Personality Disorders

1.    How was the Five Factor Model of Personality developed? (Think back to the history behind it.)

2.    What are the five factors of personality in the Five Factor Model?

3.    Describe, in general terms, the three clusters of personality disorders. You should be able to identify which disorders belong to which clusters.

4.    Describe/explain common criticisms of the concept of personality disorders and their diagnosis.

5.    While you do not need to memorize the criteria for each disorder, you should be able to describe each disorder generally, and distinguish between disorders. Borderline PD and Antisocial PD are more important to know about.

6.    What is the evidence for gender/racial bias in the construction/diagnosis of personality disorders? Give examples.

7.    In what way does schizotypal PD seem linked to schizophrenia?

8.    What is the relationship between ASPD, ODD, and CD? (Hint: Think back to the pyramid from your slides.)

9.    How is psychopathy related to ASPD?

10. What are the two dimensions of psychopathy that do not overlap with ASPD?

11. What is the key feature of borderline PD?

12. How is the exploitation/manipulation seen in borderline PD different from that seen in antisocial PD?

13. How is avoidant PD different from schizoid PD in terms of limited social relationships?

14. How may avoidant PD relate to Social Anxiety Disorder/Social Phobia?

15. How does someone with a diagnosis of obsessive compulsive PD differ from someone with a diagnosis of OCD?

16. What are some common challenges in treating personality disorders?

17. Describe dialectical behavior therapy. What PD is it most typically used for?

18. How do successful psychopaths differ from unsuccessful psychopaths?

Therapy

1.    Why should psychologists care about talk/advice shows like Dr. Phil?       

2.    Is using entertainment to sell advice harmless? Explain.  

3.    What distinguishes “real therapy” from pseudo-therapy?

4.    What is manualized therapy?

5.    Why is it so difficult to determine whether therapy is effective?

6.    What is the general answer to the question regarding whether therapy is effective? What two research methods were used to come to this conclusion?

7.    About what percentage of people do better in therapy than with a placebo in studies?

8.    How might randomized clinical trials be overestimating the effectiveness of therapy?

9.    Explain the difference between clinical and statistical significance. Why is this difference relevant to research evaluating whether psychotherapy is effective?

10. Explain the “Dodo Bird Verdict” and what might explain this effect.

11. What does the term “non-specific factors” refer to?

12. How much of an impact do factors specific to the type of therapy used matter?

13. Does experience/training have an impact on the effectiveness of therapists? Explain.

14. What are more experienced therapists better at?

15. According to Lilienfeld (2007), why is it hard to identify harmful therapies?

16. What does the field currently believe about the Dodo Bird Verdict?

17. What is confidentiality? In what situations is a therapist required by law to break confidentiality?

18. What is informed consent?