Building blocks of personality disorders
● Symptoms of personality disorders can be viewed as maladaptive variations within
the domains of: traits, emotions, cognitions, motives and self-concept
● Personality disorders are maladaptive variations of combinations of normal
personality traits and common motives, especially power and intimacy
● Cognitive processes can become distorted in personality disorders
● Several personality disorders can include extreme variations in experienced
emotions
● Most personality disorders include distortion of self-concept
● Social relationships are frequently disturbed or involve maladaptive patterns in
personality disorders
● Biology forms a building block of several personality disorders
○ Genetic epidemiologic studies indicate that all ten personality disorders are
modestly to moderately heritable
○ Molecular genetic studies that genes linked to neurotransmitter pathways,
especially in the serotonergic and dopaminergic systems, are involved
The concept of disorder
● Psychological disorder: a pattern of behaviour or experience that is distressing and
painful to the person; leads to disability or impairment in important life domains
● Associated with the increased risk for further suffering, loss of function, death, or
confinement
● Abnormal psychology: study of mental disorders, including thought disorders,
emotional disorders and personality disorders
Abnormal
Statistical definitions of abnormal: whatever is rare, not frequent and not statistically
normal
Social definition of abnormal: whatever society does not tolerate or defines as
unacceptable
Psychological definition of abnormal: ì: disorganized thoughts, disruptive perceptions,
or unusual beliefs that do not match circumstances; ineffective coping efforts
Combining statistical, social and psychological definitions of abnormality to develop field of
psychopathology (study of mental disorders)
Looking inward for abnormal
● Psychologists started to look within persons, inquiring about subject feelings and
thoughts
Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (5th ed.): DSM-5
Widely accepted system for diagnosing and describing mental
Movement towards dimensional view of personality
Diagnostic views of personality disorders
● Categorical view: you have it or you don’t
○ Dominant model in the DSM-V
The benefits of buying summaries with Stuvia:
Guaranteed quality through customer reviews
Stuvia customers have reviewed more than 700,000 summaries. This how you know that you are buying the best documents.
Quick and easy check-out
You can quickly pay through credit card or Stuvia-credit for the summaries. There is no membership needed.
Focus on what matters
Your fellow students write the study notes themselves, which is why the documents are always reliable and up-to-date. This ensures you quickly get to the core!
Frequently asked questions
What do I get when I buy this document?
You get a PDF, available immediately after your purchase. The purchased document is accessible anytime, anywhere and indefinitely through your profile.
Satisfaction guarantee: how does it work?
Our satisfaction guarantee ensures that you always find a study document that suits you well. You fill out a form, and our customer service team takes care of the rest.
Who am I buying these notes from?
Stuvia is a marketplace, so you are not buying this document from us, but from seller JamieMongeon. Stuvia facilitates payment to the seller.
Will I be stuck with a subscription?
No, you only buy these notes for $7.49. You're not tied to anything after your purchase.