1) Biological 2) Psychoanalytic 3) Cognitive 4) Interpersonal 5) Evolutionary 6) Statistical 7) Descriptive
Perspectives
*Temperament◦ that which is inherited◦ present before learning has occurred
Character◦ that which is learned
Dimensions of Personality
A person’s characteristic mode of responding emotionally and behaviorally to environmental events
Dimensions: (genetically influenced)◦ Activity level◦ Negative emotionality◦ Soothability◦ Fearfulness◦ Sociability
Temperament
Activity level Irritability Sociability/shyness
Moderately stable through infancy, childhood, and even adulthood
Stability of Temperament
Thomas and Chess (1960s) N = 141, New York longitudinal study
1. Easy temperament (40%) 2. Difficult temperament (10%) 3. Slow to warm up (15%) 4. Hard to classify (35%)
Temperament Profiles
An Integration
EASYEASY
Slow to warm up Difficult
Behavioral Inhibition (Kagan)
FearfulnessNegative Emotionality
Sociability
Robert Cloninger
Novelty seeking - dopamine Harm avoidance - serotonin Reward dependence - norepinephrine
Biological Approaches
Temperament Factors◦ Novelty Seeking (exploratory activity)◦ Reward Dependence (respond to signals of reward)◦ Harm Avoidance (behavioral inhibition)◦ Perseverance (in spite of fatigue, frustration)
Character Factors
◦ Self-Directedness (drive toward goals)◦ Cooperativeness (acceptance of others)◦ Self-transcendence (seeing totality of situation)
Cloninger (1993)
Temperament and Character Inventory – 226 items
“psychobiological model”
1) cognitive/perceptual organization 2) impulsivity aggression 3) affective instability 4) anxiety/inhibition
Siever and Davis (1991)
Cognitive/perceptual organization
◦ Disorganization of thought◦ Social isolation and detachment◦ Guardedness
◦ Schizophrenia (I)◦ Schizotypal, Paranoid, Schizoid (II)
Siever and Davis
Impulsivity and Aggression
◦ Outbursts of anger, suicide attempts◦ Violation of social standards
◦ Depression, Impulse control, drug abuse (I)◦ Borderline, Antisocial (II)
Siever and Davis
Affective Instability
◦ Rapidly shifting moods
◦ Mood Disorders (I)◦ Borderline, Histrionic (II)
Siever and Davis
Anxiety and Inhibition
Anxiety-related disorders (I) OCD, Social Phobia, GAD
Dependent, Compulsive, Avoidant (II)
Davis and Siever
ID – psychoanalytic - Freud
EGO – psychodynamic – Erickson, Anna Freud
SE – object relations - Kernberg
Phases
Levels of Consciousness
Conscious Preconscious Unconscious
Freud – Topographical Model
Interpretation of Dreams, 1900
ID – pleasure principle
EGO – reality principle
SE – morality principle
The Structural Model
Neurotic anxiety
Moral anxiety
Realistic anxiety
The Ego and the ID, 1923
Employed by ego Employed unconsciously Many types Enduring contribution
Purpose:◦ ward off anxiety◦ bend reality
Defense Mechanisms
George Valliant (1992)
◦ Mature - sublimation◦ Neurotic – sexualization◦ Immature - regression◦ Narcissistic – distortion
Different Categories
Repression: Primary and Secondary
Primary - refers to stopping an idea or affect before it reaches consciousness
Secondary - removes from consciousness what was once experienced
Ego Defenses
Dissociation: sudden and drastic alteration of an aspect of consciousness, identity or behavior to relieve emotional distress
in order to cope with abuse, a person splits consciousness to remove self from situation
Ego Defenses
Identification: patients adopt many or all of the characteristics of another person as their own
e.g., rock star behavior
Ego Defenses
Displacement: Conflicts are displaced from a threatening object onto a less threatening one.
e.g., mad at spouse, slams the door
Ego Defenses
Introjection: involves internalizing the images or qualities of a person in order feel a constant connection with the individual
e.g., a physical representation of another becomes part of our psyche
Ego Defenses
Distortion: involves altering one's perception of the environment by replacing it with a more acceptable version in order to suit inner needs
Ego Defenses
Idealization-Devaluation: exceedingly positive (or negative) qualities are ascribed to a person
sometimes they work hand in hand
a star can do no wrong (idealization) until they snub someone for an autograph (devaluation)
Ego Defenses
Isolation of affect: separating the emotion from an idea
E.g., remembering the events of accident, but being unable to feel the emotions associated with it.
Ego Defenses
Passive-Aggressive: the expression of hostile feelings in a non-confrontational manner
e.g., agreeing to do something but not ever doing it because one is angry
e.g., always being late, pouting
Ego Defenses
Projection: casting one's thoughts onto another because the person can't tolerate the idea
by blaming others, the focus stays off the person
Ego Defenses
Splitting: this defense involves dividing self and others into categories
View self (or others) as all good or all bad (but not both at same time)
found in borderline PD considered a serious defense
Ego Defenses
Projective Identification:
beliefs about another are translated into behavior that confirms the original belief
This requires an explanation…
Ego Defenses
Rationalization: the process of covering up unreasonable or unacceptable acts and ideas with seemingly acceptable explanations
e.g., get rejected from grad school and say you did not really want to go anyway
Ego Defenses
Reaction formation: unacceptable wishes are transformed into their opposite
also called reversal formation
e.g., smiling at someone when you want to kill them…
Gay bashing
Ego Defenses
Regression: return to earlier levels of functioning to avoid conflict
e.g., a child curling up into a ball under a table when others are fighting
Ego Defenses
Schizoid fantasy: is used to escape and as a means of gratification whereby other people are not required for emotional involvement
e.g., day dreaming during conversations as a way to avoid intimacy or ward off boredom
Ego Defenses
Sexualization: situations and people are coloured with sexual overtones
e.g., frequent joking about sex
Ego Defenses
Somatization: psychological difficulties are expressed as physical complaints
e.g., when angry, you get a back ache
Ego Defenses
Denial - reality is ignored
Refusal to acknowledge some painful external or subjective reality obvious to others.
e.g., after hearing about health issue, you say it is no big deal
Ego Defenses
Sublimation: Unacceptable emotions are defused by being channeled into socially acceptable behavior.
e.g., an aggressive man becomes a football player or boxer (or surgeon)
Ego Defenses
Object Relations
Person
External Persons
Object relatedness
ME
Others
I become like mother (in this case)
I relate to others as if they are dad.
Object Relations
Mother
Father
Self-Object
Object Representation
Mother is….SubmissiveKindAfraid of AuthorityAvoids Conflict
Dad is..Abusive, dominant, unsympathetic
Object Relations
Person
External Persons
Object relatedness
ME
My partner
I am…SubmissiveKindAfraid of AuthorityAvoids Conflict
My partner is….Abusive, dominant, unsympathetic
Depression◦ Standard CBT tends to work
Depression + PD◦ Standard CBT does not work◦ Frequent relapses◦ Difficult to treat
Cognitive PD Perspective
Much of mental illness is function of errors, biases, and distortions in perceiving and interpreting events.
Interactional ◦ T, F, and B
CBT Philosophical Foundations
Aaron Beck
Cognition plays a significant role in psychopathology
Cognition Forms◦ Schema (core
beliefs)◦ Automatic Thoughts◦ Processing Errors
Click here
Schema◦ mental structures that guide behavior◦ influences what we see and remember◦ sometimes called rules or beliefs◦ a product of previous learning
Schema
Spontaneous appraisals Reflexive Considered “Truth” Appear in shorthand Persistent Fed by schema Habitual Themes
Automatic Thoughts
Filtering Polarized Thinking Overgeneralization Mind Reading Catastrophizing
Magnify/Minimize Personalization Shoulds Magical Reasoning Emotional
Distortions
AutomaticThoughts
EventsSchema
EmotionsBehavior
Others’Behavior
Distortions
Avoidant PD
Interpersonal
catastrophize
avoidsanxiety, fear
Film Example Mommie Dearest
Faye Dunaway
Joan Crawford
Warning – disturbing to watch
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