Research Topics: Personality Disorder

Common characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder

Common characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder include: <ul type="disc" style="margin-bottom: 0in"> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Persistent lying or stealing </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Recurring difficulties with the law </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Tendency to violate the rights of others (property, physical, sexual, emotional, legal) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Aggressive, often violent behavior; prone to getting involved in fights </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Inability to keep a job </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">A persistent agitated or depressed feeling (dysphoria) </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Inability to tolerate boredom </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Disregard for the safety of self or others </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">A childhood diagnosis of conduct disorders </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Lack of remorse for hurting others </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Superficial charm </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF"> Impulsiveness </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">A sense of extreme entitlement </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Inability to make or keep friends </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF">Lack of guilt </li> <li class="MsoNormal" style="background: #F8FCFF"> Recklessness, impulsivity [8] [6]</li> </ul> Antisocial personality disorder (abbreviated APD or ASPD) is a psychiatric diagnosis in the DSM-IV-TR recognizable by the disordered individual’s disregard for social rules and norms, impulsive behavior, and indifference to the rights and feelings of others. The World Health Organization’s ICD-10 diagnostic manual uses dissocial personality disorder instead. The concept psychopathy (not to be confused with psychosis) generally denotes a related but more severe personality disorder. Sociopathy is sometimes claimed to be a less formal synonym for this disorder based on terminology from an older edition of the DSM. Various experts have co-opted the terms psychopathy and sociopathy inconsistently to mark differences in meaning they believe are theoretically important although there is a consensus that both terms refer to personality disorders with prominent norm-breaking and socially disruptive behavior.[citation needed]   The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders DSM-IV, a widely used manual for diagnosing mental and behavioral disorders, defines antisocial personality disorder as a pervasive pattern of disregard for and violation of the rights of others occurring since age 15, as indicated by three (or more) of the following: 1.   failure to conform to social norms with respect to lawful behaviors as indicated by repeatedly performing acts that are grounds for arrest 2.   deceitfulness, as indicated by repeated lying, use of aliases, or conning others for personal profit or pleasure 3.   impulsivity or failure to plan ahead 4.   irritability and aggressiveness, as indicated by repeated physical fights or assaults 5.   reckless disregard for safety of self or others 6.   consistent irresponsibility, as indicated by repeated failure to sustain steady work or honor financial obligations 7.   lack of remorse, as indicated by being indifferent to or rationalizing having hurt, mistreated, or stolen from another The manual lists the following additional necessary criteria: ·      The individual is at least 18 years of age. ·      There is evidence of conduct disorder with onset before age 15 years. ·      The occurrence of antisocial behavior is not exclusively during the course of Schizophrenia or a Manic Episode. Hare, R.D., Hart, S.D., Harpur, T.J. Psychopathy and the DSM—IV Criteria for Antisocial Personality Disorder Paranoid personality disorder is a psychiatric diagnosis that denotes a personality disorder with paranoid features. It is characterized by an exaggerated sensitivity to rejection, resentfulness, distrust, as well as the inclination to distort experienced events. Neutral and friendly actions of others are often misinterpreted as being hostile or contemptuous. Unfounded suspicions regarding the sexual loyalty of partners and loyalty in general as well as the belief that one’s rights are not being recognized is stubbornly and argumentatively insisted upon. Such individuals can possess an excessive self-assurance and a tendency toward an exaggerated self-reference. The use of the term paranoia in this context is not meant to refer to the presence of frank delusions or psychosis, but implies the presence of ongoing, unbased suspiciousness and distrust of people. ·      301.00 Paranoid Personality Disorder A pervasive distrust and suspiciousness of others such that their motives are interpreted as malevolent, beginning by early adulthood and present in a variety of contexts, as indicated by four (or more) of the following: ·      suspects, without sufficient basis, that others are exploiting, harming, or deceiving him or her ·      is preoccupied with unjustified doubts about the loyalty or trustworthiness of friends or associates ·      is reluctant to confide in others because of unwarranted fear that the information will be used maliciously against him or her ·      reads hidden demeaning or threatening meanings into benign remarks or events ·      persistently bears grudges, i.e., is unforgiving of insults, injuries, or slights ·      perceives attacks on his or her character or reputation that are not apparent to others and is quick to react angrily or to counterattack ·      has recurrent suspicions, without justification, regarding fidelity of spouse or sexual partner. Exclusionary conditions ·      Does not occur exclusively during the course of a mood disorder with psychotic features, schizophrenia, or another psychotic disorder. ·      Is not due to the direct physiological effects of a general medical condition. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Common characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder

Common characteristics of people with antisocial personality disorder include: Persistent lying or stealing Recurring difficulties wi...

PERSONALITY

Personality             With all those theories created by the great minds on personality, we should be able to consider some of the pitfalls in a theory.  As it is just a theory, there could be quite a few things that can go wrong with a theory.  Therefore, it would be important that we develop our own theory about people and their personalities.  Firstly, we would like to consider ethnocentrism wherein theories developed by a certain theorist maybe influenced in a culture he/she was born.  Consequently, his/her theory would be different for us as we are living in a society different from theirs.  Secondly, another potential drawback in theorizing is the peculiarities of the theorist as an individual.  This is why theorists have different views on personalities for the simple reason that each of us has specific details about our lives, genetics, family structure and dynamics, special experiences, education and so on.  This would greatly affect the way theorists interpret personality.   Major Components of Paranoia             Genetic Contribution – Despite the fact that little research supports the role of heredity in causing paranoia, there are some evidence that paranoid disorders are significantly more common in relatives of persons with schizophrenia than in the general population.              Biochemistry – By far, no clear evidence has been found to answer through brain chemistry.  However, abuse of drugs or other stimulants may lead to symptoms of paranoid thinking or behavior.              Stress – It is also been found that paranoia may be a reaction of high levels of life stress.  To support this opinion is the evidence that paranoia is more prevalent among immigrants, prisoners of war, and others undergoing severe stress.  Treatment of Paranoia             Drug Treatment – Appropriate antipsychotic drugs may help paranoid patient overcome some symptoms.  Even though paranoid symptoms will remain intact after drug treatment, some studies indicate that symptoms improve following drug treatment.              Psychotherapy – Patients are encouraged to express suspicions and self-doubts afforded by psychotherapy.  There are other types of psychotherapy which had improved social functioning of patients.  These are art therapy, family therapy, and group therapy. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

PERSONALITY

Personality With all those theories created by the great minds on personality, we should be able to consider some of the pit...

DISPLAYED DISORDERS BY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS

Displayed Disorders by Different Characters   Hannibal Lecter               Hannibal Lecter exhibits a number of personality disorders, in the movie Silence of the Lambs, which developed due to his traumatic experiences as a child in witnessing the death of his family. Although, he was featured in the movie already as an adult, it becomes apparent that his personality disorder was largely due to his childhood traumatic experiences. This is expressed through his interest in the childhood experiences of Starling indicating the implicit recognition that what he has become and what Starling has become is due to his childhood. Although he does not admit to guilt, his recognizes that his childhood made him who he is. First is conduct disorder, which is diagnosed through the criteria of aggression to animals and humans expressed through threats, intimidation and bullying; destruction of property; deceit or theft; and violation of rules (, 2000). A person with conduct disorder exhibits some or all of the diagnostic criteria previously mentioned (, 1995). Although the movie showed Hannibal Lecter as serving his time in a high security mental institution, it was apparent even during the first meeting of Hannibal Lecter and Agent Starling that Hannibal had conduct disorder. This was expressed by his intimidating stance when Starling approached him. He first asked for credentials indicating concern for authority. In the course of the conversation, Lecter was constantly trying to intimidate Starling by pointing out her “good bag and cheap shoes” that makes her “not one generation from poor white trash”. The intimidation was recognised by Starling and gave the remark that he should stop expressing that “high powered perception” of himself and answer the questionnaire and maybe he will realise what he really is. Towards the end of the movie, Hannibal Lecter showed his capability for physical cruelty and physical harm when he bit one of his guards in the face and hit the other guard to death with a baton in order to escape.             Second is antisocial personality disorder diagnosed according to the following criteria: non-conformity to social norms, aggressiveness, impulsivity, disregard for other peoples’ safety, and lack of remorse with some of these symptoms manifesting during adolescence (, 1995; , 2000). Hannibal Lecter had personality disorder because of his serious non-conformity to social norms. His unremorseful admission of killing a person who once tried to test him and eating his liver expresses his lack of respect for the social norm against cannibalistic practices. Although Hannibal Lecter is a learned man as indicated by his expertise in a lot of things including medicine, music, and art, he still continues with his actions without consideration of other people’s lives.             Third is paranoid personality disorder expressed through the insidious suspiciousness and distrust of the motives of other people with their actions being perceived as malevolent (, 1995). Diagnosing this personality disorder is through the occurrence of four or more of the following criteria: suspicious that other people are deceiving, exploiting or harming him, preoccupation with doubts about the loyalty or intention of other people, reluctance to confide with other people because of suspiciousness, keeping of grudges, perception of attacks on his character or reputation and quickly reacting in anger or counterattacks, and suspiciousness of the fidelity of a spouse or partner (, 2000). In the course of the movie, Hannibal Lecter appears to be cooperative because he speaks with Starling. However, it is also apparent that he was very guarded about the information he shares preferring for Starling to talk about herself and giving information in a strategic way such as in exchange for information, company or the terms of his detention. He was unwilling to converse without any indication on the part of the other person of semblance of trust such as provision of identification by Starling and sharing of personal information by the rookie investigator before he mentioned anything useful about Buffalo Bill.             Fourth personality disorder is borderline personality disorder, which refers to the persistently occurring indications of unstable self-image, interpersonal relations, impulsivity and destructivity manifesting during early adulthood (, 1995). Diagnostic criteria include: avoidance of abandonment; identity disturbance; impulsivity that leads to self-damage; suicidal behaviour, threats or self-mutilation; affective instability due to moodiness; chronic sentiments of emptiness; inappropriate manifestation of anger or difficulty in controlling anger; and severe dissociative symptoms (, 2000). It is apparent that these diagnostic symptoms develop due to childhood experiences. Hannibal Lecter was orphaned when his family was killed so that he was brought up by a wealthy relative. The abandonment and lack of guidance caused him to develop an unstable self-image and identity disturbance. This is expressed through his different appearances to various people. To some he appears to be learned doctor to others an art master or music connoisseur but to his victims and the police investigators he is a ruthless killer. Hannibal Lecter has no single and imposing identity and even he does not really know who he is. His inappropriate and sometimes uncontrollable anger together with erratic mood changes is expressed through the drastic shift in the conversation with Starling when Lecter threatens her by telling her that he killed the last person that tried to test him and then shifting to a calmer mood and stating to Starling that she should fly back to the academy.     Buffalo Bill               Buffalo Bill also has several personality disorders that resulted from his abusive and violent childhood experiences. According to Lecter’s account of the psychological profile of Buffalo Bill, the latter was repeatedly abused physically and sexually as a child. This caused him to detest his identity and he wants to change his identity. He thought that being a woman or cross-dressing would help him change the identity he detests. Since his appeals for sex change were disapproved, he translated his desire to change his identity into taking the skin or body parts of women that attract him and sewing these into something that he can use to represent his new identity.               First personality disorder is conduct disorder manifested through persistent and repetitive disregard or violation of the rights of other people (, 1995; , 2000). Buffalo Bill has killed a number a women, he chooses his victims based on their skin and body features that he likes to have, in order to change his physical appearance in the hope of achieving a personality change. To complete his dress of women’s skin took the lives of a number of women. Although being a transvestite cannot in itself be considered as manifestation of conduct disorder, his drive to change his appearance by taking other people’s skin for his use constitutes chronic violation of other people’s rights since this is an acceptable conduct in society and it also constitutes a criminal act subject to penalty.             Second is antisocial personality disorder expressed through the blatant disregard for authority, property and feelings of other people in order to achieve personal gain as well as manipulative, impulsive and aggressive action (, 1995; , 2000). Buffalo Bill had no regard for conformity to social norms due to his preference for the personal gain of taking away the features of the women he likes even if this meant killing the women or maiming them. Buffalo Bill also had no concern over the emotions of his victims since their cries and pleas for mercy reached deaf ears. In committing these acts, there was no emotion or even rational thinking indicating the lack of concern or respect for social norms and values as well as the consideration only of personal interests.             Third is paranoid personality disorder expressed through the chronic distrust of other people (, 1995; , 2000). Buffalo Bill has isolated himself from other people including his neighbours. In the investigation of Starling, none of his neighbours recall any contact with him or even provide a description or features. This was also expressed in the limited dialogue he had even with his victims. He does not engage them in long talks. When he was visited by Starling, he slammed the shutter upon learning of the identity of his visitor. Although he became a patient of Hannibal Lecter, it is apparent that therapy was not doing well and one factor could be the difficulty of building trust.             Fourth is borderline personality disorder expressed through the patterned instability of self-image and personal relations as well as self-destructive character and impulsivity (, 1995; , 2000). Buffalo Bill had severe dissociative symptoms due to his dire intention of changing his identity so that he turned towards cross-dressing as a means of accomplishing this. He wanted to get rid of his male identity and he even applied for sex transplant operations, as stated in the profile given by Hannibal Lecter, but he was rejected because it was diagnosed that he had psychological disorder making it difficult for him to make a rational decision on sex change and because he wanted a sex change as a means of escaping from his identity and abusive childhood memories.   References   Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

DISPLAYED DISORDERS BY DIFFERENT CHARACTERS

Displayed Disorders by Different Characters Hannibal Lecter Hannibal Lecter exhibits a number of personality disorders, i...

Bullying Essay

Bullying Bullying refers to abusive treatment inflicted by individuals to others that may involve verbal harassment, coercion or physical assault, especially when it is habitual and involving an imbalance of physical or social power. The behavior may be regularly directed towards particular individuals by reasons of race, religion, sex or ability. Bullying may be emotional, verbal or physical and commonly involves subtle coercive actions such as intimidation. It ranges from one-on-one situations to group action in which the primary bully is assisted by others in his activities. Bullying can happen in any setting where there is human interaction including home, family, school, church,  the workplace and neighborhoods. It can exist between social groups or classes and even amongst countries, where power imbalances between nations are often cited as causes of conflicts, such as in the cases of both World Wars.[1]   Bullying can also be done indirectly by actions that exclude the victim from activities and social situations. Social isolation of the victim is achieved through techniques like spreading gossip and lies, refusing to socialize with the victim and bullying others who wish to do so and criticizing the victim’s dress, race, religion and other qualities. Bullying can have serious or even fatal consequences, including the victims’ being at risk of stress related illnesses which can lead to suicide, or the victims’ sudden eruption into violence. Victims can also suffer from long-term emotional problems including low self-esteem, anxiety and depression. Bullies have a strong need to control or dominate others, a prejudicial view of subordinates, may be motivated by envy and resentment or use their behavior to conceal shame or to boost self-esteem. They may themselves be the victims of bullying and have a much higher likelihood of running afoul with the law. The continuance of the bullying cycle is also viewed as due to an inadequate response on the part of the bullying target that is seen by both the bully and target as not enough to not repeat the bullying. Individuals who are capable of reacting to initial bullying in ways that sufficiently discourage bullies from further attempts are less likely to be drawn into the bullying cycle.[2]   School bullying by way of physical, verbal or emotional abuse repeated over a period of time occurs inside or outside of the campus. Targets of bullying are often students who are regarded as strange or different by other students and that most of the latter do not see their actions as being negative or unacceptable as much as adults generally do and may even find enjoyment in them. The school system and teachers can also perpetrate bullying because of their power in the system, even while being committed to anti- bullying policies.[3]   Bullying can also occur in the workplace where such tactics as verbal, nonverbal, psychological, physical abuse and humiliation are used within the rules and policies of the organization and society. Majority of such cases are reported to have been perpetrated overtly or covertly by supervisors or management on employees, with women appearing to be at a greater risk in becoming a target. Bullying behaviors pose a threat to the professional status and personal standing of individuals and includes physical and social isolation, malicious overwork and undermining of the duties and responsibilities of employees. Common tactics used by workplace bullies include making false accusations, exhibiting hostile behavior, disregarding of people’s thoughts or feelings in meetings and using the silent treatment on targets.[4]   Cyber-bullying refers to the deliberate, repeated and hostile behavior  by an individual or group towards others through the use of information and communication technologies like cell phones and the Internet. Awareness and legislative measures have arisen to fight this emerging problem in society, especially among young people. Cyber-bullying includes sending or posting text or images that will hurt or embarrass another person, persistent sending of unwanted e-mail, making threats, sexual remarks and statements intended to ridicule a target. Cyber-bullying in the workplace includes malicious product reviews, using forums to present a victim in a false light and vandalizing a search engine to undermine a victim’s earnings, employment or safety.[5] 	   		 		 		 		[1] “Bullying”, Wikipedia, 		28 June 2011, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bullying>  		[accessed 29 June 2011] 		 		 		 		[2] ibid 		 		 		 		[3] “School Bullying”, 		Wikipedia, 22 June 2011, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/School_bullying> 		[accessed 30 June 2011] 		 		 		 		[4] “Workplace Bullying”, 		Wikipedia, 23 June 2011, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Workplace_bullying> 		[accessed 30 June 2011] 		 		 		 		[5] “Cyber-Bullying”, Wikipedia, 		24 June 2011, <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyber-bullying> 		[accessed 30 June 2011] Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Bullying Essay

Bullying Bullying refers to abusive treatment inflicted by individuals to others that may involve verbal harassment, coercion or physi...

UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE

The article, ‘The Psychology of Prejudice: Ingroup Love or Outgroup Hate?’, written by ,  from the , Fall of 1999 has helped increase people’s understanding of minimizing prejudice in such a way that it integrates and implies certain areas of understanding prejudice and how it can be reduced in such ways. There are researches presented and explanation of related and expiremented studies that will cater people and the society to have a precise assumption of prejudice and that it should be avoided as much as possible particularly when it involves individual in forms of groups.             The article then, utilizes the ideas of some proponents that contribute positive reality of how prejudice be lessen among in groups and out group cycles of diverse personalities and attitudes. For instance, there is recognition that attachment to certain in groups does not require hostile situations towards the outgroups as discussed by Allport. It is imperative to have enough understanding as to what are the roots of prejudice and be able to determine that, there is a need for a balanced judgement among in-group formation and its respected identification.                         Moreover, there is a clear organization of imperative points crucial for the awareness of reducing the presence of prejudice as there assumes love and hate of both group types, there is presentation of factors pointing towards the composition of prejudice by means of definition and definite examples as reflected in various research investigation as supported by appropriate theories of the matter. Like, there is discussion of such ingroup-outgroup attitudes along with validity of certain presumption as debating facts that ingroup favoritism and outgroup prejudice can be separable phenomena and identification and attachment to ingroups is independent of conflicts.             Furthermore, the context of the article has mentioned that people must first come to a better understanding of how and why ingroups are formed and why individuals exhibit ingroup loyalty, identification and attachment in the first place. Many discriminatory perceptions and behaviors are motivated primarily by the desire to promote and maintain positive relationships within the ingroup rather than by any direct antagonism toward outgroups. Ingroup love is not a necessary precursor of outgroup hate. However, the very factors that make ingroup attachment and allegiance important to individuals also provide a fertile ground for antagonism and distrust of those outside the ingroup boundaries.                       There is focus for the need to justify ingroup values in the form of moral superiority to others, sensitivity to threat, the anticipation of interdependence under conditions of distrust, social comparison processes and power politics as there conspire to connect ingroup identification and loyalty to disdain and overt hostility as intergroup relations would be a shift of focus from single ingroup-outgroup distinctions to have understanding about psychology of group identities and its implications for intergroup perception and attitudes as it can be the individual attitude, parallel to antagonisms with respect to social objects will then reduce incidence of prejudice situations given the idea of not to deny the pervasiveness and significance of outgroup hate being a factor for social conflicts.             Aside, there reflects that such act of prejudice will be dealt by means of single set of dynamics that function to dehumanize people who are identifiably different in some way from the people whose perceptions are limited by prejudice dysfunction The ideas relating to the stereotypes as there maybe less opportunities to test the group types and that when situations come up, the groups can possibly behave automatically out of the stereotyped learning.                         Therefore in order to behave within the decided beliefs, it can be true that one must devote fair amount of time and attention to the situation and then apply the decision and one person must be aware of the cues and indicators that it can be such circumstance wherein the rule does apply such as concentration and responsiveness as it does not provide the opportunity for the later decided belief system to come into use. Although, certain in group and out group behavior seemed automatic and prejudiced in spite of the non belief of the prejudice but there can entail conditions that do not get people’s full attention or conditions where they are not fully aware of the other person’s group membership and will result in a prejudicial response from one’s knowing as this is one way of understanding why individuals saying, they are not prejudiced but when tested has behaved in prejudiced ways.   Work Cited/Reference: Notes Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

UNDERSTANDING PREJUDICE

The article, ‘ The Psychology of Prejudice: Ingroup Love or Outgroup Hate? ’, written by , from the , Fall of 1999 h...

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