Chapter 19: Personality Disorders Flashcards
Are personality disorders considered to be normative in most cultures?
No - people with personality disorders possess maladaptive traits, emotions, motives, cognition, and self-concept
What pattern are psychologists looking for to diagnose someone with a personality disorder?
Abnormal patterns, specifically patterns of experiences and behavior that do not fit in the context of a person’s culture
What if the pattern of behavior is infrequent? Can a person still have a personality disorder?
No, the patterns that define personality disorders are persistent and pervasive over a long period of time
What is the driving cause of personality disorder development?
Biology = considered the foundation for multiple personality disorders
Are personality disorders understood as a combination of standard personality traits?
Not entirely–personality disorders can develop from maladaptive variations or combinations of normal personality traits
Several personality disorders involve maladaptive variations on common motives, including…
Power and Intimacy
Do personality disorders have notable characteristics?
Yes, the characteristics of personality disorders manifest in an extreme fashion
Patterns must manifest in which 2+ areas?
- Cognition (ways of perceiving and interpreting self/other people)
- Affectivity (range, intensity, and appropriateness of emotional responses)
- Interpersonal functioning
- Impulse control
The Enduring pattern is ________ & __________ across different contexts and social situations.
inflexible and pervasive
The Enduring pattern is ___________ &__________ over time
stable and persists
The onset of the enduring pattern is traced back to
Childhood and adolescence
The enduring pattern is not from the manifestation or consequence of another ______ _______
mental disorder
The Enduring pattern is not from ______________ abuse
substance abuse, including drugs or medication of any kind
How would you define a psychological disorder based on your knowledge of characteristic and criterion information?
A psychological disorder is a patterned experience and behavior that is painful and distressing to a person
The pain and distress from having a psychological disorder leads to…
disability or impairment in important life domains
Psychological disorders are associated with the increased risk of…
suffering (pain), loss of function, death or confinement
Define abnormal psychology
study of mental disorder—including though disorders, emotional disorders, and personality disorders
What is the statistical and social definitions of abnormal?
Statistical = whatever is different from the norm (outlier in a set of data)
Social = whatever society does not tolerate or deem acceptable
Are statistical and social definitions tied to changing social or cultural norms?
Yes! Therefore, psychologists look within persons, inquiring about subjective feelings and feelings of loneliness
Before defining behavior as revealing a personality order, what three things must be taken into account?
- Culture
- Age
- Gender
How do we diagnose PD?
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV) = helps define and classify mental disorders
Revised in 2013 – DSM-5-TR
Initial diagnostic tool (DSM-IV) was based on what type of view?
categorical view of personality disorders = one either had the disorder or they did not have the disorder
In 2013, the DSM-IV’s categorical view of personality disorders was almost replaced with what opposing type?
Dimensional view of personality disorders = each disorder is seen as a continuum, ranging from normality at one end to severe disability/disturbance at the other end
According to the dimensional view of personality disorders, people with and without a disorder only differ based on ____________
degree
True or False: changes were made to the DSM-IV and psychologists did not stick with the categorical view of personality disorders?
False – no change ended up being made
What are the implications of diagnosing (Dx) someone?
- Treatment
- Medication
- Eligibility for disability
- Perceptions of self & others perception of individual
What is the point of diagnosing disorders?
- Can plan treatments, provide recommendations
- Allows research to be conducted,
- Insurance purposes
- Psycho-education = therapeutic intervention for individual and their loved ones
Cluster A disorders are characterized by __________ thinking or behaviors
eccentric
Cluster A consists of which personality disorders?
Schizoid
Schizotypal
Paranoid
Schizoid and Schizotypal root from
schizophrenia = cutting the mind off from itself and from reality
Schizoid personality disorder
is a split off (schism) or detached from normal social relations –> not interest in forming relationships
- detached from normal social relationships
- obtains little pleasure from bodily or sensory experience
- passive in the face of unpleasant events
Schizotypal personality disorder
a psychological disorder characterized by several traits that cause interpersonal issues…
- anxious in social relations and avoids people
- appears “different” and does not conform
- odd and eccentric beliefs
- disorganized thoughts and speech
Paranoid personality disorder
type of personality disorder characterized by extreme suspiciousness or mistrust of others
- distrustful of others and harbors resentment
- misinterprets social events as threatening
- argumentative and hostile
- believe in conspiracies
Cluster B disorders are characterized by _________ thoughts and behaviors
Erratic
What disorders fall under Cluster B?
Borderline
Narcissistic
Histrionic
Antisocial
Borderline personality disorder
characterized by instability in identity, in affectivity, and impulse control
- marked by instability of relationships, emotions, self-image
- person fears abandonment (think of video where woman cuts her self and writes love letter in blood)
- aggressive, prone to self-harm, and emotional
Narcissistic personality disorder
characterized by a grandiose sense of self and lack of insight into other people’s feelings (lacks empathy)
- incessant need to be admired
- strong sense of self-importance
- lack of insight into other people’s feelings or needs
- sense of entitlement
- self-esteem appears strong but is fragile
Histrionic personality disorder
impulsive attention seeking behavior –> appear charming
- marked by excessive attention seeking and emotionality
- person is sexually provocative
- opinions are shallow
- has a strong need for attention
Antisocial personality disorder
general disregard for others and cares very little about the rights, feelings, and happiness of others –> sociopath or psychopath
- person has little concern for others
- impulsive and easily irritated
- lack of guilt feelings or remorse
- indifference to the suffering of others
What is psychopathy?
a condition marked by the absence of empathy and deficient emotional responses
True or False: Personas with BPD, compared to those without, have a higher incidence rate of childhood physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or early parental loss
True
Cluster C disorders are categorized by _________ thoughts and behaviors
anxious
What disorders fall under Cluster C?
Dependent
Avoidant
Obsessive-Compulsive (OCPD)
Dependent personality disorder
long-standing need to be taken care of, self doubt, unable to make decisions independently –> rely on others and quite unhappy alone
- excessive need to be taken care of
- submissive
- seek reassurance from others incessantly
- rarely takes initiative and rarely disagrees with others
Avoidant personality disorder
- feelings of inadequacy
- sensitivity to criticism
- restriction of activities to avoid embarrassment
- low-self esteem
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
anxiety disorder characterized by repetitive obsessions and compulsions
- preoccupied with order and perfection
- rigid, inflexible and stubborn
What is prevalence?
refers to the total number of cases present within a given population during a particular period of time
What is the most prevalent personality disorder?
Obsessive-Compulsive disorder
- prevalence rate is 4%
Which personality disorders have a prevalence rate of 2%?
Schizotypal, histrionic, and dependent personality
What is the least prevalent personality disorder?
Narcissistic personality disorder
True or False: it is difficult to get global prevalence accurate
True
- high levels of heterogeneity in most studies
- more large-scale studies with standardized methodologies are needed as most follow Westernized methods
Is antisocial personality disorder more prevalent among men or women?
men
Is borderline personality disorder more prevalent among men or women?
women
Is dependent personality disorder more prevalent among men or women?
women
Only distinctions made between normal personality traits and disorders are in terms of…
- Maladaptiveness
- Extremity
- Rigidity
Causes of personality disorders
Genetics –> has largest impact
- plays a major role in the formation of schizotypal personality disorder
Environment
- childhood trauma and interpersonal relationships
Combination of either creates antisocial personality disorder
