task 8 - what is normal

Question 1

personality disorder

Answer 1

• extreme levels of some traits become maladaptive
• stable patterns of thought, feeling and behaviour that deviate from the culture’s norms
• must involve some negative consequences for functioning and the happiness of the individual or others around him

Question 2

negative affectivity

Answer 2

intense, frequent experience of negative emotions

- low Agreeableness

Question 3

detachment

Answer 3

withdrawal from social interactions and from others

- low Extraversion

Question 4

antagonism

Answer 4

acting in ways that create difficulties for others

- low Agreeableness & Honesty-Humility

Question 5

disinhibition(vs compulsivity)

Answer 5

behaving on impulse, without thinking of consequences

- low Conscientiousness

Question 6

psychoticism

Answer 6

unusual, bizarre thoughts and perceptions

• Openness to Experience
• low Conscientiousness

Question 7

how to diagnose personality disorders

Answer 7

• structured interview(with patient or people knowing him well)
• observe behaviour directly
• consult records
• specific rating forms

Question 8

origins of personality disorders

Answer 8

• most personality disorder symptoms correspond to extreme levels of various personality traits
• sometimes also heritable or caused by traumatized childhood

Question 9

why are personality disorders difficult to treat?

Answer 9

1. disorders are more based on individual’s own personality characteristics which tend to be stable than on modifiable external circumstances
2. some disorders include traits that make an individual less likely to be a “good patient”

Question 10

description of psychodynamic psychotherapy

Answer 10

• Helps the patient to express his/her emotions (troubling or distressing ones)
• Identifying recurring patterns of behaviour and examine important relationships and interpersonal experiences in the patient’s life

Question 11

aim of psychodynamic psychotherapy

Answer 11

• Encourage patient to speak freely about what is on his mind (dreams and fantasies)
• Reflecting on mental life→improve self-understanding and functioning

Question 12

description of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Answer 12

• Based on idea that personality disorders involve dysfunctional views about oneself, surrounding world and future..

Question 13

aim of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

Answer 13

• Understand irrational beliefs and show that they are maladaptive and change them

Question 14

description of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)

Answer 14

→Specifically developed for treatment of Borderline- Clinician tries to avoid conflict with the patient and rather than criticising, he points out the maladaptive features
- Helps the patient develop plans for having more adaptive responses

Question 15

aim of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)

Answer 15

• Making patient more aware of what he is currently thinking and feeling- Get the patient to reflect on and accept those thoughts and feelings without judgment
• Developing “mindfulness” to handle thoughts and feelings more easily

Question 16

psychobiological treatments

Answer 16

using drugs to counteract imbalance of chemical substances in the brain and reduce symptoms
- modestly positive results (antidepressants helped in borderline)

Question 17

treatment of antisocial personality disorder

Answer 17

• Many of these patients will be motivated to appear as though they have been “cured”
• Several approaches do not work
• Most successful method: To make it in the person’s own self-interest to avoid exploiting other people
  o Showing them that criminal acts lead to imprisonment
  o Showing them ways to get what they want without harming others
   Does not “change” person but reduces gap of self-interest and society’s expectations of acceptable
  behaviour

Question 18

essential core of personality disorder

Answer 18

inability to form and sustain satisfactory interpersonal relationships

Question 19

psychosocial intervention

Answer 19

o Recommended as the primary treatment for borderline personality disorder and other personality disorders
Céleste Cockmartin
92
o Personality and its disorders arise from a complex interaction between genetic determinants and developmental processes
o Mixture of group and individual treatments, integrated with other services available to the patient could be optimum for a good outcome

Question 20

pharmacotherapy

Answer 20

o Behavioral traits associated with personality disorders might be associated with
neurochemical abnormalities of the CNS o Psychobiological model remains untested

Question 21

DSM-5: Cluster A

Answer 21

odd & eccentric

- behaviours seem strange or unusual

Question 22

DSM-5: Cluster B

Answer 22

dramatic, emotional & erratic

- behaviours seen impulsive and unstable

Question 23

DSM-5: Cluster C

Answer 23

anxious & fearful

- behaviours seem nervous and worried

Question 24

problems with DSM-5

Answer 24

1. Symptoms of a given disorder do not necessarily “go together” - two people with same disorder can have nothing in common
2. Two disorders may have overlapping symptoms and may tend to be diagnosed together – this is then called ‘comorbidity’, frequently observed for several pairs of personality disorders
3. Clusters of disorders do not match factor analysis results
4. A personality disorder should be seen as a continuum, not as a category

Question 25

dark triad: machiavellianism

Answer 25

manipulative personality, derived from questioning individuals on how much they agree with statements derived from Machiavelli’s writings
o Individuals high in this are called high-Machs, characterized by lack of empathy, low affect, possessing an unconvential view of morality – a willingness to manipulate, lie to, and exploit others – and focus exclusively on their own goals/agenda, not those of others’
o High-Machs are exceedingly willing to manipulate others and take a certain pleasure in successfully deceiving others, but they do not necessarily have superior ability to do so

Question 26

dark triad: narcissicism

Answer 26

grandiosity, entitlement, dominance, and superiority; tendency to engage in self-enhancement and can therefore appear charming or pleasant in the short term
Céleste Cockmartin
94
o Long term: difficulty maintaining successful interpersonal relationships, lacking trust and care for others

Question 27

dark triad: psychopathy

Answer 27

impulsivity and thrill seeking combined with low empathy and anxiety
o Antagonistic and have a belief in their own superiority and a tendency toward self-
promotion
o Unique affective experience, such that it has been suggested that the definitive
marker of psychopathy is a lack of the self-conscious emotion guilt and an absence
of conscience
o Do not experience anxiety and fear to the extent that normal people do and are also
less prone to experience embarrassment

Question 28

dark personality

Answer 28

middle ground between normal personality and clinical-level pathology