Problem 9 Flashcards
Personality disorders
Refer to enduring + stable patterns of thought, feeling and behavior, that deviate from the norms of ones culture and may lead to distress and impairment
- emerges in adolescence or early adulthood
=> extreme levels of personality traits, but may tend to fluctuate over the course of time
Schizoid personality disorder
Involves an extreme degree of detachment from social relationships + very limited expression of emotions in interpersonal settings
–> e.g.: emotional detachment + social isolation
Schizotypal personality disorder
Tendency to be highly superstitious with the paranormal + having bizarre perceptual experiences
–> detachment from social relationships also due to discomfort
Paranoid personality disorder
Characterized by a strong suspiciousness of others motives + by a sense of being followed
–> e.g.: think that others try to harm, deceive, exploit you
Antisocial personality disorder
Refers to a tendency to disregard + violate the right of others
–> e.g.: being deceitful by lying to others/conning them
Borderline personality disorder
Involves extreme instability in ones own self image + ones relationships with others
–> e.g.: having unstable “love/hate” relationships with others + working over possible abandonment
Histrionic personality disorder
Refers to an exaggerated display of emotions + excessive attention seeking
–> e.g.: feeling uncomfortable when not the focus of attention
Narcissistic personality disorder
Refers to a tendency to consider oneself as a superior individual who deserves the admiration of others
–> selfish lack of concern for others needs
Avoidant personality disorder
Characterized by social inhibition, shyness, feelings of inadequacy + oversensitivity to possible negative evaluation
–> strong fears of criticism/disapproval/rejection
What are the differences between the avoidant vs schizoid personality disorder when it comes to their need for social contact ?
Avoidant people want social contact but is simply afraid of rejection, whereas schizoid people are completely indifferent to it
Dependent personality disorder
Characterized by an
a) excessive need to be taken care of
b) submissive, clinging behavior
c) fear of separation
–> need a great deal of advice + reassurance
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
Involves being preoccupied with orderliness, perfection + control
–> to an extent that the purpose of the entire activity is lost
Cluster NOS
(Not otherwise specified)
Contains
a) Depression
b) Passive-Aggressiveness
–> most prevalent personality disorders
Limitations to the DSM 5
-
Some symptoms do not really show much tendency to co-occur
* 2 persons diagnosed with the same disorder might not have any symptoms in common -
Two disorders might have overlapping symptoms and may be diagnosed together
* people might me diagnosed with 2 or more disorders - “Clusters” of disorders do not match factor analysis results
- A personality disorder should be seen as a continuum, not as a category
* because having it is a matter of degree
According to the DSM 5, there are 2 essential features of a personality disorder.
Which are those ?
- Impaired personality functioning
- Presence of pathological personality traits
Negative affectivity domain
Involves intense experience of negative emotions
–> similar to neuroticism
Detachment domain
Involves withdrawal from social interactions + from other people
–> similar to low extraversion
Antagonism domain
Involves acting in ways that create difficulties for other people
–> similar to low honesty-humility
Disinhibition domain
Involves behaving on impulse, without thinking of consequences
–> similar to low conscientiousness
The new, revised system recognizes 25 personalty traits as being pathological, when showing a high level of one of the traits.
These 25 personality facets are clustered into 5 main domains.
Several of these domains are similar to factors of the big 5 or HEXACO.
Name these domains.
- Negative affectivity domain
- Detachment domain
- Antagonism domain
- Disinhibition domain
- Psychoticism
–> describes Schizotypal PD
Which methods does a clinician use to diagnose a patient ?
1. Conducting a structured interview with patient or person that know the patient
2. Using a specific rating form
a) Impaired personality functioning
* from scale 0-4, with 3-4 indicating a PD
b) Pathological personality trait
* scale 0-3, with 2-3 being indicative
Which criteria must be met if a personality disorder is to be diagnosed ?
- Does the patient have Impaired personality functioning, by looking at
a) whether a person has a clear sense of the self
b) Capabilities of self- or emotional regulation
c) Interpersonal functioning; ability to make and maintain relationships - The pathalogical traits have to be
a) relatively stable across time
b) considered abnormal for the persons stage of development
c) not be due to the effects of some substance e.g.: medication, drugs
What are the causes of Personality disorders ?
- Show modest to moderate heritability , where the rest is due to environmental factors or epigenetic activation of genetic factors by the environment
- Neurobiological differences
-
Childhood trauma
-> Usually Insecure Attachement
What are the 2 reasons for why it can be difficult to treat personality disorders ?
- Disorders are based on the individuals own personality characteristics, which tend to be rather stable across long periods of time
- Some disorders are based on characteristics that make an individual less likely to be cooperative during during treatment
Psychodynamic psychotherapy
Involves encouraging the patient to speak freely about what is on his/her mind
–> thereby the patients self understanding improves his/her functioning
Cognitive behavioral therapy
(CBT)
Involves understanding the irrational beliefs that a patient has + showing the patient that those views are wrong
–> trying to change their perceptions
Dialectical behavior therapy
(DBT)
Involves
- making the patient more aware of what he/she is currently thinking + feeling
- getting the patient to reflect on and accept those thoughts + feelings openly without judgment
–> used for borderline PD
Psychobiological treatments
Using drugs to counteract the chemical imbalances in the brain
–> e.g.: antidepressant etc
Psychodynamic group therapy
Involves creating a therapeutic community, intended to develop feelings of empathy + responsibility towards peers
–> counterpo+roductive for antisocial people, because theyll use input about other peoples feelings + behavior to engage in manipulative behavior
What is said to be the most successful method for treating antisocial people ?
Making it the persons own self interest to avoid exploiting other people
–> showing them what criminal acts might lead to
Characteristics of personality disorders
1. Defined by Personality traits, not symptoms
2. Traits are rigid + inflexible, therefore maladaptive
- usually we should be able to use our personalities in an adaptive way
3. Interpersonal
- how we interact with other people
5. Ego-syntonic
- people suffering from them just perceive the personality disorder to be normal/ a part of the self
6. Long duration
7. Early onset
8. Treatment resistent
Alternative classifications of personality disorders
- Personality disorders lie on a continuum with mental disorders
ex. : Schizotypal disorder + Schizophrenia - Personality disorders are extreme versions of personality traits
Dark Triad & Career Success
- Narcissism significantly positively correlated with high salary, not with leadership position or career satisfaction.
- Psychopathy negatively related to salary, leadership responsibility, & career satisfaction
- Machiavellianism positively correlated with leadership position and positively related to career satisfaction
DSM-5 Cluster A
Odd, Eccentric
Includes…
- Schizoid
- Schizotypal
- Paranoid
DSM-5 Cluster B
Dramatic, Emotional, Erratic
Includes…
- Antisocial
- Borderline
- Histrionic
- Narcissistic
DSM-5 Cluster C
Anxious, Fearful
Includes…
- Avoidant
- Dependent
- Obsessive Compulsive
Psychoticism Domain
Involves unusual, bizarre thoughts and perceptions (similar to BPD). Is the only domain to not be associated with a HEXACO/Big-5 dimension (besides skin-deep connections to Neuroticism)
