5.03 Personality Disorders: How important is personality to you?
A person with a personality disorder tends to be inflexible in their thinking. Personality disorders can be learned from a parent or family member who displays such behavior. In addition, research has proven that antisocial personality behavior can be attributed to the brain. PET scans have illustrated a reduced activation in a murderer’s frontal cortex (the area of the brain used in judgment and in charge of impulsive behavior).
Personality Disorder Continuing patterns of behavior that impair a person’s social functioning.
PET Scan Positron Emission Tomography Scan; A person is injected with low and harmless amounts of short-lived radioactive sugar. Detectors around the subject’s head pick up the release of gamma rays for the researcher to note how the brain of the subject functions.
Within the classification of personality disorders are three clusters. These clusters are how the DSM-IVR classifies a person’s behavior and assists the psychotherapist in diagnosing a person.
| Cluster | Personality Disorder |
|---|---|
| Odd and Eccentric | Paranoid, Schizoid |
| Dramatic and Erratic | Antisocial, Borderline, Histrionic, Narcissistic |
| Anxious and Fearful | Avoidant, Dependent |