Cluster personality types
Personality disorders - Symptoms and causes
Overview
A personality disorder is a type of mental disorder in which you have a rigid and unhealthy pattern of thinking, functioning and behaving. A person with a personality disorder has trouble perceiving and relating to situations and people. This causes significant problems and limitations in relationships, social activities, work and school.
In some cases, you may not realize that you have a personality disorder because your way of thinking and behaving seems natural to you. And you may blame others for the challenges you face.
Personality disorders usually begin in the teenage years or early adulthood. There are many types of personality disorders. Some types may become less obvious throughout middle age.
Products & Services
- Book: Mayo Clinic Family Health Book, 5th Edition
- Newsletter: Mayo Clinic Health Letter — Digital Edition
Symptoms
Types of personality disorders are grouped into three clusters, based on similar characteristics and symptoms. Many people with one personality disorder also have signs and symptoms of at least one additional personality disorder. It's not necessary to exhibit all the signs and symptoms listed for a disorder to be diagnosed.
Cluster A personality disorders
Cluster A personality disorders are characterized by odd, eccentric thinking or behavior. They include paranoid personality disorder, schizoid personality disorder and schizotypal personality disorder.
Paranoid personality disorder
- Pervasive distrust and suspicion of others and their motives
- Unjustified belief that others are trying to harm or deceive you
- Unjustified suspicion of the loyalty or trustworthiness of others
- Hesitancy to confide in others due to unreasonable fear that others will use the information against you
- Perception of innocent remarks or nonthreatening situations as personal insults or attacks
- Angry or hostile reaction to perceived slights or insults
- Tendency to hold grudges
- Unjustified, recurrent suspicion that spouse or sexual partner is unfaithful
Schizoid personality disorder
- Lack of interest in social or personal relationships, preferring to be alone
- Limited range of emotional expression
- Inability to take pleasure in most activities
- Inability to pick up normal social cues
- Appearance of being cold or indifferent to others
- Little or no interest in having sex with another person
Schizotypal personality disorder
- Peculiar dress, thinking, beliefs, speech or behavior
- Odd perceptual experiences, such as hearing a voice whisper your name
- Flat emotions or inappropriate emotional responses
- Social anxiety and a lack of or discomfort with close relationships
- Indifferent, inappropriate or suspicious response to others
- "Magical thinking" — believing you can influence people and events with your thoughts
- Belief that certain casual incidents or events have hidden messages meant only for you
Cluster B personality disorders
Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by dramatic, overly emotional or unpredictable thinking or behavior.
They include antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder.
Antisocial personality disorder
- Disregard for others' needs or feelings
- Persistent lying, stealing, using aliases, conning others
- Recurring problems with the law
- Repeated violation of the rights of others
- Aggressive, often violent behavior
- Disregard for the safety of self or others
- Impulsive behavior
- Consistently irresponsible
- Lack of remorse for behavior
Borderline personality disorder
- Impulsive and risky behavior, such as having unsafe sex, gambling or binge eating
- Unstable or fragile self-image
- Unstable and intense relationships
- Up and down moods, often as a reaction to interpersonal stress
- Suicidal behavior or threats of self-injury
- Intense fear of being alone or abandoned
- Ongoing feelings of emptiness
- Frequent, intense displays of anger
- Stress-related paranoia that comes and goes
Histrionic personality disorder
- Constantly seeking attention
- Excessively emotional, dramatic or sexually provocative to gain attention
- Speaks dramatically with strong opinions, but few facts or details to back them up
- Easily influenced by others
- Shallow, rapidly changing emotions
- Excessive concern with physical appearance
- Thinks relationships with others are closer than they really are
Narcissistic personality disorder
- Belief that you're special and more important than others
- Fantasies about power, success and attractiveness
- Failure to recognize others' needs and feelings
- Exaggeration of achievements or talents
- Expectation of constant praise and admiration
- Arrogance
- Unreasonable expectations of favors and advantages, often taking advantage of others
- Envy of others or belief that others envy you
Cluster C personality disorders
Cluster C personality disorders are characterized by anxious, fearful thinking or behavior.
They include avoidant personality disorder, dependent personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder.
Avoidant personality disorder
- Too sensitive to criticism or rejection
- Feeling inadequate, inferior or unattractive
- Avoidance of work activities that require interpersonal contact
- Socially inhibited, timid and isolated, avoiding new activities or meeting strangers
- Extreme shyness in social situations and personal relationships
- Fear of disapproval, embarrassment or ridicule
Dependent personality disorder
- Excessive dependence on others and feeling the need to be taken care of
- Submissive or clingy behavior toward others
- Fear of having to provide self-care or fend for yourself if left alone
- Lack of self-confidence, requiring excessive advice and reassurance from others to make even small decisions
- Difficulty starting or doing projects on your own due to lack of self-confidence
- Difficulty disagreeing with others, fearing disapproval
- Tolerance of poor or abusive treatment, even when other options are available
- Urgent need to start a new relationship when a close one has ended
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder
- Preoccupation with details, orderliness and rules
- Extreme perfectionism, resulting in dysfunction and distress when perfection is not achieved, such as feeling unable to finish a project because you don't meet your own strict standards
- Desire to be in control of people, tasks and situations, and inability to delegate tasks
- Neglect of friends and enjoyable activities because of excessive commitment to work or a project
- Inability to discard broken or worthless objects
- Rigid and stubborn
- Inflexible about morality, ethics or values
- Tight, miserly control over budgeting and spending money
Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder is not the same as obsessive-compulsive disorder, a type of anxiety disorder.
When to see a doctor
If you have any signs or symptoms of a personality disorder, see your doctor or other primary care professional or a mental health professional. Untreated, personality disorders can cause significant problems in your life that may get worse without treatment.
Request an appointment
From Mayo Clinic to your inbox
Sign up for free, and stay up to date on research advancements, health tips and current health topics, like COVID-19, plus expertise on managing health. Click here for an email preview.
To provide you with the most relevant and helpful information, and understand which information is beneficial, we may combine your email and website usage information with other information we have about you. If you are a Mayo Clinic patient, this could include protected health information. If we combine this information with your protected health information, we will treat all of that information as protected health information and will only use or disclose that information as set forth in our notice of privacy practices.
You may opt-out of email communications at any time by clicking on the unsubscribe link in the e-mail.
Causes
Personality is the combination of thoughts, emotions and behaviors that makes you unique. It's the way you view, understand and relate to the outside world, as well as how you see yourself. Personality forms during childhood, shaped through an interaction of:
- Your genes. Certain personality traits may be passed on to you by your parents through inherited genes. These traits are sometimes called your temperament.
- Your environment. This involves the surroundings you grew up in, events that occurred, and relationships with family members and others.
Personality disorders are thought to be caused by a combination of these genetic and environmental influences. Your genes may make you vulnerable to developing a personality disorder, and a life situation may trigger the actual development.
Risk factors
Although the precise cause of personality disorders is not known, certain factors seem to increase the risk of developing or triggering personality disorders, including:
- Family history of personality disorders or other mental illness
- Abusive, unstable or chaotic family life during childhood
- Being diagnosed with childhood conduct disorder
- Variations in brain chemistry and structure
Complications
Personality disorders can significantly disrupt the lives of both the affected person and those who care about that person. Personality disorders may cause problems with relationships, work or school, and can lead to social isolation or alcohol or drug abuse.
By Mayo Clinic Staff
Related
Associated Procedures
Products & Services
What Are Personality Disorders? | Thriveworks
Personality disorders belong to a group of mental illnesses characterized by unhealthy thoughts and behaviors, which can seriously hinder one’s everyday functioning.
You’re probably familiar with several of these disorders, like borderline personality disorder and obsessive-compulsive disorder. But you might not be familiar with their distinguishing clusters.
Each personality disorder belongs to a cluster or subgroup, which further classifies that specific group of personality disorders: cluster A’s disorders are classified as odd, bizarre, or eccentric; cluster B’s disorders are called dramatic or erratic; and cluster C’s are considered anxious and/or fearful. Now, let’s take a closer look at these clusters and the 10 personality disorders that make up these clusters:
Cluster A: Odd, Bizarre, Eccentric
This cluster of personality disorder is defined by social withdrawal and social awkwardness. Those who struggle with the disorders in this cluster suffer from distorted thinking.
- Paranoid personality disorder is characterized by a great distrust in others, even loved ones. Due to this distrust, these individuals are always on guard and suspicious of those around them.
They are overly sensitive, easily humiliated, grudgeful, and they have trouble building close relationships. - Schizoid personality disorder leaves individuals feeling detached, uninterested in social relationships, and lacking emotional response. Those affected by schizoid personality disorder are disconnected from reality and more prone to introspection.
- Schizotypal personality disorder is characterized by oddities in both appearance and behavior. Individuals with this illness often have strange beliefs, such as magical thinking. Like those with schizoid personality disorder, they avoid social relationships: not because they lack the desire to have these close relationships with others, but because they fear them.
Cluster B: Dramatic, Erratic
The personality disorders in this cluster are characterized by overly dramatic and emotional thinking and/or behavior. People with the following disorders often struggle with impulse control.
- Antisocial personality disorder causes one to lack empathy, that is concern for the feelings of others.
Individuals with antisocial personality disorder are irritable, aggressive, impulsive, and unapologetic for their actions. However, these individuals typically have no problem developing relationships… though they are short-lived due to the aforementioned tendencies. - Borderline personality disorder is characterized by an individual’s absent sense of self, which triggers feelings of desolation and fears of abandonment and neglect. People who are diagnosed with this disorder typically have unstable relationships and emotions, as well as outbursts of anger, violence, and impulsive behavior.
- Histrionic personality disorder leaves individuals feeling worthless, useless. They rely solely on attracting attention and receiving approval from others for their wellbeing; they may come across as charming or act inappropriately seductive. Furthermore, these individuals are sensitive to criticism and rejection.
- Narcissistic personality disorder is characterized by feelings of entitlement and a need to be admired or even worshipped.
These individuals lack empathy and have no problem exploiting others to achieve their goals; if they feel disrespected or obstructed, they often react with anger and revenge.
Cluster C: Anxious, Fearful
The final cluster is marked by anxiety-ridden thoughts and behaviors. People with these personality disorders have serious fears that inhibit their everyday:
- Avoidant personality disorder makes people believe they’re inferior and inadequate human beings. These individuals are terrified of being criticized, embarrassed, or rejected; and due to these fears, they avoid social interaction. They restrain themselves even in relationships with their closest loved ones.
- Dependent personality disorder is characterized by a lack of self-confidence and the individual’s need to be cared for. Not only do they need help making important life decisions, but they require help making mundane decisions on a day-to-day basis. Their biggest fear is abandonment, and they do whatever it takes to ensure upkeep of their relationships.
- Obsessive-compulsive personality disorder causes individuals to become preoccupied with details, lists, organization, rules, and so on; it is characterized by the utmost perfectionism and productivity that can very well hinder one’s relationships. People with obsessive-compulsive personality disorder are usually cautious and controlling to a fault.
Treatment and Recovery
Unfortunately, there are no known cures for personality disorders and the same goes for a majority of mental illnesses. However, there are multiple ways to effectively treat personality disorders and help these individuals better handle the harmful symptoms that come with their given illness. While the best treatment methods can vary for each personality disorder, the following are promising options that have proven to help:
- Psychotherapy: This kind of therapy allows individuals suffering from personality disorders to learn more about their condition and talk about their harmful thoughts and behaviors, their moods, and their feelings.
The therapist helps them cope with the harmful effects of the given disorder and also better manage the illness. Cognitive behavioral therapy, interpersonal therapy, and family-focused therapy all fall into the category of psychotherapy; a mental health profession can help determine what kind of psychotherapy is best for an individual and their condition. - Medication: While there aren’t any medications specifically approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat personality disorders, there are multiple psychiatric medicines that can help with the symptoms that come with an individual’s personality disorder. These include antidepressants, mood stabilizers, anti-anxiety medications, and antipsychotic medications.
Personality cluster, what is it and what types exist? / personality
We all have different tastes, different views, different ways of doing things, and we even see the world in a special and personal way. We are unique people who have been shaped by both their biology and their life experiences.
But we do not cease to be members of the same species.
In this sense, it is possible to establish different personality types with a certain similarity to each other, in which some basic elements are common. And from the field of psychology and psychiatry, these types of personalities they organized themselves into what became known as personality clusters.
What does this concept refer to? What is a personality cluster? Let's look at it throughout this article.
- Article on the topic: "Basic theories of personality"
What is personality?
Before considering what is referred to in the concept of cluster personality, it may be useful to give a brief definition of the most important component of this: personality.
We call personality a pattern or set of behaviors, cognitions, emotions, perspectives, and ways of seeing and interpreting reality and relating to the environment and ourselves that are common to us and that we tend to keep relatively stable over time and in situations on throughout life.
Personality is defined throughout our growth and throughout our life cycle, being tuned in part based on our genes and based on our experience and training. It is what determines our way of life and actions and tends to be adaptive in order to deal effectively with the environment..
However, sometimes a number of circumstances lead us to acquire certain characteristics or ways of thinking or acting which, while allowing us to survive and adapt to our environment, can cause great difficulty in such areas , as interpersonal relationships, work or the ability to enjoy life, and can cause in us or our environment a certain dysfunction of malaise and suffering.
This is the case of people who suffer from a personality disorder. And it is in relation to this type of disorder that the three great types of personality clusters that are commonly used have been developed, a concept that we will now define.
What is a personality cluster?
A cluster is understood to be an organization or a way of classifying various variables of a quantitative type into different groups that include them according to some type of characteristic or common element.
So, when we talk about a personality cluster, we mean a grouping of several personality types that have some element between them that allows them to be grouped . That is to say, it establishes the existence of common factors between different classes or types of persons which make it possible to define the whole to a large extent, so that the different categories are homogenized and encompass the indicated quality or aspect.
Three personality clusters
Although it would technically be possible to create personality clusters based on different criteria, when we talk about this concept we usually have three in mind, specifically those in which personality disorders have been classified and cataloged . In this sense, three large personality clusters are currently being considered, based on the type of behavioral pattern they typically display.
Cluster A: Rarely eccentric
Cluster A includes types of personality disorders that have as a common element the performance of actions and the maintenance of ways of thinking and interpreting the world, which is considered extravagant and highly unusual, sometimes resembling the functioning of a population with psychotic elements (although in this case we are talking about personal qualities, not the disorder itself).
It is these behaviors and practices that cause dysfunction or discomfort in the subject. Paranoid, schizoid and schizotypal personality disorders are included in this cluster .
- Maybe you're interested: "Schizotypal Personality Disorder: Symptoms, Causes and Treatment"
Cluster B: Unstable / Dramatic Emotional
The grouping or organization of personality disorders known as Cluster B refers to a set of personality disorders which have a common feature - high emotionality, very labile and prone to manifestation. dramatic and sometimes theatrical behavior .
Usually there is a lack of control over emotions and affects, as well as a certain distrust of others and / or their respect. Within this group we find antisocial, borderline, histrionic and narcissistic personality disorders.
Group C: fearful-anxious
This third cluster brings together a range of disorders that typically have high levels of fear or anxiety (or don't), which encourages them to act in ways that reduce as much as possible.
The axis or basis of most of his behavior is the avoidance of what is feared. also is usually that there is a low tolerance for ambiguity .
In cluster C we find avoidant, dependent and obsessive-compulsive personality disorders.
- Maybe you're interested: Type C Personality: Features of this Behavior Model
A useful concept, but not as closed as it seems used, was first used in 1980 in DSM-III. This was done in order to carry out a grouping of
personality changes that would allow the classification of disorders Simply put, at the same time, a more thorough investigation was carried out regarding these types of changes.. Since then, personality clusters have been regularly used to identify areas in which personality changes occur. This does not mean that they are used for diagnosis (because the cluster is not in itself a diagnosis and does not establish one), but it can give an idea of the type of characteristics or consequences that a particular problem may have in the daily life of the subject.
.
However, although clustering can be very helpful in establishing separate categories between different personality types, the truth is that The implementation of several factorial analyzes does not always confirm that these clusters are always so close and separated from each other: for example, in clinical practice, the same patient often presents characteristics and even disorders belonging to different clusters.
References:
- American Psychiatric Association. (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders. Fifth edition. DSM-V. Masson, Barcelona.
- Buratti Hamlin M., Casas Losada A., Conde Amado M., Fernandez Hierro J., Flores Menendez G., Forti Sampietro L., Martinez Valente J. and Veiga Kandan M.Yu. (2015). Personality: research, diagnosis and treatment. GALLEGO Forum. THE STUDY OF PERSONALITY. Adamed.
- Millon D. (2007). Multiaxial Clinical Inventory Millon-III (MCMI-III). Professional Management Madrid, TEA Ediciones S.
A. - Millon, T. (1997). Personality disorders: DSM-IV and beyond. New York: Wylie.
These include antisocial personality disorder, borderline personality disorder, histrionic personality disorder, and narcissistic personality disorder. It is not necessary to have all the signs and symptoms that characterize the disorder in order to make a diagnosis. 
These include anxiety disorder, dependent personality disorder, and obsessive-compulsive personality disorder. It is not necessary to have all the signs and symptoms that characterize the disorder in order to make a diagnosis. 
