The Psychodynamic Perspective

1
Personality Psychology
Chapter 19 Disorders of Personality
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Personality Disorders

• Defining Features
• On a continuum
• Composed of traits that are undesirable,
  maladaptive, and rigid
• Traits are ingrained and pervasive
• Ego-syntonic not distressing because consistent
  with individuals self-view

3
DSM-IV Clusters

• Odd and eccentric
• Paranoid, Schizoid, Schizotypal
• Anxious and fearful
• Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive
• Dramatic, emotional, and erratic
• Narcissistic, Histrionic, Antisocial, Borderline

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Personality Disorders

• Paranoid Personality Disorder
• Pervasive mistrust preoccupied with doubts of
  loyalty or trustworthiness
• Very reactive to perceived threats or slights
  persistently bear grudges

5
Personality Disorders

• Schizoid Personality Disorder
• Indifferent with regard to relationships
• Preference for solitary activities
• Emotional coldness and detachment
• NOT related to schizophrenia

6
Personality Disorders

• Schizotypal Personality Disorder
• Behavior odd, eccentric, and bizarre
• Thoughts strange, although not incoherent the
  content is strange to others
• Affect Constricted and inappropriate, unable to
  experience pleasure in life, lack of motivation

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Personality Disorders

• Avoidant Personality Disorder
• Behavior similar to schizoid
• Distinction desire for social involvement,
  yearns for affection and acceptance
• Immobilized by timidity and hypersensitivity
• Self-view socially inadequate and personally
  unappealing

8
Personality Disorders

• Dependent Personality Disorder
• Excessive need to be taken care of
• Difficulty making decisions or completing
  projects without advice or reassurance of others
• Difficulty asserting disagreement
• Feels helpless when alone

9
Personality Disorders

• Obsessive Compulsive Personality Disorder
• Preoccupied with details, rules, lists, being
  orderly
• Perfectionistic tendencies which interfere with
  getting tasks done
• Sacrifices relationships and leisure activities
  due to devotion to work
• Rigid and stubborn

10
Personality Disorders

• Narcissistic Personality Disorder
• Sense of self Inflated overestimate own
  importance and talents expect to be superior in
  their relationships
• Perceptions of others Less special than they
  are resent people perceived as more successful
  think others are jealous of their talents only
  high-status people can appreciate their abilities
• Behaviors May exploit people to achieve goals
  lack of empathy or sensitivity to others

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Personality Disorders

• Histrionic Personality Disorder
• Behavior Act in ways to be noticed, often
  seductive/sexually provocative dramatic
  constantly overstating
• Affect Intense emotional reactions, dramatized
• Self-doubt Appear quite insecure appear to
  need attention and validation from others

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Personality Disorders

• Antisocial Personality Disorder
• Deficits absence of conscience, remorse, or
  shame does not learn from experience poor
  judgment unable to empathize.
• Behavior unreliable pathological lying
  criminal behavior unmotivated socially
  impulsive.
• Style often superficially charming no
  delusional thinking absence of anxiety often
  charismatic in style.

13
Personality Disorders

• Borderline Personality Disorder
• Affect Emotional instability hyper-reactive to
  emotional events abnormally intense affect
• Interpersonal Unstable relationships
  splitting issues of trust are very salient in
  relationships become very attached very quickly
• Self-damaging impulsivity Promiscuity careless
  spending binge eating or substance abuse
  parasuicidal behaviors
• Core Sense of emptiness identity confusion

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Treatment for Personality Disorders Moving
from egosyntonic to egodystonic

• Need motivation to want to understand self better
• Build safe supportive environment and trusting
  relationship
• Therapist points out inconsistencies and
  maladaptive aspects of personality when they come
  up
• Allows client to be able to study traits as
  separate from themselves, objectively, to enact
  gradual change