1. Personality Disorders *Characterized by inflexible & enduring behavior patterns that impair social functioning. Difficult to diagnose & treat, bc behaviors are enduring & rigid; where is the line btwn being eccentric, anxious, or odd & having a personality disorder?

2. Clusters Cluster A: paranoid, schizoid & schizotypal; exhibit odd or eccentric behavior [different from schizophrenia b/c they experience psychotic episodes when they lose touch w/ reality & Cluster A’s don’t have these experiences] Cluster B: antisocial, borderline, histrionic, and narcissistic; dramatic or impulsive behavior Cluster C: avoidant, dependent & obsessive- compulsive personalities; anxiety-related disorders

3. Antisocial Personality Disorder *Formerly called a sociopath or psychopath. *Person (usually a man) exhibits a lack of conscience for wrongdoing, even toward friends & family members; aggressive & ruthless or a clever con artist. Behavior becomes plain before age 15…beginning to lie, steal, fight or display unrestrained sexual behavior. The antisocial personality expresses little regret over violating others’ rights.

4. Harvey Cleckley’s characteristics of antisocial personality disorder: Superficial charm & high intelligence Poise, rationality, absence of neurotic anxiety Lack of a sense of personal responsibility Untruthfulness, insincerity, callousness, manipulativeness Antisocial behavior without regret or shame Poor judgment and failure to learn from experience Inability to establish lasting, close relationships with others Lack of insight into personal motivations

5. Understanding Antisocial Personality Disorder No single gene codes for a complex behavior such as crime, but twin & adoption studies reveal that biological relatives = incr. risk for antisocial behavior. Display relatively low autonomic nervous system arousal & lower levels of stress hormones as young boys than do their counterparts; a general fearlessness

6. Raine (1999, 2005) compared PET scans of 41 murderers’ brains; reduced activity in the frontal lobes; violent repeat offenders had 11% less frontal lobe tissue than normal; brains also responded less to facial displays of others’ distress.

7. Rates of Psych Disorders Statistics show that 26.2% of people in the U.S. have reported having a mental illness. Just over 1 in 4 people in the U.S. is likely to experience a diagnosable mental illness in their lifetime. Poverty is a predictor of mental illness. –Conditions & experiences associated w/ poverty contribute to the dev of some mental disorders. –But some disorders (schizophrenia) can drive people into poverty. Of those Americans who have experienced a psych disorder, the 3 most common are: phobias, alcohol dependency & mood disorder