Personality and Personality Disorders PDF

PERSONALITY AND PERSONALITY DISORDERS ERICK ODEGI [email protected]  Definition: In a lay man’s language or in an ordinary way, personality refers to a person’s qualities that make him unique.  Definition: Personality refers to a pattern of characteristics,...

PERSONALITY AND PERSONALITY DISORDERS ERICK ODEGI [email protected]  Definition: In a lay man’s language or in an ordinary way, personality refers to a person’s qualities that make him unique.  Definition: Personality refers to a pattern of characteristics, thoughts, feelings and behaviors that persist over time and situation and distinguish one person from the other. Itencompasses intelligence, emotions, cognition, motivation, learning ,abnormality and social interactions. Therefore no two people have the same personality. The study of personality is the most important field, for it answers questions like “WHO” the person is, “WHY” he or she does things he or she does, why his behavior seems some times unusual.  “Why different people behave different to the same situation i.e why does the same fire that hardens the egg melt the butter”. A number of forces shape an individual’s personality throughout the course of life, these include: the genetic, environment and cultural influence. Many characteristics are passed on to children from parents and genetic in heritance is very important determinants of personality. Though the genetical factors account for as much as 50% of variability in many personality characteristics. The environment to accounts for a higher percentage, i.e identical twins reared together are just as similar to each other as those reared apart. The highest heritage/heritability is found in measures of abilities, intelligence, sociability, emotional ability. Many people irrespective of the genetic makeup will show the differences in behavior due to the differences in the  The cultural differences too can account for differences in our personality characteristics and there is enough evidence that culture shapes personality traits or characteristics. PERSONALITY THEORIES  What makes one person different from another?  Greeks thought the body was made of four body fluids; blood, phlegm or black and yellow bile.  According the Greek physician, Hippocrates(460- 371BC),there are Four possible personality types:  Personality Types (According To Hippocrates)  Sanguine:individuals who had an abundance of blood; they tended to be cheerful, optimistic and active. Phlegmatic: people who are listless, sluggish and tired, because they had less phlegm. Melancholic: People who were always sad, brooding with melancholic temperaments resulting from too much bile. Choleric: People who were easy to excite and also easy to anger, because of excess yellow bile  Personality Type(according To Friedman & Rosenman) TYPE A PERSONALITY  These are at risk of developing cardiovascular disease(CVD).  They are: Aggressive, Usually in a hurry  Have high levels of competitiveness and ambition  Live under great pressure  Demanding of themselves and others  Have an exaggerated sense of time urgency  Become very irritated at delays or failure to meet their dead lines. TYPE B PERSONALITY These individuals tend to be coronary- disease resistant.  They are: More relaxed, more agreeable  Have far less sense of time urgency. TYPE C PERSONALITY These have a cancer-prone personality.  They are: Highly sociable and nice people  Very inhibited in expressing negative emotions. Bottling up such emotions.  Tendto feel less hopeless in the face of severe stress.  They are passive and uncomplaining  PERSONALITY APPROACHES There are four approaches in personality: i.e  Psychodynamics approach  Learning approach  Trait approach  Phenomenological approach.  1.Psychodynamic approach:  This relates personality to the interplay of conflicting forces within an individual including those that the individual may not recognize( un conscious). The conflicting forces include: wishes, rewards, fears, ambitions  Theapproach based on the theories of Sigmund Freud and Carl Jung. Which asserted that behaviour is guided by the un consciousness.  So the approach claims that many of the influences behind ones personality are hidden and that much of her behaviour is a result of competing motivation.  2. Traits Approach: This emphasizes that people have consistent personality that can be measured and studied. It takes into account traits e.g friendliness, politeness, honesty, words that people often use to describe others. However psychologists often try to make the descriptions accurate and systematic and specify situations in which they apply. i.e if a girl greets their parents while kneeling down. The behavior portrayed can be described as being polite.  3.Learning approach: Thisassumes that the behaviour that constitutes personality are learnt. They can be learnt through individual experience or as social learning psychologists emphasize, they can be learnt by imitation or vicarious (second hand learning) reinforcement and punishment. So though genetics and other biological factors influence development of personality traits, some specific ones must be learnt.  E.ggender roles( pattern of behaviour a person is expected to display by virtue of sex). Because of people’s experience and the variation they can have very specialized characteristics showing a trait in one situation and not in another.  4.Humanistic Approach Thisdeals with consciousness, values and beliefs including spiritual experiences and beliefs people live by and die for.  Accordingto humanists, personality depends on what people believe and the way they perceive the world.  Humanistic psychology emerged in 1950’s as a protest against behaviorism and psychoanalysis which were dominant at that time.  Theydetermined behavior in terms of Determinism and Reductionism  Determinism: this is the belief that every behavior has been aroused for i.e behavior exhibited out of conscious decisions  Reductionism: this is an attempt to describe behavior in terms of each component,  Humanistics review people as good and striving as perfectionists. They claim that people make deliberate conscious decisions about what to do with their lives.  THE GRAND THEORIES OF PERSONALITY Thiswas advanced by Sigmund Freud(1856-1930) Hispersonality theory is the most comprehensive, far reaching and out standing whose impact extend beyond psychology. He worked with Josef Breuer a psychiatrist while treating a woman and together they found that recalling of past experiences produces release of pent up emotional tension (catharsis) there by healing the  He called the unconscious part of the mind the repository of memories, emotions and thoughts many of which are illogical and affect our behaviour even though we can’t talk about them.  Psycho analysis is the process of bringing them to the conscious. Personality structure according to Freud Sigmund  Freud believed that personality is made up of three major systems, i.e the 1. ID, 2. Ego 3. Super ego. With each having its own function but the three interact to govern personality. The Id This is the most primitive part of personality and is present at birth. It consists of the basic biological drives i.e The need for eating, drinking, eliminating wastes avoiding pain, gaining sexual pleasure and aggression. He believed that the sexual and aggressive drives are the most important determinants of personality.  The Id seeks immediate gratification of these impulses and operates on pleasure principal. In regard to sex ,the Id says “ if it feels good, why not have it, here and now…….”  It endeavors to obtain pleasure and to avoid pain regardless of the circumstances.  Itdoes not care about the existing law, social customs or norms and the needs of others.  Ego This emerges in early infancy and operates on the reality principal. It ensures that the Id’s desires are satisfied in accordance with reality. Itredirects the Id‘s demands so that they are discharged on appropriate objects at the right time and place.It mediates the Id’s demands and demands of the super ego and is therefore the executive of personality. In regard to Ego e.g. the Ego says” not now”, later. As for aggression, suppose that your fellow student annoys you to the point of feeling like slapping him. Your Ego would encourage you to tell him his mistake instead of punching him in the nose. Super ego Thisappears in late infancy. It contains values, and directions of society as interpreted to children by parents and enforced by rewards and punishment imposed on a child. The super ego has two subsystems; i.e the  Conscience  Ego-ideal. Theconscience consists of things people must not do and is acquired through parental punishments. The ego ideal consists of things that are encouraged in our society through parental rewards, i.e rules and standards for good behaviors. E.g obeying rules that are approved by parental or authoritative figures.  The super ego represents the ideal(what I ought to do rather than real) and is for perfection rather than pleasure.  It is the conscience that makes us feel guilty for doing or thinking wrong and the ego which makes us feel good for doing or thinking right. A person over dominated by his or her super ego seems too moralistic and unable to be comfortable with pleasure.  Inregard to sex, the superego says “Not now, wait until you are married or let me prudently present my suggestion for sex to this cute girl”. These three systems are often in opposition, the ego postpones gratification, the id wants immediately and superego battles with both the id and ego because behaviour often lacks the moral code but in a well integrated personality the ego, remains in firm but flexible control. Those who are dominated by superego are usually up right and self conscious but too demanding on others and very judgmental.  PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT(FREUD) Freud believed that during the 1st years of life the individual progresses through several developmental stages of personality , he called them because the pleasure seeking impulses of the id focuses on a particular area of the body and activities connected to that area. The body parts concerned were the mouth, the anus, and other body zones. Freud proposed that we have a psycho- sexual energy, which he called libido a Latin word meaning “Desire”. As the child grows, certain body parts become focus of pleasure according to different stages. These stages are: oral stage, Anal stage, phallic stage, latency and genital stage. PSYCHO-SEXUAL DEVELOPMENT For Freud, childhood experiences shape our personalities and behavior as adults. Sigmund Freud viewed development as discontinuous; he believed that each of us must pass through a series of stage during childhood, and that if we lack nurturing and parenting during a stage, we may become stuck in ,or fixated on, that stage. SigmundFreud’s Psychosexual Stages Of Development  Oral stage (0-1 year)  Anal stage (1-3 years)  Phallic stage (3-6 years)  Latency stage (6-12 years)  Genital stage. ( 12 years and above) Oral stage (0-1 yr): during this stage the mouth is the pleasure centre for development. Freud believed that this is why infants are born with a suckling reflex and desire their mothers breast. If a child’s oral needs are not met in infancy, they develop negative attitudes like nail biting, thumb sucking to meet this basic need. 2. Anal stage (1-3yrs): during this stage, toddlers and pre-school aged children begin to experiment with urine and feces. The control they learn to exert over their bodily functions is manifested in toilet training. Improper resolution of this stage, such as toilet training can result in a child who is uptight and overly obsessed with order. 3. Phallic stage (3-6yrs): During this stage, preschoolers take pleasure in their genitals and, according to Freud, begin to struggle with sexual desires and towards the opposite sex parent. i.e Oedipus complex( boy’s desire for hismother and his urge to replace his father he is seen as a rival for the mother’s attention. At the same time the boy is afraid that his father will punish him fir feelings, so he experiences castration anxiety. The Electra complex, later proposed by Freud's protégé Carl Jung involves a girl’s desire for her fathers attention and wish to take her mother’s place. 4. Latency stage (6-12yrs): During this stage, sexual instincts subside, and children and children begin to further develop the superego, or conscience. Children begin to behave in morally acceptable ways and adopt the values of their parents and other important adults 5. Genital stage (12 years & above): During this stage, sexual impulses re- emerge. If other stages have been successfully met, adolescents engage inappropriate sexual behavior, which may lead to marriage and childbirth.  MENTAL DEFENSE MECHANISMS Defense mechanisms: According to Freud, the mind is a battle field between drives,(the id), the constraints imposed by reality on gratification of these impulses(the ego) and the norms of society(the super ego) Thisconstant infighting generates what Freud called “neurotic anxiety” Hence a need to defend against them.There are many defense mechanisms namely:  1.Denial: This is refusal to believe information that proves anxiety. It’s an assertion that the information is incorrect. E.g some one with a serious problem of alcohol insists “I am not an alcoholic”. Some one tested HIV +ve insisting that its negative.  2.Repression:This is the rejection of un acceptable thoughts, desires and memories to the un conscious eg. A woman seeing some one beaten to death, and she is later unable to remember what she saw. An incident that you forcefully/intentionally forget because you do not want it to influence your behavior in the future. .Rationalization: Here people attempt to prove that their actions are rational and justifiable and thus worth of approval. Eg a student who wants to watch a move instead of studying says” more studying won’t do me any good because even those who study hard fail. 4.Displacement: Here one diverts the feelings and thoughts to another more acceptable substitute e.g a man angry with the boss may real want to kick him, but because it may be dangerous to kick him he gets home and backs at the wife, slaps the child, kicks the door.  5. Projection: This is the attribution of ones undesirable characteristic to another people or minimizing the un desirable in one self and exaggerating them in others e.g a student who fails the exam may blame the teacher for being a bad teacher though the rest passed.  Another example: Some one who secretly enjoys pornography might accuse others people of enjoying it too much. Here people don’t necessarily deny the fault but want to suggest that it’s wide spread.  i.e projection involves attributing one’s undesirable characteristics as usual and exaggerates them in others. 6. Regression: This is an effort to avoid anxiety of facing one’s current role in life by returning to a more juvenile level of functioning eg a wife may go home to her mother every time she and the husband have a quarrel. Or A student may console himself with sweets when disappointed by a girl friend repeating the behaviour leant when the mother gave him sweets to make him feel better every after a disappointment. 7.Sublimation:This is the transformation of sexual or aggressive energy into culturally accepted and admirable behaviour e.g an a aggressive person may channel his energies into playing football. Freud viewed this as the only completely health defense mechanism.  Another example: here an individual might be pissed off at home, instead of beating the wife he rather transforms his anger into splitting of firewood.  8.Reactionformation: Here we deny unacceptance impulses and give strong expression of their opposite. In this way the conscious motive masks the unconscious one. A mother who feels angry and rejected towards her child checks many times to see if the child is fine during the night and worries excessively about the child’s safety on the way to and from school.  Another example: here an individual is denied a microphone while at the function, instead of showing the behavior of being irritated by what happened, he rather thanks the people around with a smile. 9.Intellectualization: This involves dealing with intensifying problems as interesting events which can be explained irrationally and which have no anxiety content attached to them. Eg A man who has just seen a bank robbery in which five people near him were shot dead talks about how interesting it was to observe the variety of ways people react to gun shot and murder Fixation; is a defense mechanism by which a person develops an excessive attachment to another person object or behavior that was appropriate only at an earlier stage of development. Eg person with oral fixation continue to receive pleasure from, talking, biting, drinking, eating and other oral functions.  PERSONALITY DISORDERS. A personality disorder is a mental disorder where an individual has a pervasive and rigid pattern of behavior , thinking and functioning that persists through out life. A person with a personality disorder has impaired functioning and poor interpersonal relationship.  Aetiology/origin of the problem.  Biological theories include genetic factors, electro- psychological abnormalities seen in the electroencephalogram (EEG)  Classification of personality disorders  Personality disorders are classified into three clusters  Cluster A: paranoid , schizoid, schizotypal  Cluster B: antisocial, borderline, histrionic, narcissistic  Cluster C: avoidant, dependent, obsessive-compulsive.  Paranoid personality disorder: these individuals are mistrustful and suspicious. They tend to be cold, aloof and hostile. Their patterns of thinking are rigid and have difficulty in dealing with criticism. i.e watch others closely looking for sings of betrayal or hostility, difficult to trust others.  Schizoidpersonality disorder: these individuals keep to themselves. they prefer their own company and preserve solidarity. Prefer to be alone, have little interest in sex or intimacy, uninterested in forming close relationships with other people.  Schizotypalpersonality disorder: isolation and aloofness are characteristics of schizophrenics. odd behaviors and thinking patterns may be  powers such as sixth sense.  Cluster B (emotional and impulsive)  Antisocial personality disorder: these may be at least 18 years old. This disorder is characterised by lack of remorse. Behaviors include; deceitfulness,. Irresponsibility, aggressiveness, inability or lack of interest in holding down a job, history of arrests for criminal activities, feel no sense of guilt when they mistreat others, behave dangerously and sometimes illegally.  Borderlinepersonality Disorder: this disorder is marked by instability in the interpersonal relationships. Emotions are manifested by intense anger, an intolerance to being alone, mood fluctuations and irritability. Life styles are  characterised by living from one life style to the next. During crisis, self destructive behavior is often exhibited (shown) in form of self mutilation and multiple suicide attempts. There may be history of childhood abuse.  Have suicidal thoughts and self harming behavior, find it hard to make and keep stable relationships, get very angry and struggle to control their anger.  Histrionic personality disorder: these individuals are superficial charming but their emotions are shallow and volatile. They are dramatic, attention seeking and suggesting. Their interactions, with others are often characterised by inappropriate, seductive and proactive behavior. Get a reputation over being dramatic and overemotional, feel dependent on approval of others, are easily influenced by others, flirt or behave proactively to remain the centre of attraction, feel that they have to entertain people.  issues such as power, success, beauty, being considered as special. Take advantage of others people, resent other people’s success, put their needs above other people’s. they crave to be admired and they have a sense of entitlement, interpersonal relationships are characterised by exploitation and lack of feelings for others.  Manipulationof loved ones, friends and even health workers is a common behavior.  Cluster C (anxious)  Avoidant (anxious) personality disorder: these individuals are shy and lack self esteem and are introverted. They fear rejection and embarrassment & they avoid situations or  interpersonal relationships which may lead to those outcomes. Social activities therefore remain minimal despite their desire for them.  Feel lonely and isolated from others, feel inferior to others, worry so much about being found put and rejected, avoid relationships, friendships, and intimacy because of fear for rejection.  Dependent personality disorder: submissiveness and self doubt lead to clinging behaviors and fears of separation from those they are reliant on. There is difficulty in assuming responsibility for major areas of their life.  They constantly seek for approval and they even fear to take care of themselves. Have low self confidence, they are too submissive and passive, feel too weak and unable to make decisions on their own.  Obsessive compulsive personality disorder: these individuals need to keep everything in order and under control (perfectionist and inflexible). They are reluctant to spend money on themselves or others, have a tendency to hang onto items with no obvious value, expect catastrophes if things are not perfect, think theirs is the best way of making things happen.  Note:obsessive compulsive personality disorder is separate from the obsessive compulsive disorder, which describes a form of behavior rather than a type of personality.