Personality Disorders Flashcards
(27 cards)
What are the three structures of the mind according to Freud?
- -Id: instinctive biological drives and desires
- -Ego: logical and language-based problem solving
- -Super Ego: moral conscience based on ideals/values
What is the major psychological drive for people to have defense mechanisms?
-to reduce anxiety and tension
What is Projection (a type of primitive defense mechanism)?
-delusions about external reality, usually of a persecutory nature that the self then projects out onto the world and onto other people (ex: man cheating on his wife believes his wife is having an affair)
What is Denial (a type of primitive defense mechanism)?
–refusal to accept external reality because it’s too threatening; arguing against an anxiety-provoking stimulus by stating it doesn’t exist
What is Splitting (a type of primitive defense mechanism)?
–seeing some people as all good and others as all bad (ex: patient idolizes one doctor, and demonizes their previous provider)
What is Displacement (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
-shifting impulses to a more acceptable or less threatening target; redirecting emotion to a safer outlet (ex: mother yells at child when angry w/ spouse)
What is Regression (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
-temporary revision of behavior to an earlier, less mature behavior, rather than handling unacceptable impulses in a more adult way
What is Somatization (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
-transforming negative feelings into pain, illness, anxiety (ex: student feels embarrassed by a resident during rotations and has a stomach ache during rotations the next day)
What is Introjection/Identification (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- taking other’s behaviors and internalizing them
- -imitation when person is aware they’re doing it
- -defense mechanism when unintentionally doing it
ex: student takes on characteristics of a mentor
ex: abused child becomes abusive parent
What is Isolation of Affect (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- separating feelings from ideas and events; cognitive information is recalled, but emotions are avoided
ex: person describing a murder w/ graphic detail, but no emotional response is evident
What is Intellectualization (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- focusing on the intellectual aspect of a situation so as to distance oneself from anxiety; emotion replaced by thoughts
ex: doctor focuses on test results rather than emotion
What is Blocking (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
-temporarily inhibits thinking
What is Acting Out (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- covering up true feelings by discharging a different feeling, usually anger
ex: teen starts drinking to cope w/ parent’s divorce
What is Reaction Formation (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
–converting unconscious wishes considered threatening into their opposite (ex: two co-workers fight, but are secretly attracted to each other)
What is Undoing (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- do an action hoping to fix a previous unacceptable behavior (seen in bulimia, intimate partner violence)
ex: individual buys flowers for partner after a fight
What is Rationalization (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- individual convinces themselves that no wrong happened and that the unacceptable is acceptable
ex: if the room weren’t so noisy, I would have done better on the exam
What is Passive Aggressive (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- aggression toward others expressed indirectly instead of confronting problems
ex: you delay returning a neighbor’s borrowed item because their dog destroyed your flower garden
What is Dissociation (a type of basic neurotic defense mechanism)?
- drastic change in identity to avoid distress; seems like the experience is happening to someone else
ex: individual who was assaulted describes “watching” it happen to themselves
What is Humor (a mature defense mechanism)?
- overtly expressing ideas and feelings, especially those too terrible to talk about
ex: person laughs while being fired
What is Suppression (a mature defense mechanism)?
- conscious decision to delay paying attention to an emotional need; able to readily access and accept emotions later on
ex: after a patient dies, physician delays feelings in order to focus on the next patient
What is Altruism (a mature defense mechanism)?
-constructive service to others; brings pleasure and satisfaction
What is Sublimation (a mature defense mechanism)?
- transform unpleasant emotion into positive action
ex: anger at friend, so you exercise or chop wood
What are the characteristics of Personality Disorders?
- enduring (not episodic) pattern of inner behaviors
- deviate from the culture
- onset in adolescence or early adulthood
- lead to distress and impairment
- pervasive and inflexible
True or False: personality disorders create a functional impairment
True; this is what distinguishes a personality disorder from being quirky (ex: can’t hold a job)
