task 8 - what is normal Flashcards
personality disorder
- 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
negative affectivity
intense, frequent experience of negative emotions
- low Agreeableness
detachment
withdrawal from social interactions and from others
- low Extraversion
antagonism
acting in ways that create difficulties for others
- low Agreeableness & Honesty-Humility
disinhibition(vs compulsivity)
behaving on impulse, without thinking of consequences
- low Conscientiousness
psychoticism
unusual, bizarre thoughts and perceptions
- Openness to Experience
- low Conscientiousness
how to diagnose personality disorders
- structured interview(with patient or people knowing him well)
- observe behaviour directly
- consult records
- specific rating forms
origins of personality disorders
- most personality disorder symptoms correspond to extreme levels of various personality traits
- sometimes also heritable or caused by traumatized childhood
why are personality disorders difficult to treat?
- disorders are more based on individual’s own personality characteristics which tend to be stable than on modifiable external circumstances
- some disorders include traits that make an individual less likely to be a “good patient”
description of psychodynamic psychotherapy
- 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
aim of psychodynamic psychotherapy
- Encourage patient to speak freely about what is on his mind (dreams and fantasies)
- Reflecting on mental life→improve self-understanding and functioning
description of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
- Based on idea that personality disorders involve dysfunctional views about oneself, surrounding world and future..
aim of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)
- Understand irrational beliefs and show that they are maladaptive and change them
description of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
→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
aim of dialectical behaviour therapy (DBT)
- 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
psychobiological treatments
using drugs to counteract imbalance of chemical substances in the brain and reduce symptoms
- modestly positive results (antidepressants helped in borderline)
treatment of antisocial personality disorder
- 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
essential core of personality disorder
inability to form and sustain satisfactory interpersonal relationships
psychosocial intervention
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
pharmacotherapy
o Behavioral traits associated with personality disorders might be associated with
neurochemical abnormalities of the CNS o Psychobiological model remains untested
DSM-5: Cluster A
odd & eccentric
- behaviours seem strange or unusual
DSM-5: Cluster B
dramatic, emotional & erratic
- behaviours seen impulsive and unstable
DSM-5: Cluster C
anxious & fearful
- behaviours seem nervous and worried
problems with DSM-5
- Symptoms of a given disorder do not necessarily “go together” - two people with same disorder can have nothing in common
- 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
- Clusters of disorders do not match factor analysis results
- A personality disorder should be seen as a continuum, not as a category
dark triad: machiavellianism
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
dark triad: narcissicism
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
dark triad: psychopathy
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
dark personality
middle ground between normal personality and clinical-level pathology
