a person who misses the content because of the form, or rather, because of its strict adherence

This form has become outdated, has become a drag, yesterday - it doesn’t matter. It is important to comply with it

A person who so zealously maintains the usual order, even in small things, becomes isolated on them. There is no development and cannot be. Movements too.

Badly?

Very bad!

What about pedantic teachers? This is the scourge of the school! It is because of them that children develop an aversion to learning. Dead formalism - what could be worse in a person? Moreover, in any case: a teacher, an official, an ordinary employee or just a husband.

Pedants are extremely petty. That's what irritates them the most. And the line between thoroughness and accuracy and PETTY (excessive) thoroughness and accuracy is extremely small and invisible. It is precisely because of this pettiness that women do not like male pedants.

Pedantry is a characteristic feature of quite a large number of men. Pedantry can also be found in women. If the pedant is a woman, this is, in general, a complete mess. They shy away from her like she’s the plague, but she sincerely believes that they “don’t understand” her. A pedantic man's character does not necessarily have to be bad. A pedantic woman always has a bad character...

Pedantry in its desire to maintain routine in all details and trifles can develop into such painful character traits as litigiousness, cursing everything and everyone, which, in turn, leads to a change in emotional tone. A cheerful person becomes gloomy, an active person becomes slow, a talkative person becomes silent. It is no coincidence that many mentally abnormal people clearly exhibit many of the traits inherent in pedants.

So, it's good if every thing has its place. But if they took it, used it and then did not put it back where they took it from, this is not an event on a universal or world scale, but a small detail that can be spat on and crushed...

How to communicate with a pedant

If a loved one is a pedant, then when interacting with him it is necessary to take into account the characteristics of his character. This is due to the fact that even minor untidiness, as well as irresponsibility, can make him angry and irritated. And if you do not meet his ideas of beauty, he will soon be disappointed in you.

If in his presence you show punctuality, accuracy, accuracy and scrupulousness, then he will distinguish you from others. If you understand who a pedant is, it will be easy to please him. Strictness must be observed, especially in dress and behavior. For communication to become closer, and for you to be perceived as a friend or future partner for creating a family or love relationship in this case, you won’t have to wait long.

To pass an interview, you can pretend to be a pedant. If a potential manager is not a pedantic person, he will note this character trait as an advantage for the candidate.

If you have no interest in a close relationship with a pedant, then it is better to avoid unnecessary communication with him. With his demandingness, he can ruin the mood of both himself and you. But at the same time, because of pedantry, a person does not automatically become bad. It would be more correct to say that he has “sharp corners” that you can learn to smooth out if you are interested in communication.

How to get rid of excessive pedantry

“Politeness and good manners are absolutely necessary in order to adorn any other virtues and talents. Without them, a scientist turns into a pedant, a philosopher into a cynic, a military man into a brute,” - F. Chesterfield.

Pedantic people are necessary for society; they develop and enforce social norms, help avoid chaos and systematize production. But pedantry becomes dangerous for the individual itself when it turns into obsessions and compulsive actions. For example, one broken plate can force you to throw out the entire set and buy a new one.

Excessive pedantry must be eliminated and brought to normal:

The pedant is ruled by rationality. Accordingly, the severity of accentuation can be reduced through the development of the emotional sphere. Learn to understand other people and not be demanding. Perhaps the person is tired and therefore looks rumpled - he wrote a report all night. And because of the “blurred” look, I made a couple of mistakes.
Learn to understand people's individual characteristics. Not everyone can be naturally active and attentive.
Pedantry hinders development. Remember how long have you been marking time in one place? Make a chart of “time and energy thieves.” What useless things are you obsessing over?
Make a plan for the coming months. What do you want to achieve? What should you do for this? How does this relate to what you are doing now?
Realize that discoveries come from moments of experimentation, mistakes, and breaking the rules. How will you find a more effective way to solve a problem if you don't consider alternatives?
Allow “chaos” to enter your life. Ask colleagues and family to help you. Make an agreement that for two days you will not arrange things according to your own rules and will not demand this from others (come up with the subject of the agreement regarding your behavioral characteristics). The goal is to understand that this does not affect life. Monitor your condition, describe your feelings.
Learn to limit the time you spend on tasks. At the same time, make a plan in advance (from major to minor).
Find a hobby and (or) profession that will satisfy the need to study details (calculations, modeling, paperwork, proofreading, chess). This will be your outlet. Leave pedantry only there, this will make it rational.
From French pedant translates as “teacher”. A pedantic person is convinced of his own rightness and does not recognize other opinions; he strives to teach everyone. It is necessary to respect others, learn communication and empathy.

Realize that you are irrevocably wasting your time and life on trifles. Shouldn't we redirect our attention and potential to something more important and valuable? Determine your goal in life and a plan for its implementation. By the way, your pedantry will help you comply with it. Yes, it will be unusual to focus on deadlines at first, but this is necessary in order to learn how to highlight the main thing and move forward.

Advantages and disadvantages

Thanks to scrupulousness, pedantic people carefully analyze information and make decisions based on this. This approach to work is especially valuable in various fields of activity. A manager who understands the characteristics of a pedant will entrust him with the work with finances or legal documents. Pedants are excellent auditors, engineers and scientists. They achieve success in business because they know how to handle money and rarely take unnecessary risks.

Pedantry is useful for any person managing important business processes. This character trait is inherent in a neat and careful person. Thanks to it, it effectively avoids pitfalls by slightly reducing performance. If the manager is a pedant, then the company will avoid many problems associated with an unstable market and possible difficulties within the company. Often in business, pedantry is as important as creativity or determination.

The disadvantages of pedantry greatly affect your personal life. In relationships and friendships, people do not try to strictly follow the rules. Personal and friendly communication often involves a casual and relaxed atmosphere. And if someone makes excessive demands on others, then few people will like it. Therefore, pedants often have an unsettled personal life and no close friends. To solve this problem, you should take a simpler approach to life.

In some cases, pedantry reaches the point that a person with such a trait himself experiences discomfort and is clearly aware of this, but cannot do anything. He has no desire to waste energy on observing the rules he has established himself, but at the same time, attempts made not to follow them irritate him, as a result of which he experiences stress and becomes depressed. If the pedant is in such a state, then there is only one way out - leave. You can also visit a psychotherapist.

Is being pedantic good or bad?

“A fool is only boring, a pedant is unbearable.”

These words, attributed to Napoleon I, can be argued: the meaning of the word “pedantry” can vary depending on the degree of manifestation and the specific situation.

What's good about pedantry?

People with this personality type have a number of positive qualities. They are characterized by:

The ability to take responsibility , rigor not only towards others, but also towards yourself.
Performing discipline, diligence and hard work in any activity, be it preparing a work project or cleaning an apartment.
Punctuality . Pedants come to work on time and are not late for meetings.
Neatness and cleanliness. Not only the house, but also the person’s workplace is always kept in perfect order, documents are distributed on shelves and numbered.
Attentiveness in everything, including little things that seem insignificant.
The ability to plan things that are never done hastily. The pedant has perfect time management .
Attentive attitude to one’s own health, rejection of everything that can cause harm (alcohol, drugs, etc.).

Pedantic people are valuable employees in law, accounting, and office work. They are indispensable where punctuality and clarity in performing duties are a priority. This character trait helps to achieve success in business and climb the career ladder.

A healthy dose of pedantry will not hurt people who are often late and do not pay attention to the disorder in their affairs, in the house, or in their own appearance. In this case, it makes sense to develop the traits of a pedant - they will only be beneficial.

An overly pedantic person is a disaster

By showing excessive pedantry, a person is capable of poisoning the life not only of himself, but also of those around him.

This quality has a downside.

The desire to impose one’s own opinion, beliefs and course of action, the tendency to consider one’s point of view as the only correct one.
Making excessive demands on others.
Delay in making decisions, fear of making a mistake.
The pedant has difficulty adapting to new circumstances. It is difficult for him to act in an unpredictable, constantly changing reality.
Obsession with little things and formalism are traits that turn into tediousness . Appropriate in everyday work, transferred to the sphere of interpersonal relationships, they make the pedant unbearable.

Excessive pedantry is a trigger for the development of excessive anxiety. A person is unable to relax due to his obedience to rules, the observance of which takes up almost the entire living space, and non-compliance can cause neurosis.

Pedantry is

Pedantry is a personality quality that is expressed in strict adherence to rules, accuracy in business, everyday life, scrupulousness, and adherence to detail. A pedantic person strives to maintain the usual way of life and follow accepted formal norms.

Pedantry can manifest itself to a mild degree - in this case it helps favorable socialization, the individual follows the norms of society. But there are also abnormal manifestations, which can be explained by psychoneurological disorders that are expressed in obsessions. Such people are called anancasts.

In work, the individual consciously adheres to pedantry in order to obtain maximum benefit. A high level of pedantry in work and a painfully high level are different. In the first case, a person strives for rationality and this does not bring him strong experiences. The painful form has an obsessive nature.

Afterword

Pedantry becomes a problem when it goes beyond the rational, that is, it transforms into obsessions or a systematic lack of time. Irrational pedantry, in turn, turns into a syndrome of obsessive states, for example, a person arranges books strictly from high to low, places shoes in one line.

Rational pedantry does not interfere with life and is a useful habit. A person decides for himself (gives an instruction) that, for example, at work he will strictly adhere to all the rules and double-check documents. And at home with friends, the same person will easily forget to wash his hands or brush his teeth, and the dust will lie on the closet for another day if the rational pedant is very tired at work.

If a person is prone to pedantry (and such is 20% of the population), then the emerging problem will never completely go away. You need to learn to apply yourself in relevant areas. Pedantry is not a problem, but a personality trait that is in demand in design, construction, editing, etc.

Watch the video about the pedantic personality type (from 9:26 minutes):

Differences between a pedant and a perfectionist

People often confuse a pedant with a perfectionist, but this should not be done. People from the first category pay a lot of attention to detail and strictly follow all the rules. If he is convinced of the correctness of his actions and the work performed, then he will be satisfied even with an imperfect result.

At the same time, perfectionists are often careless and prefer to perform work duties in “creative chaos.” They don't try to follow the rules in the process. The main thing for them is an impeccable result. Pedants and perfectionists pay a lot of attention to detail, but the reasons for each of them are different. A perfectionist is afraid of an imperfect result and treats any condemnation or criticism aggressively, while a pedant fears that he himself will be imperfect.

Considering all the facts about pedants, it will be easier to understand them if there are such people around. The main thing is not to try to change them and impose your point of view.

Pedantry is a European trait

Pedantry has a pronounced geographical reference. It is more typical for residents of Europe , and is less common in Russia.

There are legends about German pedants; there is even a common expression “German pedantry.” In the memoirs of Soviet front-line soldiers, there is a statement that during the Great Patriotic War, it was possible to set watches based on enemy artillery shelling, and at lunchtime the Germans did not attack at all.

There is an element of exaggeration here, but such facts are confirmed by excerpts from the memoirs and letters of German soldiers.

Tourists never tire of sharing stories about how German residents hang their laundry strictly by size, avoid impulse purchases, maintain perfect order on the streets, and even visit their parents only by invitation.

Thanks to pedantry, the quality of German goods is considered impeccable, and they are in high demand all over the world.