What is Personality An enduring pattern Thinking Ways

What is Personality? • An enduring pattern – Thinking • Ways of looking at – Self – Others – World – Feeling – Relating – Behaving • Seen across many situations • Onset beginning at adolescence

Personality Disorders

Defense Mechanisms • Unconscious psychological processes designed to avoid or reduce the conscious experience of anxiety

Defense Mechanisms • • • Repression Regression Displacement Denial Projection Reaction Formation Intellectualization Rationalization Undoing Sublimation Identification

COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS • Arbitrary inferences: making conclusions without supporting evidence • Selective Abstraction: forming conclusions based on an isolated detail or event • Overgeneralization: generalizing beliefs based on a single incident • Magnification or minimization: perceiving a situation in a greater or lesser light than it deserves

COGNITIVE DISTORTIONS • Personalization: tendency to relate external events to yourself • Labeling : portraying your identity based on imperfections and mistakes made in the past, and allowing them to define your true identity • Polarized (Dichotomous) thinking: thinking in all or nothing, black or white extremes

• Long-standing, pervasive, and inflexible patterns of behavior or inner experience that: – Depart from cultural expectations – Impair social and occupational functioning – Cause emotional distress • Personality disorders are coded on Axis II of the DSM – Personality disorders can be, and often are, a co-morbid condition for an Axis I disorder

Clusters of Personality Disorders – Cluster A: Odd or eccentric “Weird” • Paranoid - distrust/suspiciousness • Schizoid - voluntary social w/drawl, limited expression • Schizotypal - awkwardness, odd thought patterns – Cluster B: Dramatic, emotional, or erratic “Wild” • • Antisocial - disregard/violation of others rights Males > Females Borderline - unstable, impulsive, empty Females > Males Histrionic - drama queen; sexually provocative Narcissistic - grandiose, “God complex” – Cluster C: Anxious or fearful “Worried” • Avoidant - inadequate, sensitive to rejection • Dependent – submissive & clinging • Obsessive-compulsive - pre-occupation w. order/perfection

Paranoid Personality Disorder: Watching for injustice • • • A pervasive and unwarranted belief that others intend to harm Expecting to be exploited Distrust and suspiciousness of even family and friends Interpreting others motives as malevolent Reading malicious intent into even innocuous comments Taking remarks out of context and interpreting them to support own frame of reference • Extreme jealousy • Hypersensitivity to criticism • Controlling; quick to anger

Paranoid Personality Disorder • Paranoid Personality Disorder (PD) involves suspicion of others, hostility, jealousy • Different from psychotic paranoia: – No hallucinations and no full-blown delusions Occurs more frequently in men than in women

Schizoid Personality Disorder: Detached loner • • • Pervasive indifference toward others Restricted range of emotional expression Unaffected by praise or criticism Few friends or confidants Maintains superficial connections with relatives; even these are aloof and cool • No sense of humor • Lacks social skills • No overtly bizarre behavior, thinking, etc

Schizoid Personality Disorder: – Reduced social relations and few friends – Reduced sexual desire and few pleasurable activities – Indifference to praise or criticism – Lonely life style

Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Peculiarity/eccentricity • Acutely uncomfortable around others; esp. those who are unfamiliar • Deficient in social relationships • Reduced capacity for closeness • Peculiar in thought, action, appearance • Bizarre fantasies and preoccupations • Unkempt, mismatched, prefer to dress in strange clothing • vague in speech • Use words differently than others: neologisms • Talk to themselves openly

Schizotypal Personality Disorder • Schizotypal Personality Disorder – An attenuated or milder form of schizophrenia • • Odd beliefs and magical thinking Recurrent illusions Ideas of reference (hidden meaning) Behavior and appearance is eccentric

Narcissistic Personality Disorder: Grandiose entitlement • Pervasive grandiosity about self; self-important masking deep insecurity • Sees self as unique • Feels entitled to admiration, recognition, special privileges; enraged when they don’t get that • Excessive and constant need for admiration • Oriented toward success and perfection • Lacks empathy • Relationships: – – Must have their own way Focused on their own needs Tends to engulf others with their needs Charms others to get needs met

Narcissistic Personality Disorder • Narcissistic PD – A grandiose view of the person’s own importance – A strong sense of entitlement – A lack of empathy for others

Borderline Personality Disorder: INTENSE, UNSTABLE, EXTREMES • Instability – – – Mood Identity Relationships Impulses Self-image • Frantic efforts to avoid being abandoned • Relationships: – high maintenance; turmoil, chaos – baffling and exhaustive to others – Require constant attention to soothing moods and stroking insecurities – Extremes of closeness and distance

Borderline Personality Disorder • Borderline Personality Disorder – Impulsivity (gambling, spending, sexual sprees) – Instability in relationships, mood and self-image – Borderline PD persons are argumentative and difficult to live with – Often will have self-inflicted wounds – See the world as Black/White

Histrionic Personality Disorder: “High Drama” • Emotionality – Excessive – Exaggerated – Labile • Constantly seeking – Attention (uncomfortable when not the center) – Reassurance – Approval • Flamboyant • Inappropriately flirtatious/seductive • Possible family history: enmeshed; engulfing; little support for individuation; more aware of others than self; possible sexual abuse/seduction; little family expectation of accomplishment; emphasis on appearance alone as success

Histrionic Personality Disorder: “High Drama” – Overly dramatic and attention seeking – Exhibit emotional displays but are emotionally shallow – Self-centered and overly concerned about physical attractiveness

Antisocial Personality Disorder: Disregard for other’s rights • Longstanding irresponsible behavior • Lying, stealing, vandalizing, bullying as a child • Initiating fights, running away from home, physically cruel to others • Failure to honor financial obligations • Crimes; drugs; fights • Checkered work history • Shirking responsibilities as parent • Incapable of sustaining relationships with family members or friends • Relationships: shallow, brief, marked by callousness, exploitative • Expresses no remorse; feels justified in hurting or mistreating • Charming, engaging, persuasive • Criminal behavior not enough for diagnosis; lack of concern for feelings of others

Antisocial Personality Disorder: Disregard for other’s rights • Antisocial PD – Predicted by the presence of conduct disorder before the age of fifteen • Conduct disorder includes truancy, lying, theft, arson, running away from home and destruction of property – The continuation of these behaviors into adulthood

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: All about order and structure • • • Perfectionistic and inflexible Focus on detail; order; structure; lists Devoted to work; hard-working Performance never good enough; hard to finish when attending to every detail Stubbornly demanding that others do things their way; very controlling Overly conscientious and concerned with moral and ethical issues Scrupulous to the point of rigidity Judges others and self very harshly; demands perfection Not emotionally expressive; distrusts and disapproves of emotion in others Stiff, stilted, “formal” interactions

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder: All about order and structure • Obsessive-Compulsive PD – Perfectionistic, but does not complete projects – Control freak who must have their own way

Dependent Personality Disorder: Excessive need to be taken care of; limited sense of self • Widespread and longstanding dependency on and submissiveness to others • Even routine daily decisions require advice and reassurance • Complete passivity; letting others decide • Difficulty initiating projects • Discomfort, fear, and helplessness about being alone; goes to great lengths to avoid being isolated or alone • Highly sensitive to disapproval • Willingness to go along with others even it conflicts with their own wishes or values • Does almost anything to help others, seeks reassurance they are liked • Paralyzed by the thought of independent thought or action • Drives people away with neediness

Dependent Personality Disorder: Excessive need to be taken care of; limited sense of self • Dependent PD – Lack of self confidence – Lack of a sense of autonomy – View that others are powerful while they are weak

Avoidant Personality Disorder: Involvement is risky • • • Widespread and longstanding discomfort Shy, distant; exaggerates risk that people pose Hypersensitivity to evaluation Feelings of inadequacy Avoid social activities that involve contact with others Stays in corners at parties tongue-tied Always expecting to say something foolish Highly anxious around others Anxious about looking anxious No close friends or confidants; easily slides into dependence after taking a risk on others

Avoidant Personality Disorder: Involvement is risky Avoidant PD – Fearful in social situations – Keenly sensitive to criticism, rejection or disapproval – People whose lives and job are restricted by their fear of negative interactions

Passive-aggressive personality disorder • Negativistic attitude and passive resistance to demands for adequate performance with excessive complaints of being unappreciated and misunderstood by others.

Self-defeating personality disorder • defeating self repeatedly through choosing situations or people that inevitably lead to mistreatment or disappointment, and rejection of attempts to help

Sadistic personality disorder • aggressive, cruel and demeaning behavior with lack of empathy and respect for others

Depressive personality disorder • pervasive pattern of anhedonic mood with pessimistic views and low self-esteem

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