1 Personality Disorders Personality disorders are characterized by: - PowerPoint Presentation

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Personality Disorders

Personality disorders are characterized by: inflexible and enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning. usually without depression or delusions.

Robert Lee Yates:

Spokane Skid Row Killer

Personality DisordersBroken down into Clusters:Cluster A: Paranoid and SchizoidCluster B: Antisocial, Borderline, and Narcissistic Cluster C: Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive-Compulsive

Ted Bundy:

Confessed to 30 homicides, including a girl from University of Washington

Cluster A: Paranoid, Schizoid, SchizotypalPeople with these illnesses from this group of disorders exhibit:Odd or eccentric behaviorParanoid with deep distrust of othersExtreme lack of interpersonal relationshipsStrange belief systems and attribute unusual meanings to life events and experience.With this disorder, they do not have a break from reality.

Cluster B: Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, NarcissisticThis group of disorders demonstrate dramatic or impulsive behavior.Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD)is the most public because all serial killers have this disorder (but not everyone with this disorder are serial killers).

A disorder in which the person (usually men) exhibits guiltlessness, law-breaking, exploitation of others, irresponsibility, and deceit.

The terms psychopath

(remorseless predators who engage in violence to get what they want) and

sociopath

(less organized, not as good with social norms or behaviors)

are

part of this group. These used to be considered merely legal terms, but the psychology world has adopted the use of them as a subcategory.

Jeffrey Dahmer:

Killed and cannibalized men

Antisocial Personality Disorder CharacteristicsFailure to conform to social norms or obey the lawManipulating, lying, or conning others for personal profit or pleasureImpulsivityIrritability and aggressiveness, getting into physical fights or perpetrating assaultsReckless disregard for the safety of self or othersConsistent irresponsibility, inconsistent work behavior, not paying billsLack of remorse, showing indifference to the pain of others, or rationalizing, having hurt or mistreated others.Extremely ego-centric

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Understanding

Antisocial Personality Disorder

ASPD has biological and psychological reasons. In a longitudinal study, two groups of Swedish 13-year-olds (non-offenders at the time) were tested for adrenaline reactions in both stressful and non-stressful situations. Those who would later be convicted on a crime as 18- to 26- year olds showed relatively low arousal.

Jon

Venables

: at age 10, beat a 2-year-old to death

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Understanding

Antisocial Personality DisorderPET scans of 41 murderers revealed reduced activity in the frontal lobes. In a follow-up study, repeat offenders had 11% less frontal lobe activity (

Raine et al., 1999; 2000).They also found that poverty and family instability played a role in triggering ASPD. Nature and nurture interact and together leave their marks on the brain.

Normal

Murderer

Courtesy of Adrian Raine,

University of Southern California

More Disorders from Cluster BBorderline- Emotionally volatile and unstable sense of self. Prone to mood swings, excessive self-criticism, extreme judgments of others, and preoccupied with being abandoned.Histrionic- Attention-seeking, dramatic, lively, and flirtatious. Inappropriately seductive in their interactions with othersNarcissistic- Self-aggrandizing yet overly dependent on the evaluations of others. View themselves as entitled and better than others. Show deficits in empathy and in understanding the feelings of others.

Cluster C: Avoidant, Dependent, Obsessive CompulsiveThis group of disorders are anxiety-related.Avoidant: inhibited and prone to feelings of inadequacy, anxiety, and shame. Usually avoid taking any social risks, and often separated themselves.Dependent: depends on others for emotional and physical needs.

Obsessive-Compulsive: preoccupation of perfection; demands it from everyone.