CMN 554-Unit 4-Part 1- Personality Disorders and
Psychotherapeutic Treatment Approaches Exam Rated A+
An individual's enduring and pervasive motivations, emotions, interpersonal styles,
attitudes, and traits - ANSWER-What is personality?
- ANSWER-What is character?
An enduring pattern of behavior and inner experiences that deviates significantly from
the individual's cultural standards; is rigid; has an onset in adolescence/early adulthood
and is stable through time; leads to unhappiness/impairment - ANSWER-What is the
definition of a general personality disorder?
the body's biases in the modulation of conditioned behavioral responses to prescriptive
physical stimuli - ANSWER-What is temperament?
*ego-syntonic = symptoms are acceptable to the ego
*they do not feel anxiety about their maladaptive behavior thus they are often
disinterested in treatment and resistant to recovery - ANSWER-What is meant by
characterizing the traits of personality disorders as ego-syntonic?
- Features must have been present for at least 1 year
- Exception to this is antisocial personality disorder, which cannot be diagnosed in
individual under the age of 18 - ANSWER-When is a personality disorder diagnosed in
an individual under 18 years of age?
-Schizoid personality disorder: Early childhood or adolescence.
-Antisocial personality disorder: Late adolescence.
-Borderline personality disorder: Before age 40 - ANSWER-What is the usual age of
onset for personality disorders?
-A quick, simultaneous movement of both eyes (ex.jumpy).
-Individuals who exhibit this are introverts, have low self esteem and tend to withdraw,
and who have schizotypal personality disorder. - ANSWER-What is "smooth pursuit" of
eye movements? What types of individuals exhibit this?
-Diminished central serotonin plays a role in SI
-Low concentrations of 5-H1AA in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were associated
with suicidal behavior.
-Postmortem neurochemical studies have reported modest decreases in serotonin itself
or 5-HIAA in either the brainstem or the frontal cortex of suicide victims.
-Low concentrations of 5-HIAA in CSF also predict future suicidal behavior - ANSWER-
How does 5-H1AA relate to suicide?
, Slow wave activity - ANSWER-What are the EEG changes seen in patients with
antisocial and borderline personality disorder?
The unconscious mental processes that the ego uses to resolve conflicts among the
lodestars of the inner life: instinct (wish or need), reality, important persons, and
conscience - ANSWER-What are defense mechanisms?
Often labeled schizoid, those who are eccentric, isolate, seek solace & satisfaction
within themselves by creating imaginary lives or friends. Persons may seem aloof or
unsociable however these patients have a fear of intimacy - ANSWER-Define defense
mechanism: Fantasy
Denial is a Pollyanna-like replacement of unpleasant effects with pleasant ones to avoid
emotional distress.
-Often labeled histrionic personalities and appear
emotionally shallow and dramatic.
-Example: Behave like anxious adolescents who carelessly expose themselves to
exciting dangers to erase anxiety. - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism: Dissociation
-Prevents harmful thoughts from becoming recurrent. -Isolation is characteristic of
controlled orderly persons often labeled obsessive-compulsive personalities.
-In crisis, these patients may show intensified self-restraint, overly formal seriousness
and obstinacy in order to maintain control. - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism:
Isolation
-patients place their own unwanted feelings onto someone else.
-Patients' excessive fault finding and sensitivity to criticism may appear as prejudice,
suspiciousness or hypervigilant injustice collecting - ANSWER-Define defense
mechanism: Projection
the patient's ambivalent feelings towards another person are divided into "all good" or
"all bad". - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism: Splitting
-persons turn their anger inward, against themselves, a phenomenon called
masochism, and includes, failure, procrastination, silly or provocative behavior self-
demeaning clowning, and self-destructive acts such as cutting. - ANSWER-Define
defense mechanism: Passive aggression
-patients directly express unconscious wishes or conflicts through action to avoid being
conscious of either the accompanying idea or the affect.
Common examples: tantrums, apparently motiveless assaults, child abuse, and
pleasureless promiscuity. - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism: Acting out
-mainly seen in borderline personality disorder where intolerable aspects of the self are
projected onto another person; the other person is coerced to play the projected role,
Psychotherapeutic Treatment Approaches Exam Rated A+
An individual's enduring and pervasive motivations, emotions, interpersonal styles,
attitudes, and traits - ANSWER-What is personality?
- ANSWER-What is character?
An enduring pattern of behavior and inner experiences that deviates significantly from
the individual's cultural standards; is rigid; has an onset in adolescence/early adulthood
and is stable through time; leads to unhappiness/impairment - ANSWER-What is the
definition of a general personality disorder?
the body's biases in the modulation of conditioned behavioral responses to prescriptive
physical stimuli - ANSWER-What is temperament?
*ego-syntonic = symptoms are acceptable to the ego
*they do not feel anxiety about their maladaptive behavior thus they are often
disinterested in treatment and resistant to recovery - ANSWER-What is meant by
characterizing the traits of personality disorders as ego-syntonic?
- Features must have been present for at least 1 year
- Exception to this is antisocial personality disorder, which cannot be diagnosed in
individual under the age of 18 - ANSWER-When is a personality disorder diagnosed in
an individual under 18 years of age?
-Schizoid personality disorder: Early childhood or adolescence.
-Antisocial personality disorder: Late adolescence.
-Borderline personality disorder: Before age 40 - ANSWER-What is the usual age of
onset for personality disorders?
-A quick, simultaneous movement of both eyes (ex.jumpy).
-Individuals who exhibit this are introverts, have low self esteem and tend to withdraw,
and who have schizotypal personality disorder. - ANSWER-What is "smooth pursuit" of
eye movements? What types of individuals exhibit this?
-Diminished central serotonin plays a role in SI
-Low concentrations of 5-H1AA in the lumbar cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) were associated
with suicidal behavior.
-Postmortem neurochemical studies have reported modest decreases in serotonin itself
or 5-HIAA in either the brainstem or the frontal cortex of suicide victims.
-Low concentrations of 5-HIAA in CSF also predict future suicidal behavior - ANSWER-
How does 5-H1AA relate to suicide?
, Slow wave activity - ANSWER-What are the EEG changes seen in patients with
antisocial and borderline personality disorder?
The unconscious mental processes that the ego uses to resolve conflicts among the
lodestars of the inner life: instinct (wish or need), reality, important persons, and
conscience - ANSWER-What are defense mechanisms?
Often labeled schizoid, those who are eccentric, isolate, seek solace & satisfaction
within themselves by creating imaginary lives or friends. Persons may seem aloof or
unsociable however these patients have a fear of intimacy - ANSWER-Define defense
mechanism: Fantasy
Denial is a Pollyanna-like replacement of unpleasant effects with pleasant ones to avoid
emotional distress.
-Often labeled histrionic personalities and appear
emotionally shallow and dramatic.
-Example: Behave like anxious adolescents who carelessly expose themselves to
exciting dangers to erase anxiety. - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism: Dissociation
-Prevents harmful thoughts from becoming recurrent. -Isolation is characteristic of
controlled orderly persons often labeled obsessive-compulsive personalities.
-In crisis, these patients may show intensified self-restraint, overly formal seriousness
and obstinacy in order to maintain control. - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism:
Isolation
-patients place their own unwanted feelings onto someone else.
-Patients' excessive fault finding and sensitivity to criticism may appear as prejudice,
suspiciousness or hypervigilant injustice collecting - ANSWER-Define defense
mechanism: Projection
the patient's ambivalent feelings towards another person are divided into "all good" or
"all bad". - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism: Splitting
-persons turn their anger inward, against themselves, a phenomenon called
masochism, and includes, failure, procrastination, silly or provocative behavior self-
demeaning clowning, and self-destructive acts such as cutting. - ANSWER-Define
defense mechanism: Passive aggression
-patients directly express unconscious wishes or conflicts through action to avoid being
conscious of either the accompanying idea or the affect.
Common examples: tantrums, apparently motiveless assaults, child abuse, and
pleasureless promiscuity. - ANSWER-Define defense mechanism: Acting out
-mainly seen in borderline personality disorder where intolerable aspects of the self are
projected onto another person; the other person is coerced to play the projected role,
