Personality Types

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Psychiatrists see the most extreme of personalities and explore the various dimensions of personality types

. In the American classification known as the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR) personality disorder is categorised into three clusters each include a number of personality disorders which share similar features.

Personality disorder are lifelong, unchangeable and permanent behavioural patterns which are not accepted by persons culture as normal behaviour. They involve each aspect of the persons mental life and personal experiences and make him unhappy or damage and disrupt his social relationships. They first appear in adolescence or early adult life although some abnormality in behaviour may be noticed in childhood.

The first cluster include personality types which are characterised by odd behaviour, being aloof, withdrawn or paranoid. These are Schizoid, Schizotypal and Paranoid Personality Disorders which share common link with each others and with mental disorders such as schizophrenia and Paranoid delusional disorders. People with such behavioural patterns do not show the full features of a mental disorder but still appear as odd and bizarre in their attitudes and behaviour.

The second cluster shares common features of erratic, dramatic and impulsive behaviour. It Includes four personality types, the narcissistic, borderline, antisocial, and histrionic types of personality. The third cluster includes types characterised by anxiety and fearfulness as a main feature. These are avoidant, dependent, and obsessive-compulsive types.

When the personality is damaged and disturbed severely enough, the person may be unable to adapt to the social demands. When the pattern of behaviour is rigid and unchangeable the individual may be subjected to subjective distress or failure of some of his social roles. Many people do not show characteristics of a single pure personality disorder but rather traits from one or more than one type of personality disorder. Probably most people have some minor degree of these traits or combinations of the behavioural patterns seen in personality disorder.

People with anxious traits in their personality are characterised by high level of arousal and tension, apprehension and worry. They show this is in fast excessive talk, restlessness, fear of situations, places or people. The obsessional person is a meticulous, reserved, traditional person, with excessive interest in details, perfection, high moral values and high expectations of others. He is either successful if his career is stafisfying his perfectist attitude or doing a low key job due to his interest in details, rules and principles rather than practical flexible approach to problems. He is difficult to change his views and is rigid in his thinking. The dependent person generally relies on others to choose for him, to give directions, to do things for him, to deal with social situations instead of him and to sort out problems instead of him. The dependent person is socially inadequate who is shy and avoids social relationships, lacks social skills and withdraw from social situations. He finds difficulty in making friends and feels anxious in groups.

The histrionic type of personality is a dramatic person who blossoms in the spot light, expresses his emotions in the most dramatic way, with keen interest in making an impression on others. He or she likes to be the focus of attention. Such person is usually quite attactive, but demanding and dependent, swings between adoration to volatile emotions and sometimes hostility. Those individuals are demonstrative with more interest in expressing emotions strongly and publicly.

The borderline personality type is characterised by emotional instability and some impulsivity in actions without regard to consequences. There may be swings in mood between being happy and ecstatic to feeling low, between attachment to others to hostility directed towards them or to self. The actions are reckless and such people may take risks in the use of drugs, promiscuous sex and dangerous situations or abusive relationships. They may experience self-loathing and self-punishment by substance abuse, subjecting themselves to abusive relationships or real harm to the hated body.

The narcissistic person is grandiose man or woman who believes he is much superior to others, entitled to much better status than he really is. He or she may sometimes believes that others are subordinated to him and has to be controlled or used to boost his own status. The narcissistic pays so much interest in himself as a unique intelligent or pretty person. He is the focus of his own world, others are satellites revolving around him. He likes himself more than anyone else. He has a sense of entitlements and believes that others should give and support him because he himself is entitled to such special treatment.

The person with antisocial personality type was in the past described as the psychopath. That term in inaccurate as any form of psychiatric disorder is psychopathy (psycho means mental and pathos means pain or illness). Such person is attractive superficially but evil in behaviour. He has total disregard for morals and rules, does not learn from experience and others are subjects for his own benefit and exploitation. He has no sense of guilt or self-blame and does not regret any of his actions. His actions are conflicting with the legal and moral code of his society.

The schizoid is withdrawn individual who is very quiet person who does not interact much with others, prefers to be away from the spotlight, refrains from social situations, enjoys solitary interests and his life and emotions are restricted with very few relationships and routine monotonous life style.

The schizotypal is an odd person, someone with interest in the mystical, the occult, the unknown, with peculiar life style and unusual communication and behaviour. This person is sometimes irrational with quite bizarre ideas and thoughts. He expresses his thoughts without hesitation and may insist that he is right agianst all the evidence to the opposite. He talks about UFOs, being spied on by satellites, magic and sorcery against him, or his unusual out of the ordinary experiences.

The paranoid type of personality is someone who believes that the majority of others are unfriendly, against him in many aspects, trying to cause him trouble, and they are not trustworthy. He is careful in his talk, does not disclose much about himself and avoids being explored by others. He keeps his emotions under tight control and does not show any positive or negative feelings. He is always on alert for the slightest sign of insult or attack and misunderstand others attitudes as malicious.

Not everyone will have the typical features of the above personality types. Many will have just a hue of one or more of these features or combinations of various types. For example, someone may be dramatic and anxious. Another may be antisocial, sadist and paranoid. An obsessional person may be also anxious and withdrawn. Different combinations of each of these may be seen in different persons.

by: sabry fattah

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