Psychologists typically define personality as characteristic patterns of thoughts, feelings, and behaviours. For example, personalty is similar to climate – consistent over time, while one’s mood is more like the daily weather – constantly changing. Personality is how you expect someone to behave long-term. Personality refers to individual differences in characteristic patterns of thinking, feeling and behaving. A personality trait is a broad behavioural element that describes your personality, such as kind, outgoing, or impatient.
Personality is the “dynamic organisation within the individual of those psychological systems that determine his characteristic behaviour and thought”
Gordon Allport, 1961
What are Personality Disorders?
A Personality Disorder is an enduring pattern of inner experience and behaviour that clearly differs from the expectations of one’s culture. A Personality Disorder is inflexible, pervasive and persistent. Personality Disorders can cause an individual to face difficulties interacting with others and have an overall negative impact on their interpersonal functioning, as well as the way they view themselves.
Common Personality Disorders include Dependent Personality Disorder, Avoidant Personality Disorder, Depressive Personality Disorder, Histrionic Personality Disorder, Narcissistic Personality Disorder, Antisocial Personality Disorder, Obsessive-Compulsive Personality Disorder and Paranoid Personality Disorder. To learn more about these Personality Disorders, click HERE.
