Abnormal Psychology: Chapter 13 Study Set

Personality Disorder

Personality Disorder

An enduring, rigid pattern of inner experience and outward behavior that repeatedly impairs a person’s sense of self, emotional experiences, goals, capacity for empathy, and/or capacity for intimacy.

Odd-Cluster Personality Disorders

Consisting of the paranoid, schizoid, and schizotypal personality disorders, people with these disorders typically have odd or eccentric behaviors similar, but not as extensive as their counterparts.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

A personality disorder marked by a pattern of distrust and suspiciousness of others.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

A personality disorder featuring persistent avoidance of social relationships and little expression of emotion.

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by extreme discomfort in close relationships, very odd patterns of thinking and perceiving, and behavioral eccentricities.

Ideas of Reference

Beliefs that unrelated events pertain to them in some important way.

Bodily Illusions

The sensing of an external “force” or presence.

Backward Masking

A laboratory test of attention that requires a person to identify a visual stimulus immediately after a previous stimulus has flashed on and off the screen.

Dramatic-Cluster Personality Disorders

Personality disorders including the antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic personality disorders. Behaviors of people with theses disorders tends to be overly dramatic, emotional, or erratic.

Antisocial Personality Disorder

A personality disorder marked by a general pattern of disregard for and violation of other people’s rights.

Borderline Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by repeated instability in interpersonal relationships, self-image, and mood and by impulsive behavior.

Mentalization

The capacity to understand one’s own mental states and those of other people.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

A comprehensive approach, applied in cases of borderline personality disorder, suicidal intent, and/or other psychological problems; includes both individual sessions and group sessions. Considered the treatment of choice for people with borderline personality disorder.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of excessive emotionality and attention seeking. Once called hysterical personality disorder.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

A personality disorder marked by a broad pattern of grandiosity, need for admiration, and lack of empathy.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by consistent discomfort and restraint in social situations, overwhelming feelings of inadequacy, and extreme sensitivity to negative evaluation.

Dependent Personality Disorder

A personality disorder characterized by a pattern of clinging and obedience, fear of separation, and an ongoing need to be taken care of.

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder

A personality disorder marked by such an intense focus on orderliness, perfectionism, and control that the person loses flexibility, openness, and efficiency.

Anal Retentive

A term used by Freudian theorists suggesting that people who received overly harsh toilet training during the anal stage are subjected to become filled with anger thus developing obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.

Big Five Theory

The theory that the basic structure of personality may consist of five “supertraits” (factors): neuroticism, extroversion, openness to experiences, agreeableness, and conscientiousness.

Personality Disorder — trait specified (PDTS)

A personality disorder undergoing study for possible inclusion in the DSM. People would receive this diagnosis if they had significant impairment in functioning as a result of one or more very problematic traits.

Personality

A set of uniquely expressed characteristics that influence our behaviors, emotions, thoughts, and interactions.

Personality Traits

The particular characteristics that lead us to react in fairly predictable ways as we move through life.

Categorical Approach

The DSM’s listing of 10 distinct personality disorders.

Dimensional Approach

To classify personality disorders by the severity of personality traits rather than by the presence or absence of specific traits.

Biosocial Explanation

The explanation of borderline personality disorder that claims the disorder results from a combination of internal forces and external forces.

Disorganized Attachment Style

A severely flawed capacity for healthy relationships.

Relational Psychoanalytic Therapy

A Freudian psychodynamic therapy that argues that therapists are key figures in the lives of patients and that their reactions and beliefs should be included in the therapy process.

Transference-Focused Therapy

A psychodynamic therapy approach in which therapists take a more supportive posture and focus largely on issues that occur within the therapist-patient relationship.

Developmental Psychopathology Perspective

A perspective that uses a developmental framework to understand how variables and principles from the various models may collectively account for human functioning.