Personality Profile

Allen R. Miller

Automatic Thoughts

• helps / deters you from reaching your goals
  
• Self-fulfilling prophecies...
  

Psychodynamics

Identity ---------- Ego ----------	Super-ego
(eg physical needs, drives, instincts)	(eg conscience)

Defence Mechanisms
When ego can't deal with some problems, it switches to Defence Mechanisms like:

• denial (evasion)
  
• repression (bottle up)
  
• intellectualization (separate emotion and memory)
  
• displacement (vent on others)
  
• projection (find faults with others but not self)
  
• reaction formation (doing just the opposite eg. instead of slapping someone, you give him a big hug.)
  
• identification (find role-model)
  
• regression (revert to earlier habits etc)
  
• rationalisation (make excuses)
  
• sublimation (use energies on something else)
  

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Neurosis Theory (our needs)

affection / approval desire for partner restricting life to narrow borders	} Compliance
desire for power or control over others exploitation of others social recognition personal admiration from others personal achievement	} Aggression
self-sufficiency and independence perfection	} Withdrawal

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Stages of development -- Erik Erikson

1. Trust VS Distrust
   
2. Autonomy VS Doubt
   
3. Initiative VS Guilt
   
4. Industry VS Inferiority
   
5. Identity VS Role Confusion
   
6. Intimacy VS Isolation
   
7. Generativity VS Stagnantation
   
8. Ego-Integrity VS Despair
   

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Schemas

- cognitive structures
- how we interpret our experiences

Schema Domains

1. Disconnection & Rejection
   
2. Impaired Autonomy & Performance
   
3. Impaired Limits
   
4. Other-directedness
   
5. Overvigilance & inhibition

Schemas:
Shy ---- Outgoing
Passive ---- Aggressive
Emotionally flat ---- Emotionally intensive
Anxious ---- Fearless
Sensitive ---- Invulnerable

Temperament

- shy vs outgoing
- passive vs aggressive
- emotionally flat vs emotionally intense
- anxious vs fearless
- sensitive vs invulnerable

Early Environment

Cognitive Disorders:

1. All-or-nothing thinking
   
2. Catastrophizing
   
3. Disregarding the positive
   
4. Emotional reasoning
   
5. Labeling
   
6. Magnifying and minimizing
   
7. Mental filters
   
8. Mind-reading
   
9. Overgeneralisation
   
10. Personalizing
    
11. Making "should" or "must" statements
    
12. Having tunnel vision
    

Avoidance

Overcompensation

Self-esteem
inferiority ----- self-esteem ----- superiority

The goal of personality is to strive for superiority
- to be able to solve problems and deal with the everyday stuff...
- problems arise when people set unrealistic goals of achieving superiority over others
- and consider themselves failures when they do not achieve them

Goal of Mental Health
- to be connected
- to develop oneself fully
- to contribute to others

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Personality Disorders :
[ Eccentric ]

Paranoid (extreme disgust without reason)

• over - mistrust, vigilance, suspiciousness
  
• under - trust, serenity, acceptance
  

Schizoid (without personality; cold)

• over - autonomy, independence, isolation
  
• under - intimacy, reciprocity
  

Schizotypical (both of the above, and hallucinations)

• cognitive distortions eg. feel they are responsible for some events like floods
  
• feel they are odd / defective
  
• may have "magical" thoughts, "sixth sense", odd beliefs, bizarre fantasies
  

[ Dramatic ]

Anti-social (see exploiting people as right)

• over - combatness, tendency to exploit
  
• under - empathy, social sensitivity

Borderline (abusive)

• over - negative schemas
  
• under - positive schemas
  
• see themselves as useless and bad
  
• display extreme behavior for attention
  
• marked reactivity in mood
  
• impulsivity in self-damaging behaviors

Histrionic (want to be center of attention)

• over - exhibitionism, expressionism, impressionism
  
• under - control, reflectiveness
  
• feel a need to impress others
  
• have a strong fear of rejection
  

Narcissistic (grandiose sense of self-importance)

• over - self-importance, competitiveness
  
• under - sharing, group-participation
  
• interpersonally exploitive
  
• arrogant attitudes
  
• believe they are on a higher level than others, that others are inferior
  

[ Fearful ]

Avoidant (avoid activities for fear of ...)

• over - vulnerability, avoidance, inhibition
  
• under - assertion, ability to be outgoing
  
• avoid activities with interpersonal contact
  
• view themselves as inferior
  
• opposite to Histrionic
  

Dependent

• over - tendency to be clinging and help-seeking
  
• under - self-sufficiency, mobility
  
• have difficulties making everyday decisions
  
• lacks self-confidence
  
• constant fear of being left to take care of themselves
  

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder

• over - control, responsibility
  
• under - spontaneity, playfulness
  
• pervasive preoccupation with orderliness, perfectionism, mental and personal control
  
• excessive care on details
  
• rigid and stubborn
  

Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (O.C.D.)

• preoccupied with details, rules, order of schedules to the extent that the major point of the activity is lost
  
• their perfectionism interferes with task-completion
  
• overly conscientious, scrupulous and inflexible
  

According to the O.C.D. Schema

• mistakes are bad
  
• they know what's best in all situations
  
• perfectionism, applying rules, exerting control
  
• see themselves : responsible, accountable, competent
  see others : irresponsible, casual, incompetent, self-indulgent
  
• all-or-nothing -- perfect-or-not
  

Obsessive-compulsive patients may compensate by doing something that is fun, or at least something they perceive as fun


AXIS I : temporary problems
AXIS II : deep-rooted problems --> personality

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Personality tests online

• www.zh.com
  
• http://keirsey.com
  
• www.scientology.org/oca.html
  
• www.looksmart.com
  
• www.queendom.com
  
• www.colorquiz.com
  
• www.quincyweb.net
  

Changing our behavior

• You can't have two competing feelings at the same time eg you can't be anxious and relaxed at the same time
  
• Visualization
  
• Quiet activities eg reading, listening to music
  
• Exercise