Abnormal Psychology

Personality Disorders 575

in those situations. The consequences of their behaviors (operant conditioning) will

infl uence the likelihood that they will repeat the behaviors. Furthermore, the conse-

quences can lead to pervasive dysfunctional beliefs—which can form the foundation

for some types of personality disorders.

The Role of Temperament

Temperaments—and their contribution to personality disorders—can be classi-

fi ed in two different ways. As discussed in Chapter 2, Cloninger (1987) proposed

four basic dimensions on which temperaments vary (see Figure 13.2; left side). The

strength of each dimension varies across individuals, and each cluster of personality

disorders is characterized by an extreme on a particular dimension.

In particular, people with Cluster A (odd/eccentric) personality disorders are not

strongly motivated by relationships with other people—they avoid social risk taking

and are generally indifferent to normal social rewards, such as attention from others.

They tend to score low on reward dependence. Indeed, it’s not just that being with

other people isn’t rewarding and doesn’t motivate their behavior; rather, such people

have the opposite motivation, preferring to be alone. People with Cluster B (dramatic/

erratic) personality disorders tend to score high on novelty seeking and tend to en-

gage in new, highly stimulating, or intensely demanding activities, perhaps leading

them to get into arguments more frequently. People with Cluster C (fearful/anxious)

personality disorders tend to be high on harm avoidance; they have in common a fear

of uncertainty that leads them to withdraw from relationships, situations, or activi-

ties that most other people view as relatively safe. For instance, Sarah, in Case 13.1,

generally perceived her co-workers as threatening and tried to avoid them.

Cloninger also proposed three character dimensions (see Figure 13.2; right

side), which can help illuminate the nature of personality disorders; most person-

ality disorders are marked by low levels of cooperativeness, self-directedness, and

self-transcendence, which translate behaviorally into personality characteristics of

being uncooperative, having diffi culty regulating and adapting behavior, and being

13.2 • Cloninger’s Four Basic Tempera ments and Three Character

Dimensions Personality disorders are characterized by extremes on dimensions

of temperament and character.

Figure 13.2g3

Timidity/

Behaviorally

inhibited

Temperament Dimensions

Harm avoidance

Risk taking

Passivity

Novelty seeking

Intrusiveness

Indifference

Reward dependence

Indulgence

Apathy

Persistence

Fanaticism

Antagonism

Character Dimensions

Cooperativeness

Agreeableness

Inept/Insecure

Self-directedness

Responsible/

Goal-directed

Controlling/

Materialistic

Self-transcendence

Imaginative/

Unconventional