Is perfectionism a problem or a plus?

Call someone a "liar," and it's clearly an insult. Call someone a "genius," and it's almost always praise. But how about calling someone a "perfectionist"?  Is that a diss or a kiss?

The answer, it turns out, depends on what kind of perfectionist the person is. And that depends, in turn, on the person's motivation.

According to research reported in this Miller-McCune article, perfectionism comes in two varieties: adaptive and maladaptive. And one of the key determinants of the type of...