"Self" and "other": A conceptual bridge linking normal with pathological personality

Area of Science:

• Psychology
• Psychiatry
• Personality Disorders

Background:

• Contemporary personality psychology and psychiatric nosologies (e.g., ICD-11) conceptualize self-function.
• A dichotomy exists between self as identity and self as socially interdependent (vs. autonomous).

Purpose of the Study:

• To reconcile conceptualizations of normal and pathological personality development.
• To explore parallels in self-function conceptualizations across psychology and psychiatry.
• To identify core dimensions of personality pathology.

Main Methods:

• Reviewing evidence on self-function conceptualizations in personality psychology.
• Analyzing recent iterations of major psychiatric nosologies, specifically ICD-11.
• Synthesizing findings to propose a framework for personality pathology.

Main Results:

• Evidence supports a dichotomy in personality pathology: "Acting Out" and "Anxious-Inhibited."
• Deficient interdependent self is linked to "Acting Out" personality pathology.
• Defective self-identity is proposed as fundamental to "Anxious-Inhibited" personality pathology.

Conclusions:

• The study proposes a unified framework for understanding normal and pathological personality.
• Parallels in self-function conceptualizations inform the classification of personality disorders.
• The proposed dichotomies offer insights into the developmental pathways of personality pathology.