Using Basic Personality Research to Inform Personality Pathology

Edited by Douglas B. Samuel and Donald R. Lynam

First edited volume to bring together experts across biological, developmental, clinical, and social psychology doing research in basic and disordered personality
Presents evidence that
Demonstrates practical application to clinical diagnosis and conceptualization

Using Basic Personality Research to Inform Personality Pathology

Edited by Douglas B. Samuel and Donald R. Lynam

Description

Personality pathology, which is characterized by a pervasive, maladaptive, and inflexible pattern of thoughts, emotions, and behaviors, has long been considered a set of categories that are distinct from each other and from "normal" personality. Research over the past three decades, however, has challenged that assumed separation, and instead suggests that abnormal personality is merely a maladaptive extension of the same features that describe the personalities of all humans.

Using Basic Personality Research to Inform the Personality Disorders will present the work of prominent thinkers at the intersections of social, personality, developmental, and clinical psychology to consider theoretical and empirical issues relevant to how basic personality research can inform the scientific understanding of personality pathology. Surveying cutting-edge research on the science of basic personality and demonstrating how these ideas and methods can be applied to the conceptualization of pathology, the book first provides a historical overview, followed by an account of the current state of the personality disorder literature. Ensuing chapters highlight critical issues in the assessment and conceptualization of personality, its development across the life course, and biological underpinnings. These chapters are valuable primers on the basic science of personality, from specific genes to complex social interactions. Furthermore, each chapter aims not only to elucidate current understandings of personality, but to demonstrate its direct application to clinical diagnosis and conceptualization. Using Basic Personality Research to Inform the Personality Disorders is the first edited volume to present such diverse perspectives across biological, developmental, clinical, and social psychology from leading researchers in basic and disordered personality, and will be of interest to a broad range of students, scientists, and practitioners.

Using Basic Personality Research to Inform Personality Pathology

Edited by Douglas B. Samuel and Donald R. Lynam

About the Editors
Contributors
Section I: Introduction to Personality Disorders
Chapter 1. Historical Overview of Personality Disorders
Thomas A. Widiger
Chapter 2. The Current State of Personality Disorders through the Lens of PDTRT
Carl W. Lejuez, Alexis Matusiewicz, Nadia Bounoua, & James Soldinger
Chapter 3. Personality Disorders as Collections of Traits
Joshua D. Miller
Section II: Assessment Methods and Issues
Chapter 4. Using Basic Personality Process Models to Inform the Personality Disorders: Core Momentary Stressor-Symptom Contingencies as Basic Etiology
William Fleeson, R. Michael Furr, Malek Mneimne, & Elizabeth Mayfield Arnold
Chapter 5. The Interpersonal Situation: Integrating Personality Assessment, Case Formulation, and Intervention
Christopher J. Hopwood, Aaron L. Pincus, Aidan G. C. Wright
Chapter 6. Personality Dysfunction and Trait Extremity: Conceptually, but not Empirically Distinct?
Lee Anna Clark, Elizabeth J. Daly, Stephanie Larew, Hallie Nuzum, Thomas Kingsbury, Jaime L. Shapiro, Xia Allen, & Eunyoe Ro
Section III: Development Across the Life Course
Chapter 7. The Principles of Personality Trait Development and their Relation to Psychopathology
Brent W. Roberts & Rodica I. Damian
Chapter 8. Advances in Child Personality Research and Relevance for Personality Pathology
Jennifer L. Tackett, Kathleen W. Reardon, Kathrin Herzhoff, & Shauna C. Kushner
Chapter 9. The Prevalence, Stability, and Impact of Personality Pathology in Later Life: Preliminary Findings from the SPAN Study.
Thomas F. Oltmanns & Steve Balsis
Section IV: Biological Bases of Personality
Chapter 10. Personality as Adaptation: Perspectives from Nonhuman Primates
John P. Capitanio & William A. Mason
Chapter 11. Molecular Trait Psychology: Advancing the Field by Moving from Gene-Hunting to Tool-Making
Turhan Canli
Index

Using Basic Personality Research to Inform Personality Pathology

Edited by Douglas B. Samuel and Donald R. Lynam

Author Information

Edited by Douglas B. Samuel, Assistant Professor of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University, and Edited by Donald R. Lynam, Professor of Psychological Sciences, Purdue University

Douglas B. Samuel, Ph.D. is Associate Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. His research focuses on investigating dimensional models, particularly the Five Factor Model of personality, with the aim of improving the conceptualization of psychopathology. He is particularly interested in investigating how multiple sources (clients, therapists, informants) and methods (EEG, ecological momentary assessment) can be integrated to better assess and diagnosis mental illness. Donald R. Lynam, Ph.D. is Distinguished Professor of Psychological Sciences at Purdue University. His research examines the contribution of individual differences to psychopathology and deviance across the lifecourse. Much of his work uses general models of personality to re-conceptualize more complex constructs (psychopathy, narcissism, impulsivity, et cetera).

Contributors:

Xia Allen, MA
University of Notre Dame

Elizabeth Mayfield Arnold
Wake Forest School of Medicine

Steve Balsis
Texas A&M University

Nadia Bounoua
University of Maryland

Turhan Canli, PhD
Stony Brook University

John P. Capitanio
California National Primate Research Center
University of California, Davis

Lee Anna Clark, PhD
University of Notre Dame

Elizabeth J. Daly, MA
University of Notre Dame

Rodica I. Damian
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

William Fleeson
Wake Forest University

R. Michael Furr
Wake Forest University

Kathrin Herzhoff
University of Houston

Christopher J. Hopwood, PhD
Michigan State University

Thomas Kingsbury, BA, BS
University of Notre Dame

Shauna C. Kushner
University of Toronto

Stephanie Larew, MA
University of Notre Dame

Carl W. Lejuez
University of Maryland

William A. Mason
California National Primate Research Center
University of California, Davis

Alexis Matusiewicz
University of Maryland

Joshua D. Miller
University of Georgia

Malek Mneimne
Wake Forest University

Hallie Nuzum, BA
University of Notre Dame

Thomas F. Oltmanns
Washington University in St. Louis

Aaron L. Pincus
Pennsylvania State University

Kathleen W. Reardon
University of Houston

Eunyoe Ro, PhD
Southern Illinois University Edwardsville

Brent W. Roberts
University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign

Jaime L. Shapiro, MA
University of Notre Dame

James Soldinger
University of Maryland

Jennifer L. Tackett
University of Houston

Thomas A. Widiger, Ph.D.
University of Kentucky

Aidan G. C. Wright
University of Pittsburgh

Using Basic Personality Research to Inform Personality Pathology

Edited by Douglas B. Samuel and Donald R. Lynam

Reviews and Awards

"As this impressive book demonstrates, reality is much more complex and empirically interesting than this simple dichotomy suggests. Personality researchers drawn to normative personality or personality pathology, including those with clinical orientations, should read this book. Graduate students in personality and related fields, as well as very advanced undergraduates, will also benefit from this work's insights." - Choice

"This dazzling volume brings together the finest scholars in both normal-range and pathological personality. Its scope is extraordinary, with contributions explicating the nature of underlying etiological mechanisms, developmental trajectories across the lifespan, social processes and interpersonal dysfunction, novel approaches to assessment, and the role of basic traits in personality disorder. It is essential reading for those interested in how recent developments in basic personality research have transformed our understanding of personality pathology." - David Watson, Notre Dame