PSYC 3100 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Mental Disorder, Personality Disorder, Psychopathology
30 Apr 2018
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Personality Psychology PSYC 3100 — chp. 14
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Personality & Mental Health
I. Psychopathology Basics
•mental disorder —> a pattern of mental symptoms causing significant problems in life;
psychopathology
•mental disorders cause distress beyond what is normal, typical, or culturally appropriate
•most mental disorders are on a continuum
•relationship between personality & mental disorders are complex
-either one could cause the other
-a third factor could cause both
-they could be the same thing
•broad range of mental disorders are related to personality
•line between normal & abnormal is often a function of degree of symptoms
II. Medical Student Syndrome —> when students learn about mental disorders, they often start
seeing those disorders everywhere including in themselves
III. Personality Disorder (PD) —> extreme and inflexible personality configuration that leads
to significant impairment
•about 1 in 10 people have some form of PD
•to be diagnosed with PD, person must fit six requirements
1. experiencing problems in most aspects of life, such as relationships & thinking
2. being inflexible in his behavior, such as not acting differently even when she should
3. experiencing major life problems
4. showing signs of PD since adolescence
5. problematic behaviors cannot be due to another mental disorder or to a physical
disorder such as brain tumor or a reaction to drugs
•personality disorder must cause problems, be pervasive, & not be caused by something
else
•Diagnostic & Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM)
-the official manual for diagnosis of mental disorder
-published by American Psychiatric Association (APA) (5th edition)
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Personality Psychology PSYC 3100 — chp. 14
!2
-DSM personality disorders are arranged into three clusters
1. Cluster A — odd-eccentric
•Paranoid Personality Disorder
•Schizoid Personality Disorder —> a pervasive pattern of detachment
from social relationships & a restricted range of expression of emotions
in interpersonal settings
-very low in extraversion & openness
-slightly low in neuroticism, conscientiousness, & agreeableness
•Schizotypal Personality Disorder —> a pervasive pattern of social &
interpersonal deficits marked by acute discomfort with, & reduced
capacity for, close relationships as well as by cognitive or perceptual
distortions and eccentricities of behavior
2. Cluster B — dramatic-emotional
•Antisocial Personality Disorder
•Borderline Personality Disorder —> a pervasive pattern of instability of
interpersonal relationships, self-image, & affects, & marked impulsivity
-score high in neuroticism, slightly high in extraversion & openness
-score low in agreeableness & conscientiousness
•Histrionic Personality Disorder
•Narcissistic personality Disorder
3. Cluster C — anxious-fearful
•Avoidant Personality Disorder
•Dependent Personality Disorder —> a pervasive & excessive need to be
taken care of that leads to submissive & clinging behavior & fears of
separation
-high in agreeableness & neuroticism
-low in extraversion, conscientiousness, & openness
•Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder
4. not otherwise specified — includes 1 in 4 people with PDs
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find more resources at oneclass.com
Personality Psychology PSYC 3100 — chp. 14
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-difficulties with current model
a. PDs are not natural types/taxas & are largely continuous
b. PDs are highly related & unclear; lots of PD NOS diagnosis and co-morbidity
c. Pyschiatrists wanted to eliminate these issues by reducing number of PDs
d. Personality/clinical psychologists argue this state reflect reality bc PDs reflect
normal personality — the PD model should align with normal personality
model
IV. Personality Disorders & the Big Five
•people with personality disorders are usually high in neuroticism & low in agreeableness
—> more anxious, depressive, hostile, callous, grandiose, and manipulative than the
average person . . . only those with dependent PD score a bit above average in
agreeableness
•personality disorders vary widely in extraversion
-people with histrionic PD & narcissistic PD are high in extraversion
-people with avoidant PD, schizoid PD, & schizotypal PD are low in extraversion
•openness to experience is generally unrelated to personality disorders
V. Developing Personality Disorders
•genetic factors explain around 50% of the variation in personality disorders
•parenting plays a role :
-more people with PDs had parents who were emotionally cold & distant, who had
extreme parenting styles, who used guilt, & did not express affect
-negative childhood experiences make PDs more likely
VI. Gender Differences in Personality Disorders
•men are more likely than women to suffer from narcissistic PD, obsessive-compulsive PD,
schizotypal PD, and antisocial PD
•men are more than twice as likely to have a personality disorder; five times more likely to
have a personality disorder in cluster A (paranoid, schizoid, or schizotypal)
VII. Age & Personality Disorders
•personality disorder symptoms lessen as people mature
find more resources at oneclass.com
find more resources at oneclass.com
Document Summary
They could be the same thing: broad range of mental disorders are related to personality, line between normal & abnormal is often a function of degree of symptoms. Medical student syndrome > when students learn about mental disorders, they often start seeing those disorders everywhere including in themselves. Personality disorder (pd) > extreme and inflexible personality configuration that leads to significant impairment: about 1 in 10 people have some form of pd, to be diagnosed with pd, person must fit six requirements. 1. experiencing problems in most aspects of life, such as relationships & thinking: being inflexible in his behavior, such as not acting differently even when she should. The official manual for diagnosis of mental disorder. Published by american psychiatric association (apa) (5th edition) Score high in neuroticism, slightly high in extraversion & openness. Low in extraversion, conscientiousness, & openness: obsessive-compulsive personality disorder, not otherwise specified includes 1 in 4 people with pds.
