psych 239 final exam

Question 1

What are the Dialectical Dilemmas identified by Linehan, and what do they mean?

Answer 1

These dilemmas illustrate the internal conflicts and extremes often present in individuals with Borderline Personality Disorder, making consistent emotional regulation and relationship stability particularly challenging

– emotional vulnerability versus self-invalidation: This dilemma highlights the struggle between extreme sensitivity and intense emotions (emotional vulnerability) and the tendency to invalidate or dismiss one’s own feelings and experiences (self-invalidation). Individuals with BPD often experience rapid emotional shifts and may simultaneously doubt the legitimacy of their feelings

– active passivity versus apparent competence: This dilemma describes the contradiction between an individual’s passive approach to solving their own problems (active passivity) and the outward appearance of capability in managing life’s demands (apparent competence). People with BPD might seem competent and self-sufficient in some areas while feeling helpless and unable to cope in others

– unrelenting crisis versus inhibited grieving: This dilemma involves the continuous experience of crisis situations without resolution (unrelenting crisis) and the suppression of grief or emotional pain (inhibited grieving). Those with BPD may find themselves caught in a cycle of ongoing crises, while simultaneously avoiding or numbing themselves to the pain associated with these crises

Question 2

In terms of negative and positive symptoms, briefly describe the relationship between Avoidant
PD, Schizoid PD, and Schizophrenia. How would you tell them apart?

Answer 2

Avoidant Personality Disorder: Type of personality disorder characterized by
avoidance of social relationships due to fears of rejection. The negative symptoms includes social inhibition, feeling of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation. The avoidant Personality lacks positive symptoms like delusions and hallucinations

Schizoid Personality Disorder: Type of personality disorder characterized by a persistent lack of interest in
social relationships, flattened affect, and social withdrawal.rarely express emotions and are distant and aloof. But emotions of people with schizoid personalities are not as shallow or
blunted as they are in people with schizophrenia.The negative symptoms include lack of desire for relationship, emotional coldness, detachment. they prefer solitude are indifferent to praise or criticism. They don’t have positive symptoms like hallucinations and delusion

Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Type of personality disorder characterized by eccentricities or oddities of
thought and behaviour but without clearly psychotic features. Similar to
Sz in many respects but without the profound impairment in reality
testing. The negative symptoms are similar to Schizoid personality disorder but severe and pervasive. the positive symptoms are characterized by hallucinations ,delusions, disorganized thinking, and abnormal motor behavior