A dynamic approach to Diagnosing and treating personality disorders 

Someone who is “neurotic” does not necessarily show anger or anxiety in a given situation, even though those are generally accepted traits of a person with that personality style.

New University of California, Davis, research suggests that lumping those with personality disorders into a package of traits should be left behind for more dynamic analysis instead. Those who study and treat people with personality disorders need to more deeply look at personality dynamics and variation over time, not just box people into specific categories or traits.

UC Davis psychologist Chris Hopwood wants to take a more dynamic view of personality traits and disorders.

“Just as water level could be affected by climate, tide, and weather, different levels of personality dynamics can be classified according to the timescales along which they occur,” said Christopher Hopwood, a psychology professor and author of “Interpersonal Dynamics in Personality and Personality Disorders,” which was published recently in the European Journal of Personality.

“Personality researchers are on the verge of marrying technological advances and psychological theories to generate novel insights about why people are different and how that can go wrong,” he said.

Source: Diagnosing and treating personality disorders needs a dynamic approach