From stress to feedback: How supervisor perfectionism drives graduate students' feedback seeking and avoiding behaviors

As academic competition intensifies, graduate students are facing increasing psychological pressure in high-stress academic environments, which negatively influences both their mental well-being and academic performance. However, there are still certain gaps regarding how supervisor perfectionism influences student feedback behaviors. This study explores how supervisor perfectionism influences student feedback behavior through their perceived stress and examines the moderating role of supervisor-student exchange quality in this process. Based on the cognitive appraisal theory of stress, this research uses a survey method to collect data from 456 graduate students across two universities in Jiangsu Province and employs structural equation modeling for data analysis. The results show that supervisor perfectionism is positively related to students' perceived challenge stress, which indirectly influences feedback-seeking behavior. At the same time, supervisor perfectionism is also indirectly associated with feedback-avoiding behavior through students' perceived hindrance stress. In addition, high-quality supervisor-student exchange strengthens the relationship between challenge stress and feedback-seeking behavior. This study contributes to a deeper understanding of the relationship between supervisor perfectionism, student stress, and feedback behaviors, providing practical recommendations for improving graduate education quality.