Hockenbury Discovering Psychology 5th txtbk

556 CHAPTER 13 Psychological Disordersa normal individual who occasionally experiences a meltdown or who is grumpier,more skeptical, or more careful than most people. By definition, the personality disordersinvolve pervasive patterns of perceiving, relating to, and thinking about theenvironment and the self that interfere with long-term functioning. And these maladaptivebehaviors are not restricted to isolated episodes or specific circumstances.Usually, personality disorders become evident during adolescence or earlyadulthood. These maladaptive patterns of emotions, thought processes, and behaviortend to be very stable over time. They also deviate markedly from the socialand behavioral expectations of the individual’s culture. Personality disorders areevident in about 9 to 15 percent of the general population (Grant & others, 2004;Lenzenweger & others, 2007).Despite the fact that the maladaptive personality traits consistently cause personalor social turmoil, people with personality disorders may not consider their personalitycharacteristics as being problematic. In other words, they are unable to see thattheir inflexible style of thinking and behaving is at the root of their personal and socialdifficulties. Consequently, people with personality disorders often don’t seekhelp because they don’t think they have a problem.Ten distinct personality disorders have been identified. They are categorized intothree basic clusters: odd, eccentric personality disorders; dramatic, emotional, erraticpersonality disorders; and anxious, fearful personality disorders. The key features ofeach personality disorder are summarized in Table 13.7. In this section, we’ll focusour discussion on three of the best-known personality disorders: paranoid personalitydisorder, antisocial personality disorder, and borderline personality disorder.Table 13.7Personality DisordersOdd, Eccentric Cluster Dramatic, Emotional, Erratic Cluster Anxious, Fearful ClusterParanoid Personality Disorder• Pervasive but unwarranted distrustand suspiciousness; assumes thatother people intend to deceive,exploit, or harm them.Schizoid Personality Disorder• Pervasive detachment from socialrelationships; emotionally cold andflat; indifferent to praise orcriticism from others.Schizotypal Personality Disorder• Odd thoughts, speech, emotionalreactions, mannerisms, and appearance;impaired social and interpersonalfunctioning; oftensuperstitious.Source: Adapted from DSM-IV-TR (2000).Antisocial Personality Disorder• Blatantly disregards or violates the rights of others;impulsive, irresponsible, deceitful, manipulative,and lacks guilt or remorse.Borderline Personality Disorder• Erratic, unstable relationships, emotions, and selfimage;impulsive; desperate efforts to avoid realor imagined abandonment; feelings of emptiness;self-destructive tendencies.Histrionic Personality Disorder• Exaggerated, overly dramatic expression of emotionsand attention-seeking behavior that oftenincludes sexually seductive or provocativebehaviors.Narcissistic Personality Disorder• Grandiose sense of self-importance; exaggeratesabilities and accomplishments; excessive need foradmiration; boastful, pretentious.Avoidant Personality Disorder• Extreme social inhibition due to feelings ofinadequacy, and hypersensitivity to criticism,rejection, or disapproval.Dependent Personality Disorder• Excessive need to be taken care of, leadingto submissive, clinging behavior; fears ofseparation; and the inability to assumeresponsibility.Obsessive–Compulsive Personality Disorder• Rigid preoccupation with orderliness, personalcontrol, rules, or schedules that interfereswith completing tasks; unreasonableperfectionism.Paranoid Personality DisorderPervasive Distrust and SuspiciousnessDoug doesn’t trust anyone. He “knows” that strangers, co-workers, and even hisfamily and friends are trying to hurt him. He is convinced that his employer is tryingto steal his ideas and treating him unfairly, that the woman he recently began datingis interested only in using him, and that his family members are trying to take advantageof him or humiliate him. Needless to say, other people soon tire of Doug’sunfounded suspicions, hostility, and accusations.