Excessive pedantry. What is anankastism?

"He is such a pedant!" - they say about some worker, meaning his meticulousness and diligence, his desire to understand the matter deeply. The same definition is given also by a literalist, who strives to comply with all the requirements of the leadership, without delving into the essence often. Of course, in the first case, the intonation is approving, and in the second case the condemnation. So can you say about pedantry, what is a property of character worthy of imitation? In what cases is it good, and in which it is not? What does pedantry mean to those around you?

Like any personal characteristic, scrupulousness is good in the measure even when it has found a worthy application. If a person takes the responsibility with full responsibility, and especially when he holds a position that requires strict observance of service instructions, it can be confidently asserted that this is good pedantry, that such a quality can only be welcomed. An example is the accuracy of compliance with the rules of lawyers, notaries, pharmacists and representatives of other professions, which require an absolute refusal of any initiative. A good habit is always to come on time. Only kind words deserve the habit of dressing neatly.

However, an excessive desire to scrupulously observe some rituals, most often invented independently, may indicate a morbid state of mind. Psychiatry operates with the term "anancastic psychopathy," that is, unhealthy pedantry.What is anancastism and how to recognize it?

Like many other mental illnesses, excessive pedantry is not easy to diagnose. Outwardly a person looks perfectly healthy, and only with a long conversation can you notice some oddness of his behavior, which seem quite harmless. These include, for example, the unjustifiably long time spent on work, most often home, which other people will perform quickly. If anankast is going to cook buckwheat porridge, then he will rub the croup for an hour or more, without experiencing any discomfort from the boredom of his occupation. The dishes will be washed several times. When leaving the house, he will repeatedly check how well the cranes are closed, whether the gas stove and electrical appliances are off, having made several laps in his own apartment. On the attempts of others to even jokingly say about the pedantry that such a quality is good in moderation, anankast reacts quite aggressively.

At work, not associated with increased requirements for meticulousness, this quality can be bad. Having perfectly fulfilled several instructions of the management, such an employee can be unreasonably promoted, and here his personality features will manifest themselves in all its glory, the pedant will perceive this as encouraging thoughtlessness and blindly following instructions, and then everyone will not be happy, especially his immediate subordinates.

As for the ability to make independent decisions, which is so necessary for every leader, then in this case it should not be expected. Any non-standard situation will lead pedant-anankast into a state of stupor, and until he receives approval from a higher authority, the case will stand, but in this case all possible efforts will be made to abdicate responsibility.