Personality Comes From
What is a disordered personality?
Categories or Clusters
Cluster A
Cluster B
A person’s general way of interacting with the world
An enduring pattern of behavior and thinking
Who a person typically is
Habit
Ways people differ from one another that are relatively consistent over time and place
Used to differentiate people
Nature
Genetics
Biology
Sex (biological)/Gender (social)
Gender roles
Nurture
Values
Culture
Success
Independence
kindness
Culture and ethnicity
Environment
Television media An inflexible, maladaptive pattern of relating, perceiving, and thinking that causes distress or impaired functioning
Behavior that’s maladaptive and causes distress or impaired functioning
Pervasive(you can’t escape it), lifespan aspects of a person’s functioning
Signs appear in childhood or early adolescence; symptoms may increase or decrease as one ages
Affects the person’s thinking, expression of emotion, relationships, and impulse control
Cluster A: odd or eccentric behavior
Cluster B: dramatic, erratic, or emotional behavior
Cluster C: anxious or fearful behavior
Schizoid
Schizotypal
Paranoid
Antisocial
Borderline
Narcissistic
Histrionic
Borderline Personality Disorders
Associated Behaviors
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
A pervasive pattern of instability of interpersonal relationships, self-image, and affect, and marked impulsivity, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, 5+
Frantic efforts to avoid real or imagined abandonment
Pattern of unstable and intense interpersonal relationships characterized by alternating between extremes of idealization and devaluation
Identity disturbance: markedly and persistently unstable self image or sense of self
Impulsivity in at least 2 areas that are potentially self-damaging (spending, sex, substance abuse, reckless driving, bingeing)
Recurrent suicidal behavior, gestures, or threats, or self-mutilation
Affective instability due to a marked reactivity of mood
Chronic feelings of emptiness
Inappropriate, intense anger or difficulty controlling anger
Transient, stress-related paranoid ideation or severe dissociative symptoms
2% of general population
75% of sufferers are female
30-60% of people with personality disorders are borderline
Goal undermining
When they’re about to achieve a goal they’ll sabotage themselves
Psychotic symptoms
Rare-hallucinations
Co-morbid with mood (depression and anxiety), eating, and substance-related disorders
Symptoms tend to peak in early adulthood and wane with age
Suicide attempts are common
Hard to treat
No medication
A pervasive pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy; begins in early adulthood and present in many contexts; 5+:
Cluster C
Etiology
Grandiose sense of self importance; exaggerates talents; expects to be recognized as superior even without evidence of superiority
Egocentric and I am awesome
Preoccupied with fantasies of unlimited success/power/brilliance
Believes he/she is special and should only associate with other special, high status people
Requires excessive admiration
Sense of entitlement and expects favorable treatment
Exploits others to achieve his/her own ends
Lacks empathy; is unwilling to identify with others
Is envious of others; believes others are envious of him/her
Arrogant, haughty behaviors and attitudes
Less than 1% of the general population
More common in males
Difficulty adjusting to the aging process so symptoms may intensify as they age
React to criticism with rage and defiance (or total disdain)
Impaired relationships due to the entitlement and need for admiration coupled with