CH-12-Personality Disorders – Comprehensive Study Notes

Key vocabulary terms covering conceptual models, diagnostic clusters, specific personality disorders, theoretical constructs, and treatment approaches discussed in the lecture notes.

A chronic pattern of emotions, cognitions, and behaviors that causes distress or impairment in social, work, or other important areas of functioning.

Personality Disorder

Former diagnostic category that contained personality disorders and intellectual disability, removed in DSM-5.

Axis II (DSM-IV-TR)

Diagnostic approach that views mental disorders as separate, distinct entities—you either have the disorder or you do not.

Categorical Model

Approach that views mental disorders as extremes on one or more personality dimensions rather than distinct categories.

Dimensional Model

Widely accepted dimensional system describing personality on five traits: Extraversion, Agreeableness, Conscientiousness, Neuroticism, and Openness to Experience.

Five-Factor Model (Big Five)

Trait marked by talkativeness, assertiveness, and high activity; low scores indicate quiet and reserved behavior.

Extraversion

Trait reflecting kindness, trust, and warmth versus hostility, selfishness, and mistrust.

Agreeableness

Trait describing organization, reliability, and thoroughness versus carelessness and unreliability.

Conscientiousness

Trait indicating emotional instability, nervousness, and moodiness versus even-temperedness.

Neuroticism

Trait involving imagination, curiosity, and creativity versus shallow or conventional thinking.

Openness to Experience

DSM-5 group of odd or eccentric personality disorders: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal.

Cluster A

DSM-5 group of dramatic, emotional, or erratic personality disorders: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic.

Cluster B

DSM-5 group of anxious or fearful personality disorders: Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive.

Cluster C

Pervasive distrust and suspiciousness such that others’ motives are interpreted as malevolent.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Pattern of detachment from social relationships and restricted range of emotional expression.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

Social and interpersonal deficits with cognitive or perceptual distortions and eccentric behavior.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Belief that unrelated events or remarks are specifically directed at oneself; common in schizotypal PD.

Ideas of Reference

Belief that one’s thoughts or actions can cause unrelated events—e.g., clairvoyance; seen in schizotypal PD.

Magical Thinking

Pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others, often involving deceit and lack of remorse.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Subgroup of antisocial individuals marked by superficial charm, lack of empathy, grandiosity, and callousness.

Psychopathy

Childhood pattern of violating societal norms or others’ rights; often precedes adult antisocial personality disorder.

Conduct Disorder

Theory that psychopaths have chronically low cortical arousal, leading them to seek stimulation through risky acts.

Under-arousal Hypothesis

Theory that psychopaths possess unusually high thresholds for fear, making them less responsive to punishment cues.

Fearlessness Hypothesis

Neurobiological system that produces anxiety and inhibits behavior in response to potential punishment.

Behavioral Inhibition System (BIS)

Brain system that motivates approach behavior through positive reinforcement; thought to dominate in psychopathy.

Reward System (Behavioral Activation)

Pattern of instability in relationships, self-image, and affect, with marked impulsivity and fear of abandonment.

Borderline Personality Disorder

Cognitive-behavioral treatment for borderline PD that emphasizes emotion regulation, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking manifested by theatrical behavior and need for approval.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy; individuals believe they are special and entitled.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Social inhibition, feelings of inadequacy, and hypersensitivity to negative evaluation leading to avoidance of relationships.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Excessive need to be taken care of, leading to submissive and clinging behavior and fears of separation.

Dependent Personality Disorder

Preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, and control at the expense of flexibility and efficiency.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

Presence of two or more disorders in the same person; common among personality disorders.

Comorbidity

Therapist’s emotional reactions to a client, which can interfere with treatment, especially in PD cases.

Countertransference

Lack of empathy, guilt, and shallow affect in youth; considered developmental precursor to psychopathy.

Callous-Unemotional Traits

Proposed dimensional system rating impairment in self/interpersonal functioning plus pathological traits; placed in DSM-5 for further study.

Alternative DSM-5 Model

Concept that genetic vulnerability may be expressed only under certain environmental conditions (e.g., antisocial PD).

Gene–Environment Interaction

Studies showing the Big Five personality dimensions are relatively universal, though mean levels vary across cultures.

Five-Factor Cross-Cultural Research