Chapter 11 – Personality Disorders (Essentials of Abnormal Psychology, 8e)

35 vocabulary flashcards summarizing key terms and concepts from Chapter 11: Personality Disorders.

Personality Disorder

Enduring, inflexible pattern of inner experience and behavior that is maladaptive, causes distress/impairment, and is ego-syntonic.

Ego-syntonic

Perceived by the individual as consistent with their own self-image; therefore, people rarely feel they need treatment.

Comorbidity (in PDs)

The frequent co-occurrence of two or more disorders; in personality disorders this is the rule rather than the exception.

Categorical Model

Traditional DSM approach that treats each personality disorder as an all-or-nothing diagnostic category.

Dimensional Model

DSM-5 alternative approach that rates individuals on the degree to which they exhibit various personality traits.

Cluster A

‘Odd or eccentric’ group: Paranoid, Schizoid, and Schizotypal Personality Disorders.

Cluster B

‘Dramatic, emotional, or erratic’ group: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, and Narcissistic Personality Disorders.

Cluster C

‘Anxious or fearful’ group: Avoidant, Dependent, and Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorders.

Paranoid Personality Disorder

Pervasive and unjustified distrust and suspicion of others.

Schizoid Personality Disorder

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

Schizotypal Personality Disorder

Social isolation, odd behavior or dress, magical thinking, ideas of reference, and perceptual illusions; considered a milder form of schizophrenia.

Magical Thinking

Belief that one’s own thoughts, words, or actions can cause or prevent specific outcomes in a way that defies conventional laws of causality (seen in Schizotypal PD).

Ideas of Reference

False belief that unrelated events are directly related to oneself (common in Schizotypal PD).

Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)

Pattern of violating others’ rights, deceitfulness, impulsivity, lack of remorse; often labeled sociopathy or psychopathy.

Psychopathy / Sociopathy

Terms often used interchangeably with ASPD, emphasizing superficial charm, lack of empathy, and manipulativeness.

Conduct Disorder

Childhood pattern of violating societal norms or others’ rights; precursor to ASPD when symptoms begin before age 15.

Callous-Unemotional Traits

Subgroup of conduct disorder marked by low empathy and remorse; highly predictive of later ASPD.

Underarousal Hypothesis

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

Cortical Immaturity Hypothesis

Proposal that the cerebral cortex of individuals with ASPD is under-developed, resulting in impulsivity and poor behavior control.

Fearlessness Hypothesis

View that people with ASPD have an unusually low fear response to danger cues.

Gray’s Model (ASPD)

Suggests that behavioral inhibition signals are outweighed by reward signals in the brains of individuals with ASPD.

Arousal Theory

Idea that chronically under-aroused individuals (e.g., with ASPD) seek extra stimulation, sometimes via antisocial behavior.

Borderline Personality Disorder (BPD)

Instability in mood, self-image, and relationships; impulsivity, self-harm, and fear of abandonment are common.

Triple Vulnerability Model (BPD)

Combines biological reactivity, generalized psychological vulnerability, and specific stressors to explain BPD.

Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT)

Evidence-based treatment for BPD emphasizing acceptance, change, distress tolerance, and interpersonal effectiveness.

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Excessive emotionality and attention-seeking; dramatic, flirtatious, and rapidly shifting emotions.

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Grandiose sense of self-importance, need for admiration, lack of empathy, and sensitivity to criticism.

Avoidant Personality Disorder

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

Dependent Personality Disorder

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

Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder (OCPD)

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

Ego-dystonic vs. Ego-syntonic

Ego-dystonic symptoms are experienced as alien and distressing; ego-syntonic traits (as in PDs) feel natural to the individual.

Prevalence of PDs

Approximately 1% of the general population meets criteria for a personality disorder at any given time.

Gender Bias in Diagnosis

ASPD is diagnosed more in males, whereas Histrionic PD is diagnosed more in females, raising concerns about diagnostic bias.

Impaired Fear Conditioning

Reduced ability to learn from aversive consequences; implicated in the development of Antisocial Personality Disorder.