Personality Final Flashcards
The Cognitive Domain
Understanding of people’s perceptions, thoughts, feelings, desires, and other conscious experiences
Big focus on the interpretation of events (including how people attribute responsibility)
Cognition
Refers to awareness and thinking; the mental acts of perceiving, attending to, interpreting, remembering, believing, judging, deciding, and anticipating
Information processing
Transformation of sensory input into mental representations that can be manipulated
Perception
Giving order to the information our sense organs bring in
Interpretation
Making sense of, or explaining, various events in the world; giving meaning to events
Conscious goals
Standards that people develop for evaluating themselves and others; age/culture specific
Rod and Frame Test (RTF)
- Participant sits in darkened room and is instructed to watch a glowing rod surrounded by a glowing square frame
- Experimenter controls the tils of the rod, the chair, and the frame
- Participant’s task is to adjust the rod by turning a dial so that rod is upright (have to ignore cues in the visual field)
Field dependent
Adjust rod in the direction of the titled frame
Field independent
Disregard external cues and use information from their bodies to adjust the rod
Are differences in perception related to differences in personality?
- Field independent students favour sciences, math, engineering; preference for non-social situations and are more autonomous
- Field dependent students favour social sciences and education; rely on social information and orientated towards people
Reducer/augmenter theory
- Low pain tolerance have a nervous system that amplifies (augments) the subjective impact of sensory cues
- High pain tolerance? Nervous system that reduces the effect of sensory stimulation
Reducers
Seek out strong stimulation to compensate for low sensory reactivity (e.g., drink more coffee, listen to loud music, lower threshold for boredom)
Kelley’s Personal Construct Theory
People are motivated to understand, predict, and control events in their lives
Role of constructs: set of observations and meaning of those observations; e.g., gravity
Personal constructs
Constructs a person routinely uses to interpret and predict events
Anxiety
As a result of not being able to understand and predict life events
o Result of personal constructs failing to make sense of current realities
How can a construct fail?
- Too rigid and/or impermeable to new experiences
- Too permeable or applied too liberally
Locus of control
Whether people locate personal responsibility internally (within themselves) or externally (in fate, luck, or chance)
E.g., when you see a person who gets good grades do you think it is as a result of luck or personal efforts?
Formulated from work on social learning theory
Generalized expectancies
Base expectancies about what will happen on generalized expectancies of whether they have ability to influence events
External locus of control
Expectancy that events are outside of one’s control
Internal locus of control
Expectancy that events are under one’s control; high degree of personal responsibility; more conducive to well-being
Learned Helplessness
Occurs when people are stuck in an unpleasant situation that is outside of their control
Explanatory style
Tendencies people have to frequently use certain explanations
Pessimistic explanatory style
Internal, stable, and global causes for bad events
Optimistic explanatory style
External, temporary, and specific causes of events
Personality revealed through goals
What a person wants to happen/achieve; differences between people is attributable to personality
Cognitive social learning theory
• Personality is expressed in goals; how people think about themselves relative to their goals and how they value/strive for certain goals
• Argues people:
o Have intentions/forethought
o Are reflective/anticipate future events
o Monitor behaviour/evaluate their progress
o Learn by observing others
Self-efficacy
One can execute a specific course of action to achieve a goal
Regulatory focus theory
People regulate goal-directed behaviours in two ways that serve two different needs
Promotion focus
Concerned with advancement, growth, accomplishments; correlates with extraversion and behavioural activation
Prevention focus
Concerned with protection, safety, prevention of negative outcomes and failures; correlates with neuroticism, harm avoidance, impulsivity [but negatively]
Cognitive-Affective Personality System (CAPS)
- Personality as an organization of cognitive and affective activities which influence how people respond to certain situations
- Each individual is characterized by a stable network of mental activities
- People differ in the organization of cognitive and affective processes
- “If… then…” propositions: if situation A, then the person does X; but if situation B, then person does Y = personality distinguishes which
Self-concept
Your understanding of yourself
o “Athletic, tall, lazy, etc.”
Self-esteem
How you feel about who you are
o “I like that I’m athletic, I don’t like that I’m lazy”
Social identity
How you present yourself to others
o May not be consistent with your self-concept
The Development of the Self-Concept at infancy
Distinction between our body and everything else’ boundaries exist for what is “me” and “not me”
The Development of the Self-Concept at 18 months
Self-recognition with mirrors; important because pretend play requires it (i.e., knowing what is pretend vs. reality)
The Development of the Self-Concept at 24 months
Self-recognition in a photograph; also development of expectations/rule following = development of self-esteem
The Development of the Self-Concept between 2-3 years
Identify their biological sex and age, and expand their self-concept to include reference to a family (e.g., brother, sister)
The Development of the Self-Concept between 3-12 years
Self-concept focus is on developing skills/talents
The Development of the Self-Concept 5-6+ years
Comparing their skills/abilities to others (social comparison); learn they can lie/keep secrets (private self-concept)
The Development of the Self-Concept at teen years
Take on perspective of others or to imagine how one appears to other people (perspective taking); see themselves as objects of others’ attention (objective self-awareness)
The Development of the Self-Concept at adulthood
Provides person with a sense of continuity and framework for understanding past, present, and future behaviour
Self-schema
Refers to the specific knowledge structure, or cognitive representation of the self-concept
Possible selves
Many ideas people have about who they might become, hope to become, or fear they will become; forms part of a self-concept
Self-guides
Standards one uses to organize information and motivate behaviour; two types
Ideal self
What a person themselves wants to be; sad if real self doesn’t fit this
o Focuses attention on achievement and goal accomplishment (promotion focus)
Ought self
Person’s understanding of what others want them to be; anxious if real self doesn’t fit this
o Focus attention on avoiding harm (prevention focus)
Development of Self-Esteem in early childhood
Identify standards or expectations for behaviour and live up to them; pride and self-esteem felt when mastering basic activities (e.g., toilet training)
Development of Self-Esteem in later childhood
Social comparison; if they are doing better than others = higher self-esteem
Development of Self-Esteem in adulthood
Set of internal standards; what they hold important to their self-concept; behaviours inconsistent with standards = lower self-esteem
Evaluation of oneself
Self-esteem is the sum of your positive/negative reactions to all the aspects of your self-concept
Self-esteem can fluctuate from day-to-day, but typically centers around average self-esteem
Can evaluate yourself in different aspects of life; e.g., high academic self-esteem but low dating self-esteem
Global self-esteem
Composite of several areas of self-evaluation
Low self-esteem persons are more likely to…
Perform poorly and give up earlier on future tasks; fear failure (consistent with self-concept)
High self-esteem persons are less likely to…
Give up and more likely to work just as hard on the second task as the first; fear not succeeding (inconsistent with self-concept so strive to disprove information)
Self-complexity
We have many roles/aspects to our self-concept
Collective self-esteem
Individual’s global self-evaluation as a member of social groups or categories
Defensive pessimism
Person facing a challenge expects to do poorly; impact of failure is lessened if they expect it
Self-handicapping
Person deliberately does the things that increase the probability that he or she will fail; e.g., not studying for an upcoming exam
Self-esteem variability
Individual difference characteristic; strength of short-term fluctuations in ongoing self-esteem
Social Component of the Self: Social Identity
The part of the self that is shown to others; used to create impressions;
Does include gender and ethnicity (even if they do not factor into a person’s self-concept)
- Made up of continuity and contrast
Continuity
Important aspects remain relatively stable; gender, language, ethnicity, SES
- Other aspects of identity change gradually – education, occupation, marital status
Contrast
Social identity differentiates you from other people
- Music choices, ethnic background, eye colour
Identity Crises
Feelings of anxiety that accompany efforts to define or redefine one’s own individuality and social reputation
Development of identity
Struggles with identity occur during late adolescence and early adulthood
Some will experiment with different identities to find the one that fits
Some will accept and adopt a ready-made social role; strong influence of others
Identity deficit
Arises when a person has not formed an adequate identity; trouble making decisions
- Occurs when a person discards old values or goals; prompts the person to search for new beliefs, values, and goals
- Vulnerable to influence from others
Identity conflict
Incompatibility between two or more aspects of identity
- Occur when a person is forced to make a tough life decision
- Referred to as “approach-approach” conflict; person wants to reach two mutually contradictory goals
- Feelings of guilt/remorse of letting themselves and others down
Two steps of resolving identity crises
- Deciding which values are most important to them
- Transforming abstract values into desires and behaviours
Mid-life crisis
- Feel life is inauthentic
- Regretful of choices made early in life
- Crises look similar to those of adolescence
- Time of changing priorities
The social and cultural domain
Emphasis on personality as it is affected by and expressed through social institutions, social roles, expectations, and relationships with people
Selection
Choosing specific environments
Evocation
Evoking feelings in others
Manipulation
Influencing others
Complementary needs theory
people are attracted to those with differing personality dispositions; opposites attract; no empirical support
Attraction similarity theory
People are attracted to those with similar personality characteristics; “birds of a feather flock together”; overwhelming empirical
Assortative mating
People marry people similar to themselves
Violation of desire theory
Breakups occur more when one’s desires are violated than when fulfilled
Shyness
Tendency to feel tense, worried, or anxious during social interactions (or the anticipation of social interactions)
Personality trait examples
Highly empathetic = volunteer
High on psychoticism = spontaneous situations
High Machiavellianism = opportunities to use social manipulative skills to exploit others
High on extraversion = choose more friends
High on agreeableness = chosen by others more often as friends
High sensation seekers = chose risky situations
Hostile attributional bias
Tendency to infer hostile intent on the part of others in the face of ambiguous behaviour from them; aggressive people expect hostile responses
Expectancy confirmation
People’s beliefs about the personality characteristics of others can cause them to evoke in others actions that are consistent with the initial beliefs; aka self-fulfilling prophecy
Charm; Table 15.5
I try to be loving when I ask her to do it
Coercion; Table 15.5
I yell at him until he does it
Silent treatment; Table 15.5
I don’t respond to her until she does it
Reason; Table 15.5
I explain why I want him to do it
Regression; Table 15.5
I whine until she does it
Self-abasement; Table 15.5
I act submissive so that he will do it
Responsibility invocation; Table 15.5
I get her to make a commitment to doing it
Hardball; Table 15.5
I hit him so that he will do it (Not necessarily physical, better explained by not giving the person a choice - backed into a corner)
Pleasure induction; Table 15.5
I show her how much fun it will be to do it
Social comparison; Table 15.5
I tell him that everyone else is doing it
Monetary reward; Table 15.5
I offer her money so that she will do it
Are there biological sex differences in tactics of manipulation?
For the most part, no, but regression (e.g., crying, whining, pouting) is used slightly more by women than men
What manipulation tactics does high dominance/extraversion predict?
Coercion; responsibility invocation
What manipulation tactics does low dominance/extraversion predict?
Self-abasement; hardball
What manipulation tactics does high agreeableness predict?
Pleasure induction; reason
What manipulation tactics does low agreeableness predict?
Coercion; silent treatment
What manipulation tactics does high conscientiousness predict?
Reason
What manipulation tactics does low conscientiousness predict?
Criminal strategies (not listed as one of the 11 tactics)
What manipulation tactics does high neuroticism predict?
Variety; hardball, coercion, reason, monetary reward; most common = regression
What manipulation tactics does high openness predict?
Reason; pleasure induction; responsibility invocation
What manipulation tactics does low openness predict?
Social comparison
What manipulation tactics does the dark triad predict?
Variety; coercion, hardball, reciprocity, social comparison, monetary reward, charm
Dark triad
- Narcissism
- Psychopathy
- Machiavellianism
Narcissism
Self-admiration
Psychopathy
Antisocial tendencies
Machiavellianism
Exploitative and manipulative interpersonal style – using other people as tools for personal gain
Narcissist ‘traits’
o Exhibitionistic: flaunting money to impress others
o Grandiose: talking about how great they are
o Self-centred: looking out for their best interests
o Interpersonally exploitative: using other for selfish means
The adjustment domain
• Focuses on the consequences of personality
• Personality functions to help people adjust to challenges/demands of life
• Two areas of focus:
o Physical health (coping with stress)
o Mental health (disorders of personality)
Stress
Subjective feeling produced by events that are uncontrollable or threatening; the response to the perceived demands of the situation – not the situation!
Interactional model of personality-illness connection
Personality factors determine the impact of events by influencing a person’s ability to cope
Personality is assumed to moderate (influence) the relationship between stress//illness
E.g., person gets a cold, but has a hardworking personality so doesn’t take time off work (i.e., doesn’t rest) person becomes more sick
Direct
Transactional model of personality-illness connection
Reciprocal (transactional) – stressful events don’t just influence persons; persons influence events
Personality had three potential effects:
o It can influence coping (like interactional model)
o It can influence how the person appraises or interprets the events
o It can influence the events themselves
Direct
Health behavioural model of personality-illness connection
Adds a factor to the transactional model
Personality does not directly influence the relationship between stress and illness
Instead… affects health indirectly through health-promoting or health-degrading behaviours
E.g.,
o Individuals low in conscientiousness may engage in more health-damaging behaviours (smoking, dangerous driving, unhealthy eating etc.)
Indirect
Predisposition model of personality-illness connection
Personality and illness are BOTH expressions of an underlying predisposition
Associations exist between personality and illness because of a third variable which causes them both
E.g., enhanced sympathetic nervous system reactivity may be the cause of illness as well as the cause of the behaviours/emotions that are labelled as neurotic
- E.g., genetic cause of novelty seeking which causes (makes a person more likely to develop) an addiction to drugs
Illness behaviour model of personality-illness connection
Model of illness behaviour – the actions people take when they think they have an illness
Personality influences the degree to which a person perceives and attends to bodily sensations; degree to which a person interprets/labels sensations as illness
How a person perceives/labels the sensations influences the persons illness behaviours (e.g., going to a doctor)
- E.g., personality trait of neuroticism is associated with complaining about physical symptoms – but those symptoms and illness behaviours can be influenced by factors other than actual illness – determined by how a person perceives and labels bodily sensations
Additive effects of stressors
Effects of stress add up and accumulate in a person over time
Fight-or-flight response
Increase in sympathetic nervous system activity; usually a brief response
General adaptation syndrome (GAS)
o Alarm stage
o Resistance stage
o Exhaustion stage
Alarm stage of GAS
Fight-or-flight response + peripheral nervous system reactions (release of hormones)
Resistance stage of GAS
Body continues to use its resources; immediate fight-or-flight response has subsided
Exhaustion stage of GAS
Person is susceptible to illness/disease; physiological resources are depleted
Major life events
Events that require people to make major adjustments in their lives
Can be both positive/negative
Research focuses on the intensity, conflict, and uncontrollability of the stressor
Daily hassles
Major source of stress in people’s lives
Considered minor, but can be chronic and repetitive
E.g., fighting crowds when shopping, getting stuck regularly in heavy traffic, money worries
Daily hassles can lead to more psychological and physical symptoms than major life events
What are the four varieties of stress?
- Acute stress
- Episodic acute stress
- Traumatic stress
- Chronic stress
Acute stress
o Results from sudden onset of demands
o Experienced as tension headaches, emotional upsets, GI issues, feelings of agitation, pressure
Episodic acute stress
o Repeated episodes of acute stress
o Leads to migraines, hypertension, stroke, anxiety, depression, serious GI issues
Traumatic stress
- Massive instance of acute stress
- PTSD
- Difficulty sleeping (nightmares or flashbacks), physical complaints, flattened emotions, feel detached or estranged from others
- Impair a person’s ability to work, maintain relationships etc.
Chronic stress
- Never-ending stress; wears body down until resistance is gone
- Increased risk of diabetes, decreased immune system functioning, cardiovascular disease
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Syndrome that occurs after experiencing or witnessing life-threatening events
Primary appraisal
Person perceives that the event is a threat to his or her personal goals
Secondary appraisal
Person concludes that he or she does not have the resources to cope with the demands of the threatening event (more cognitive)
Attributional style
Dispositional way of explaining the causes of bad events (remember external/internal, unstable/stable, and specific/global?
Dispositional optimism
Expectation that good events will be plentiful, bad events will be rare
Self-efficacy
Belief that one can do the behaviours necessary to achieve a desired outcome (confidence)
Optimistic bias
Underestimate risks below what is the true probability; Strong relationship between optimism and health
Emotional inhibition
Inhibiting the expression of negative emotions
What are the consequences of chronically inhibiting emotions?
- Suppressing emotions leads to increased physiological arousal; takes effort to suppress emotion
- Host of negative outcomes from chronically suppressing emotion
- Emotional expressiveness is good for psychological health and adjustment – related to high self-esteem
Positive reappraisal
Focusing on the good in what is happening or has happened; opportunities for personal growth
Problem-focused coping
Using thoughts and behaviours to manage or solve the underlying cause of the stress (but only helpful for stress that a person has control over)
Creating positive events
Creating a positive time-out from stress; momentary break from stress
Discolure
- Specific type of emotional expressiveness
- Involves telling someone about a private aspect of oneself
- Not disclosing can be a source of stress; leads to psychological distress and physical disease
- Takes physical energy to inhibit thoughts and feelings associated with retaining information
- Disclosing information helps a person reinterpret/reframe the meaning of an event
Cardiovascular disease
Known risk factors for cardiovascular disease include high blood pressure, obesity, smoking, family history, inactive lifestyle, high cholesterol, and… a personality trait?!
Competitive achievement motivation
Like to work hard, achieve goals, like recognition/power; like the defeat of obstacles
Time urgency
Hate wasting time, under pressure to get the most done as quickly as possible, difficulty waiting in line
Hostility
Get frustrated easily when goals are blocked
o Research has found that the subtrait of hostility is a predictor of heart disease rather than just the general syndrome of Type A
o Hostility is associated with systemic inflammation (indicated by elevated white blood cell counts); chronic inflammation is related to risk of coronary disease
Negative affectivity
Tendency to frequently experience negative emotions across time/situations; emotions like tension, worry, irritability, anxiety; negative view of oneself, tendency to complain, react more negatively to stressful situations
Social inhibition
Tendency to inhibit the expression of emotions, thoughts, and behaviours in social interactions; worry about being target of disapproval from others; less likely to seek social support
The concept of disorder
- Pattern of behaviour or experience that is distressing or painful to the person
- Leads to disability or impairment in important life domains (e.g., work, home/relationship)
- Associated with increased risk of further suffering, loss of function, death, or confinement
Abnormal psychology
Study of various mental disorders, including thought disorders, emotional disorders, and personality disorders; psychopathology: study of mental disorders
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders
DSM-5: sets the standard for diagnoses; lists 10 specific PDs
Traditionally, a categorical view of PDs; qualitative break between people who have a PD and those who don’t
Alternative view, a dimensional view of PDs; disorder is seen as a continuum (normality severe disturbance); more reliable and meaningful way to describe PDs
What is a personality disorder? Table 19.1
Enduring pattern of experience and behaviour that differs from the expectations of an individual’s culture
- Significant impairment in self and interpersonal functioning
- One or more pathological personality trait domains or trait facets
- Impairments relatively stable
- Not a result of drug abuse, medication, or injury/trauma
etc.
What are the 3 Clusters of Personality Types?
- Erratic
- Eccentric
- Anxious
Antisocial personality disorder (Erratic)
o Disregards for the rights, feelings, or happiness of others
o History of behavioural problems (e.g., violating the rights of others, breaking age-related social norms, destruction of property, lying)
o “Antisocial” implies person has a lack of concern for social norms
o Often manipulate/deceive others to gain rewards or pleasure
o Established pattern of repeated lying (deceitfulness)
o Impulsivity issues; start a chain of behaviours without a plan or without considering consequences
o Easily irritated – respond to even minor frustrations with aggression
o Assaultive and reckless; little concern for their own safety and the safety of others
o Irresponsible and quick to boredom; often will leave jobs without plans for a new job; excessive spending/debt
o Defined lack of remorse – indifference to the suffering of others
Borderline personality disorder (Erratic)
o Instability in relationships, behaviour, emotions, view of themselves
o Relationships tend to be intense, emotional, violent (sometimes); strong fears of abandonment
o Engage in self-mutilating behaviours or suicide attempts to manipulate those in the relationship
o Prone to sudden shifts in their views of relationships; idealizing to ridiculing
o Shifting view of themselves; values and goals are shallow and change easily
o Strong emotions are common: often panic, anger, despair; often misinterpret neutral/ambiguous emotions
o If stressed, may lash out, then experience feelings of shame/guilt
o Often undermine their efforts when succeeding
o Higher incidence rate of childhood physical or sexual abuse, neglect, or early parental loss
Histrionic personality disorder (Erratic)
o Excessive attention seeking and emotionality
o Sexually provocative; undirected and occurring in inappropriate settings
o Express opinions frequently/dramatically; opinions are shallow/easily changed
o Display strong emotions in public; but emotions appear insincere and exaggerated
o Highly suggestible
o Excessive need for attention; act impulsively or get upset when they are not given the attention they think they deserve
o Use of suicidal gestures/threats to get attention from others/manipulate others into caring for them
o Forgo long-term gains for short-term excitement
Narcissistic personality disorder (Erratic)
o Strong need to be admired
o Strong sense of self-importance; inflate their accomplishments and undervalue the work of others
o Lack of insight into other people’s feelings
o Feelings of entitlement and superiority
o High self-esteem, but very fragile
o Sensitive to criticism; fly into a rage when they don’t get what they think they deserve
o Inability to recognize the needs or desires of others; self-centred, unwillingly to reciprocate
o Extensive use of first-person pronouns (e.g., I, me, mine)
o Envious of others’ accomplishments
o Impaired recognition of others need = difficulty maintaining intimate relationships
Schizoid personality disorder (Eccentric)
o Split or detached from normal social relations
o Appears to have no need or desire for intimate relationships/friendships
o Choose solitary hobbies/jobs
o Derive little pleasure from bodily or sensory experiences
o Constricted emotional life
o Does not respond well to social cues
o Passivity in responding to events
o Cultural issues of adjusting to a new environment do NOT classify as schizoid
Schizotypal personality disorder (Eccentric)
o Anxious in social situations; especially with strangers; suspicious of others; prone not to trust others
o Odd and eccentric behaviour; superstitious and have strange beliefs outside of the norm (e.g., ESP, paranormal phenomenon, magical powers)
o Unusual perceptions (bordering on hallucinations)
o Violate social conventions; no eye contract, dressing in unkempt clothes
Paranoid personality disorder
o Extreme distrust of others; see others as threat or deceitful
o Reluctant to share personal information about themselves
o Often misinterpret social events; looking for hidden meanings and disguised motivations in others
o Resentment towards others for perceived insults
o Pathological jealousy (even if there is a lack of evidence)
o Risk of harming those who threaten their belief system; argumentative and hostile nature
Neurotic paradox
Behaviour pattern solves one problem but creates or maintains another equally or more severe problem
Avoidant personality disorder (Anxious)
o Pervasive feeling of inadequacy and sensitivity to criticism from others
o Goes to great lengths to avoid situations with opportunities for criticism
o Restrict activities to avoid potential embarrassment
o Avoidance of activities leads to anxieties of missing opportunities and being misperceived
o Sensitive to what others think of them; feelings are easily hurt
o Low self-esteem; feel inadequate in many of life’s daily challenges
o Few social supports; paradox of needing people to deal with anxiety, but avoiding them for fear of rejection/criticism
Dependent personality disorder (Anxious)
o Excessive need to be taken care of and told what to do
o Act in submissive ways to encourage others to take care of the situation/make decisions
o Seeks out reassurance from others (but to an extreme); rarely taking the initiative in decision-making (even for simple decisions)
o Avoid disagreements with any person they are dependent on
o Do not work well independently – wait for others to start a project or need direction during a task
o May tolerate extreme circumstances to obtain reassurance and support from others; ensure they maintain bond with person they are dependent on
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder (Anxious)
o NOT the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder
o Preoccupied with order and striving to be perfect
o Hold very high standards for themselves; work hard to be perfect but are never fully satisfied
o Devotion to work at the expense of leisure and friendships
o Leisure activities (if any) are ones that require attention to detail
o Inflexible with regard to ethics/morals; both for themselves and for others
o Rigid/stubborn
o Trouble working with others; reluctant to delegate tasks – irritated when others don’t take work as seriously as they do
o Difficulty throwing things away; hoarding and stingy behaviours
o Some qualities are desirable – but it becomes an issue when the behaviour starts interfering with a person’s daily functioning
Prevalence (of PDs)
The total number of cases that are present within a given population during a particular period of time
Most common PD based on self-report data
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Least common PD based on self-report data
Narcissistic personality disorder
Comorbidity
When two or more disorders coexist in the same person; makes it difficult to make a specific diagnosis
Differential diagnosis
Picking the best diagnosis out of multiple possible diagnoses
Gender differences in personality disorders
- Antisocial PD occurs in men more than women
- Borderline/dependent PD more in women than men (mixed evidence)
- Paranoid/OCPD more in men than women (not a large difference)
- Issue of gender biases and manifestations of the disorder based on gender stereotypes
Dimensional Model of Personality Disorders
Distinguish between normal personality traits and disorder in terms of extremity, rigidity, and maladaptiveness
BPD = extreme narcissism
Schizoid = extreme introversion + low neuroticism (low emotional stability)
Avoidant = extreme introversion + high neuroticism
Histrionic = extreme extraversion
OCPD = extreme conscientiousness (maladaptive)
Schizotypal = introversion + high neuroticism + low agreeableness + extreme openness
Causes of Personality Disorders
Examine both biological and environmental factors
- BPD: poor attachment relationships in childhood
- Schizotypal, paranoid, avoidant PDs: genetic causes
- APD: social learning and psychoanalytic theories; biological changes (drug use); genetic causes
