Personality Disorders Flashcards
Personality
Broad term - essence of self that differentiates us from other people. Includes traits, behaviour, beliefs and actions.
Personality traits
Enduring patterns of perceiving, relating to or thinking about the world and self across contexts
Big 5 inventory
Self-report inventory designed to measure the Big Five dimensions - OCEAN model.
Neuroticism continuum
Negativity affectivity Emotional stability
Extraversion continuum
Extraversion Detachment
Openness continuum
Openness to experience Lucidity
Agreeableness continuum
Agreeableness Antagonism
Conscientiousness continuum
Conscientiousness Disinhibition
Negative affectivity
- Is depressed, blue
- Can be tense
- Gets nervous easily
- Is impulsive
Emotional stability
- Handles stress well
- Is emotionally stable
- Remains calm in tense situations
Extraversion
- Is talkative
- Is full of energy
- Is outgoing, sociable
- Seeks excitement
Detachment
- Is reserved
- Tends to be quiet
- Is sometimes shy
Openness to experience
- Comes up with new ideas - more creative
- Is ingenious, a deep thinker
- Values artistic, aesthetic experiences
Lucidity
- Prefers work that is routine
* Has few artistic interests
Agreeableness
- Is helpful and unselfish with others
- Is generally trusting
- Is considerate and kind to almost anyone
Antagonism
- Starts quarrels with others
- Can be cold and aloof
- Is sometimes rude to others
Conscientiousness
- Does a thorough job
- Is a reliable worker
- Does things efficiently
Disinhibition
- Can be somewhat careless
- Tends to be disorganized
- Is easily distracted
Personality disorder
An enduring pattern of inner experience & behavior:
- Pervasive across contexts - Inflexible; not based on situations, person always behaves in these ways
- Persistent over time - onsets by early adulthood; stable over time
- Pathological - Deviates markedly from cultural expectations; leads to distress/impairment
DSM criteria of personality disorder
Manifested in 2+ of the following in DSM:
- Cognition
- Affectivity: Range and appropriateness of emotions
- Interpersonal functioning: Relationships with others
- Impulse control
- Cannot be diagnosed before 18
Diagnosis reliability of PD
Poor inter-rater, test-retest
Diagnostic bias
Some disorders are diagnosed more frequently in men (e.g. antisocial), some are diagnosed more frequently in women (e.g. BPD). Gender affects the way people are diagnosed - problematic, because PDs are supposed to be stable.
Overlap between PDs
PDs rarely occur on their own - lots of overlap between different PDs. Implies that diagnostic criteria don’t neatly place people in categories.
PD clusters
- Cluster A: odd or eccentric
- Cluster B: dramatic, emotional or erratic
- Cluster: anxious or fearful
- Not based on theories or empirical research; clusters are due to sharing similar traits
Cluster A
- Paranoid
- Schizoid
- Schizotypal
- Share similarities with schizophrenia; involve social withdrawal and isolation, but they aren’t out of touch with reality like schizophrenics
Cluster B
- Antisocial
- Borderline
- Histrionic
- Narcissistic
- Tend to be manipulative, volatile or uncaring; difficulties in interpersonal relationships and impulse control
Cluster C
- Avoidant
- Dependent
- Obsessive-compulsive
- Lower self-esteem, anxiety, inability to make decisions
Paranoid PD criteria
Pervasive distrust/suspiciousness of others. Motives interpreted as malevolent (4+ of below)
- Suspects, without basis, that others are exploiting/deceiving
- Unjustified doubts about loyalty/trustworthiness of others
- Reluctant to confide in others due to intense fear of betrayal
- Finds demeaning/threatening meaning in benign remarks
- Persistently bears grudges
- Perceives attacks on reputation & counter-attacks
- Unjustified suspicions regarding fidelity of partner
